"To light a set for three cameras operating simultaneously and from different positions is a problem in itself," Freund said. "We have to light as uniform as possible, yet watch for opportunities to add highlights whenever we can. This is highly important, inasmuch as it is a comedy show requiring high-key illumination."

Many people following this thread - http://www.personal-view.com/talks/discussion/1937/finding-face-exposure-on-gh2#Item_51 - have heard me talk about the 4 stop (technically 5-stop) "Target Range" (or Target Zone) for DSLRs in which you should expose your scene to get clean images that grade exceptionally well with plenty of detail in the blacks and highlights.

But I've received so many questions about what exactly I mean by "the zone system" that I put this video together to demonstrate what I mean and why.

While I only touch very briefly on the actual Ansel Adams Zone System, which is way more complicated than explained herein, if you light and expose your scene using this "zone" technique, you'll never worry about macro-blocking, noisy blacks, or blown out highlights again.

...And you'll be able to grade the living hell out of the footage.

I need 3 backdrops: green (for chroma key), black and white.

For this I already have 3-roller background paper support system (similar to this http://www.ebay.com/itm/400373022462 ).

The background paper will be about 2m wide. Haven't found any place where to get this custom size though. Any ideas?

I will put this in between cheap man's Manfrotto Autopoles: http://www.biltema.fi/fi/Rakentaminen/Vari-ja-Saumaus/Tyokalut/Kattotuki-86034/ . That's the best version in Finland, in US I guess it's this one: http://www.amazon.com/dp/B000067S12/ref=asc_df_B000067S122575981 . Reason for "autopole" is that I don't want to drill extra holes to the wall and the "autopole" provides attachment point for lights etc.

I attach the 3-roller to the "autopoles" using these Manfrotto super clamp replicas: http://www.ebay.com/itm/Articulating-Small-Super-Clamp-Crab-DSLR-Rig-LCD-Monitor-Studio-Light-Magic-Arm-/200926374880 . If I find them to be bad quality, I will buy original super clamps instead.

And then the biggest problem. How to light green screen in limited space? I don't want any extra tripods / softboxes to the studio. I'm thinkg using led lights something like this http://www.ebay.com/itm/Portable-500-LED-Light-Panel-Photo-Video-Studio-Portrait-Dimmer-Lighting-Filter-/290900481579 on both sides. Hope them will be enough. I would attach them using super clamps and Manfrotto extension arms http://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/product/546373-REG/Manfrotto_by_Bogen_Imaging_042_042_Extension_Arm_with.html to the "autopoles". This way I would not have any extra tripods on the floor for the green screen lights.

It would be also cool to have head light attached also to the "autopoles", with something like this: http://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/product/546560-REG/Manfrotto_024B_Boom_Assembly_Black.html . The Manfrotto is pretty expensive though so I'm looking for alternative.

I have seen many DIY green screen light projects like this

Main purpose for the studio is basic "interview setup" and I aim to get everything as cheap as possible.

Any ideas would be appreciated!

http://www.bythom.com/graycards.htm

The first thing I've learnt is that ISO setting are very very important in order to achieve a noir look: if you watch old noir films of the 40's, you will notice that there is little dof and high contrast at the same time,thus open iris and low ISO setting (old masters used low-ISO film stock). Of course, we can also use very high ISO on dslr cameras in low-lighting situations, achieveng a grainy look, b/n noise (do you remember Godard's Breathless and Alain Robbe Grillet 's Trans Europe Express???).

However, setting ISO is not sufficient,indeed: I NEED SPOT LIGHTS ,cheapy solutions for my tiny budget (I've just spent much money for gh1 and its primes). I tried to snoot cheap cfl lamps, however , even snooted they have a "diffuse"look; many frienss using old DV cam (1/3" CCD) suggested me common worklights with home-made barndoors, however think this would be the worst solution. fresnel lamp are commonly used to achieve noir look,but I was searching a cheapy/diy solution. somene suggested me halogen par lamp , 150 W, 10° spread angle. Anyone can help me, please?

I know it's not too expensive to buy a pack of these filters, but with this method, I can print out any filter I want and cut out whatever size I need from it. Here's a short video I put together to show how some of these custom filters work.

Hope this is helpful to someone!

images attached

any advice on settings, what hack to use, or how to get this lighting? is it simply a florescent?

I would be SO thankful

I'm hoping to tap into some of your collective knowledge if I can. I have a production coming up and I have a potentially difficult scene to shoot.

The shoot is due to take place in a nightclub during a techno / house music party. I'm in the process of getting permission to shoot in the venue during an actual event, so it is doubtful I will be able to add any extra lights in the space.

The plan is to shoot a single subject in the crowd during the course of the night, but I will also be required to capture footage of one particular DJ as he performs. Most of the shots will be medium, close and extreme close ups. Both the subject and the DJ will be wearing full face masks; although I would like to capture footage that shows the subjects are present in the club, most shots will of their faces. One of the subjects will be wearing a full face white mask, and the DJ is wearing a red full face mask. I would like to retain as much detail as possible during the shoot, and try to avoid capturing footage full of noise that could render the image unusable.

