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Lighting for Video

Segment 1 Tips & Tricks
Lighting

Here you will find articles and advice on video lighting techniques, video lighting equipment, and video lighting effects... everything from the latest video lighting kits to specialized lights for camcorders.

Most Recent Lighting Reviews

Video lighting equipment can be expensive or economical depending on your willingness to be creative with guerrilla lighting techniques. These articles include reviews of professional video lighting kits as well as ideas for substitutes for those on a budget.

Instructional Videos

  • Light it Right (DVD)Light it Right (DVD) In this DVD on video lighting, the experts at Videomaker teach lighting techniques so you can set up the best lighting environment for a video camera. Lessons on studio lighting & outdoor lighting will show you how to light videos like a professional videographer.
  • One Light Wonder - 5 pgsOne Light Wonder - 5 pgs Learn how to be creative with single-source lighting, both indoor and outdoor.
  • Book of Forms - Lighting PlotBook of Forms - Lighting Plot Videomaker's Complete Book of Forms contains 91 essential forms to make shooting and producing video easier. The following is one section of the Complete Book of Forms.

    Includes: Lighting Plot and Lighting Layout.
  • Depth of Field - 5 pgsDepth of Field - 5 pgs Manipulate your viewer into watching one portion of your movie, while other events continue in the scene!
  • Producing a Documentary Part 1 - 6 pgsProducing a Documentary Part 1 - 6 pgs Learn how to move your story from dream to distribution!
  • Video Glossary of Terms - 21 pgsVideo Glossary of Terms - 21 pgs Confused by the alphabet soup of video production terminology? Videomaker’s extensive Glossary of Terms provides definitions for hundreds of commonly and not so commonly used terms in the field of videography.

Lighting Techniques

Don't get caught in the dark on video lighting. Make sure you are ready to shoot your next video with the proper amount of lighting to get the effect you desire. The last thing you want to happen is to involve others in a poorly lit video and have to tell them that you need to shoot the video again.

  • Tutorial
    Night Light     How to turn the light of day into the dark of night... The technique of shooting outdoor night scenes in broad daylight has been around since the early days of film. It is commonly called Day for Night (DFN), and you can spot it in films like It's a Wonderful Life, Planet of the Apes and Jaws; documentaries like The Creation of the Universe; and, of course, the French film, Day for Night.
  • Lighting
    Lighting Film Noir Style     November. The days are getting shorter, the air is crisp and the mood is dark and forlorn. These are the perfect ingredients for film noir shooting.
  • Lighting
    Lighting Gels     You're ready with 3-point lighting or a soft-light and mood setting. But ... hum... what's missing? How about some red and blue on that dull white scene?
  • Creating Shadows Dramatic Lighting without Fear (Or, How I Learned to Love the Dark)
  • Basic Training: Three-Point Lighting 101 Lighting can be extremely complicated. Some movie and TV shoots use dozens of lights to assure proper scene lighting. Here's a primer to help dispel the mystery.
  • Lighting: Using Practicals Lighting a scene using everyday lamps realistically is a skill that earns Hollywood gaffers top dollars. Here are some tips to using practicals in your next video.
  • Illuminations: Casting Shadows When you think about lighting, you probably think about your lights and where to place them. But what about the shadows?
  • Illuminations: One Light Wonder Sometimes you only have one available light. Other times, you chose to use one light for effect. It's not what, but how you use it that makes your video shine.
  • Quick Focus
  • Jargon: Lighting Terms Lighting Terms