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I don’t think you are overthinking it but only you can say for sure! The lamp you use is preferably one that has a even spread rather than a hot spot and an uneven surround . I would use a Fresnel when in close and required some control of the beam size and intensity but an open face light when I was after something more substantial from further away. Personally, I do not like using a par as a bounce light.
They are quite uneven in their beam shape and a single unit is not as efficient as a 650 Red Head or a 2K Blonde. If you use multiple par bulbs in a 6 or 9 light you will struggle for control. Now, a Maxi into a 12′ x 12′ can work but that is when you are working at a larger scale. I have bounced a Dino and a Wendy light on a large set.
Okay then, is there any situation where a par light would be the best option? Reason I ask is the light I’m considering owning has the best output with a par reflector by a long shot but is there a way to make the uneven beam usable so I don’t feel like I have to switch out for the fresnel and compromising on output?
You should just experiment with the par light as you seem comfortable with it. We all have different ways of working so it is not for me, or anyone else, to say what is ‘best’. I have used par lamps to bounce and as a direct source, whether through diffusion or simply raw so its not that I am against the lamp I just have my own preferences in certain situations.
Hi Roger,
I’ve seen a lot of behind-the-scenes footage of your cove lighting on medium shots but I did’t quite understand how you achieve the same effect on wide shots on the same scene. Do you simply put the light further and add bottomers and toppers? And wouldnt that make the foreground look overly illuminated?
I also have a second question nowadays, with LED lights, would you consider using two LED fixtures in a cove shape without egg crates to achieve the same result?
I have used an array of LED panels to produce a similar effect to a cove bounce source. Depends on the situation whether it is a preferred approach. It is never quite the same, just as a series of lamps projected through diffusion is different again. The differences may be subtle but light bounced of a white muslin cloth is softer and more evenly spread.
If I was shooting a scene and lighting it with a cove bounce source I would set for the wider shot first. I would only move the source in if I felt a need to soften the light on the subject a little more for a closer shot. A softer look on a closer shot seems quite natural to me and is more easily to accept than the reverse.
Master Roger. Recently I shot a Scene where I lit my wide shot using muslin bounce using 4 Sky panels and I flagged it down for controlling the spills on the walls but still ended up losing the over all contrast of the shot. But close up looked good. I tried multiple times & ways to bounce light my wides but still losing my contrast.
And one more question is. The Open face & 650’s are warm sources. What should I do if I need day light temp. Other than gelling the tungsten sources
Thanks Master.
HMIs are an alternative solution. And there are now plenty of Fresnel style LED lights that can run at a daylight setting, a tungsten setting or anywhere in between. Yes, you can gel a tungsten source but, if you mix it with other sources, the color never seems quite right to me.
Thanks Master. I recently shot a scene where i lit my wides with lights through diffusion may be double diffused for soft light & shadows. For close ups & mid shots i did bounce through muslin. The softness & wrapping of light is very smooth in bounce but while cutting through wides i can clearly the variation in lighting & contrast. I Was not happy with my work. Can You share some insights for lighting up the wide shots through bounce lighting & still not losing the over all contrast.
Thanks master.
Thanks Master. I recently shot a scene where i lit my wides with lights through diffusion may be double diffused for soft light & shadows. For close ups & mid shots i did bounce through muslin. The softness & wrapping of light is very smooth in bounce but while cutting through wides i can clearly the variation in lighting & contrast. I Was not happy with my work. Can You share some insights for lighting up the wide shots through bounce lighting & still not losing the over all contrast. Thanks master.
I also really want to know the answer to this question! Master Roger! Do you still use bounce lighting in wide shots, but replace it with a harder transmission?
Hi Roger, I’m interested in your approach to cove lighting for both motivated and ambient sources. When using cove lighting to shape a space, how do you decide on the placement, diffusion, and intensity to maintain naturalism while still sculpting depth? Do you favor certain types of fixtures or color temperatures to avoid flatness or overexposure, especially when balancing with practicals or motivated key sources?”
-Shanku
As a general rule:
1. You light the wide shots first to establish the look (color, contrast, and angle) of the lighting. This means it’s a judgement call based on your taste and experience as to how far you can later alter the light for the tighter shots.
2. If the tighter shot is along the same axis as the wider one, just a tighter view, you often adjust the wide-shot lighting, not re-light from scratch. For one reason, even if you adjust the lighting of the subject, you don’t want to have to re-light the background… so if both the subject and the background was lit with the same light source, you try and find a way of adjusting the foreground without changing the background.
Ultimately there is always a time element to lighting, which is why you plan your wide-shot lighting with how you will get into your close-ups. Lighting a tight shot by itself is often easier than lighting a wide shot. But when you get around to lighting the close-up, you are running out of time (plus if the actors have reached a certain momentum in the performance, you don’t want to kill it by taking too much time lighting the coverage) so you have to have a plan from the start for a simple way of adjusting the wider-shot lighting if you want to soften it further but maintain the same f-stop.
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