Unfortunately, it does not appear I'm going to be given the opportunity to shoot in the club under similar circumstances create test footage. Due to this fact, I'm hoping to be as prepared as possible to capture images of the best possible quality once I arrive on the night.

I will be shooting on a GH2. I have access to the following lenses; Voigtlander 25mm, SLR Magic 12mm, Samyang 85mm, and a 50mm F 1.4 lens whose name escapes me. I'm shooting on Class 10 Sandisk Extreme 95mbs 64gb cards. I also have a Sekonic 308 to help capture light readings.

Previously, I have been shooting with the Sedna hacks, but I'm now in the process of testing the Intravenus Ver.1 hack. I have never used the Canis Majoris 'Night' hack, but I'm under the impression this may be another viable alternative. I will be editing grading with PP and AE (and possibly Speed Grade but I'm not too familiar with it at this time).

I've been to the venue before, and they have fairly good lighting set up for a nightclub. Not cutting edge, but not a dank little hole either.

If you google 'Corsica Studios London' and check the images, you should be able to get an idea of what I'll be working with

Any help, advice or tips anyone may be able to offer would be greatly appreciated.

Thank you for your time

I am contemplating shots in his darkroom with the red safety light look. While I am sure I can simulate it at any f-stop I like with GEL's and fill, I wonder if anybody has any suggestions (or is aware of new paper technology or a really high power safety light) that would enable me to shoot a CU of an actual photo developing without too much of a mismatch in image quality

High ISO and fast lens are obvious solutions, wondering if anybody has any other suggestions

Thanks

Example of the glare.

http://i.imgur.com/w0Qf3.png

My lamp:

http://i.imgur.com/6cxaR.png

Any idea how I can fix this?

Thank you for reading. :)

http://www.meethue.com/en-US

http://www.slashgear.com/philips-hue-review-07255995/

I think even a few of these would be useful in an interview in a small room. Has anyone tried these? Only strange thing is that this is sold exclusively through Apple stores.

This is a ZigBee Lightview mesh network, with support for up to 50 bulbs, so it might possibly work with other ZigBee compatible controllers. Apparently, there is a beta version of an Android app that should work with Hue, and Philips might be releasing an API to support third party developers who want to be creative.

I'm in NYC for the semester and loving it! I've got a short film in the works, almost cast, and I have several options for locations. The film is set primarily in a convenience grocery store. Of course, this means overhead fluorescent lighting. I've checked all locations for flicker, and most places seem to have electronic ballast lights, which is good (this means you can synch up the shutter speed).

However, I would really like to have a few lights on set besides the overhead fluorescents. I need something small footprint, as I am trying to be as unobtrusive as possible (the store will be letting me shoot for free during business hours). Any suggestions? I'm looking to rent but not sure what to grab.

Also, is some sort of magenta filter a good idea under fluorescents? I've never shot anything serious under fluorescents, so I just don't know much.

Thanks,

Caleb

1, Shoot outdoors with pure sunlight. This is the easiest setup and there will be no flicker at all.

1. Indoors are a big problem. All lights flicker under ac. Here is an excerpt from the makers of the Phantom cameras..

When powered by alternating current (AC) electricity, the lamps power cycles 50 or 60 times per second (depending on the country and its power system). During the down cycle the tungsten lamp filament can dim slightly. Above certain frame rates a camera sensor is photographing enough images per second to see the alternation of the filament, resulting as flicker in the image.

The amount of flicker is related to the type of bulb, wattage and physical size of filament. In general, lamps of 5000w or larger that use tungsten filaments are so large that they do not have time to cool and dim before the power cycles back up. Therefore, it is recommended using 2K or greater tungsten light fixtures when shooting above 120fps in 60hz countries and 5K or greater when shooting above 100fps in 50hz countries.

Some additional recommendations are to use DC power for tungsten lights, which eliminates flicker entirely. The direct current supplied to the lamp head means there is no alternation between cycles and the filament is illuminated constantly. Smaller practical bulbs can be battery powered thus avoiding flicker issues.

HMI and fluorescent lights are generally fine for speeds under 100fps as long as they use electronic ballasts and are set to flicker free. Although HMI lights do not suffer from the flicker which effects tungsten, HMI’s can suffer from “Arc Wander,” whereby a plasmatic “hot spot” moves within the bulb, causing an amorphous shifting movement in the light output. The most common side effect to this is a rapid colour shift in a shimmering effect. No HMI light with a normal electronic ballast can be guaranteed against some form of flicker, no matter how big the lamp is.

In recent years high frequency ballasts have been produced for HMI lamps. In the UK, Panalux stock 300Hz ballasts for HMI lamps between 125W and 18,000W. Similarly Arri has produced 1000Hz High Speed Ballasts for use with the same HMI lamp from 125W up to 6000W. These ballasts dramatically reduce or even eliminate flicker in most situations, but under practical use of these tools, it has been found that in certain lighting conditions and with certain lamps and bubbles, flicker still may be apparent. Testing of the specific lamps to be use on a job is always advisable.

LED lights are subject to the electronic circuits driving them which can create a vast array of refresh rates, but generally LED fixtures designed for the film industry will not flicker as long as they are not dimmed. In recent times, more and more LED lights are becoming available for motion picture, many of these are now being commonly used for high speed shooting.

Finally, the shutter angle on the high speed camera can affect flicker as well, as a greater shutter angle allows for a longer response time from the light. When shooting extremely high frame rates, it may no longer be necessary to retain a 180-degree shutter to capture the motion generally preferred for a filmic look. A 360-degree shutter allows both more light sensitivity and can reduced flicker possibilities.

Lighting with HMI’s

HMI lighting that uses electronic ballasts will not flicker, but they can be prone to another artifact. This would be Arc Wander, as described in the previous passage, the hot spot of the electrical arc that travels in the plasmatic gas within the glass bubble moves back and forth between the two cathodes. The resulting effect appears as shimmer and colour shift.

If one big light is used directly pointed at the subject, this effect can be quite obvious. If many lights are mixed together or if the light is punched through diffusion then Arc Wander can often be limited to an unnoticeable level.

With the 300Hz and 1000Hz High Speed Ballasts it is possible to achieve high quality flicker free images at frame rates of 1000 fps and in many cases beyond even with a single HMI daylight source.

This new technology supplies the lamp with a greatly raised square wave current rather than the typical 75Hz. High frequency ballasts are available for all wattages from 125 W – 4000 W. It is recommended to test the lamps at the shooting speeds required prior to a job.

Tips for lighting with HMI’s

Test your fixtures before shooting
Obtain 300Hz or 1000Hz ballasts
Use as bigger sources as possible
Use diffusion or bounce the source
Group smaller heads together separated by different phases
Using HMI’s when shooting outside is much less noticeable than when inside
Often changing the head or the ballast can help any issues
Make sure the electronic ballast is set to flicker free

Will this make 120 FPS useless for these types of shots in florescent lighting?

Here is an example of what the indoor slow motion looks like with 1/120th of a second shutter speed. I tried it with 1/250th and it puts a black bar through the video that I presume is from the rolling shutter.

This was shot with the 25mm F1.4 and 720p @ 60 FPS with 1/120th shutter speed. It is simple slowed down video without any use of an interpolating program like Twixtor.

I'm shooting my first film outside of college, whic will run about 40 minutes. However, I'm running into a rut on what I should do about my last scene, which occurs at night time (of course). I've looked at day-for-night tests and techniques, but none of them seem very reliable or believable. I went out with my gh2 last night and my asahi takumar 50mm 1.4f and tried to see what Mysteron could handle as far as ISO. There are a few street lights in the scene, as well as a dark field which my main character eventually enters. I am at a complete loss as to what to do to light these last two scenes. I want it to look as though the field is very dark before he enters, but then I want him to seem moonlit once he's inside of it. Also, when he is walking on the streets, there still just isn't enough light to properly expose him without getting above 3200 iso.

If anyone has some suggestions for shooting at night, particularly when there is very very little light available, it would be a great service to this film!

And I was curious to see if Daylight resulted in less noise in the shadows... Well, it resulted in the opposite.

To Sum up: After extensive testing - The Chroma and Luma shift demonstrated in the video occurs regardless of hacked or unhacked firmware, regardless of patch, and regardless of WB method whether it be standard presets, manual sampling WB, or dialing in Kelvin number. And it occurs regardless of whether it is actual sunlight or CTB. Unless someone can offer evidence to refute this, I think this is now a known issue.

In conclusion: Daylight does not render accurate colors on the GH2, whereas Tungsten does.

I've also edited this post to reflect the conclusion I came to after further testing, and also altered the title of this thread to help newcomers to the thread.

Just wondering if or how I can use the ceiling fluros ( the short film is set in a office) and use the redheads for lighting on the subjects? I've read you have to set your color temp to 4000k for Fluro...

And will there be a flicker issue cos I'm in PAL land?

Thanks guys.

here's an article on the subject http://provideocoalition.com/index.php/aadams/story/pulse_width_modulation_is_not_your_friend/

anybody have any ideas, apart from praying the GH3 has global shutter?

Look at http://www.prgtrucolor.com/node/16

Article about shootout - http://provideocoalition.com/index.php/aadams/story/led_light_tests_prg_sponsors_an_LED_light_shootout/

They ahve some problems with independence claims (as it was paid comparison).

But watching spectrums and color accuracy is interesting.

I am currently searching for an affordable lighting set-up as I'm going to do more interview stuff etc. in future.

The only thing I am sure about is that i want softboxes as light-modifiers, but what kind of light sources should I use? There are so much options. Halogen - Fluorescent - HMI - LED... As far as I am concerned, LED is the new trend in terms of lighting, but whats the reason for? Low energy, portable? Do I need a softbox in use with a LED for example?

I have a budget of approximately 100-350USD.

As a hair light, i'm going to use a 150w or 300w PRO As ARRI Fresnel. (http://www.ebay.de/itm/As-ARRI-Economical-300W-studio-lighting-Fresnel-Tungsten-Light-300-watts-bulb-/221022906307?pt=LH_DefaultDomain_0&hash=item3375fde7c3#ht_3350wt_1398)

Thanks a lot!