Hi hi, Luke. I totally dig your videos. It would be cool to maybe have some progress photos to show what the shot looks like as you progressively add each element. But if not, I get it, keep doing your great thang!
great video. I was wandering could you tell us more about putting 2 rags on top of eachother. Do you need space between them? How do you know when the second rag will make a difference? Is it only cutting output from the source? thanks again
In this case the layering probably did very little to change the quality of the light and like you say was more about taking down the intensity because the size did not change. In this case, separating the two diffs would not have made any real difference.
Great stuff as always Luke. Have you ever done anything showing dots and fingers for tabletop work? If not and you happen to have that kind of shoot coming up it woud be great to see.
Thank you! One question - is the "book light" that much different from just diffusing the light pointing directly at the talent (perhaps you could use thicker or more diffusing to match a similar look?) I'm wondering the main advantages of it, or purpose of it? Thank you so much, Mr. Seerveld, you're a valuable mentor to so many!
Hi Mark, it's a good question:-) I think the idea is that the starting quality of the light is that much softer if you start with a bounce. Your question still stands, so maybe we'll have to have a shootout...
I have started learning the booklight setup. One thing that surprised me is how little power it takes for a super bright light to shine thru double diffusion. I have a Godox UL150, and at first I thought I would need a 300d for enough light, but I turn the 150 down to 30% and thats plenty. What is the usual power setting for your key light?
It totally depends what other elements you are working with. It’s not really possible to make a generalization that will cover all scenarios. Most often, a 150 watt Fixture is not enough.
The chair was pretty low, if I remember correctly, so I didn’t want the key to be too tall. A low boy combo could have worked, but having the head low gave a little longer throw to the bounce... something like that was probably the thinking behind it:) Book lights definitely take up room and we were trying to keep our footprint somewhat more confined so as not to mess too much with the regular walkways.
i just discovered your series. So great! excellent job! Thanks for sharing your knowledge. Can you please type the name of the light you bounced into the 8x8 ultrabounce? I can-t understand it clearly in the video. Thanks again!
Do you mind me asking: why build a huuuuge lighting setup, when you block 3/4 of it in the end? Am I missing something or would a much smaller setup (like a large softbox with good internal diffusion) have a comparable result?
It’s all relative… A book light offers the potential of another step of light scattering that can translate into softness. Direct light, no matter how many times you break it, is just going to be subtly different than indirect light. There are many different ways to get to a similar result, but depending on your preferences and what you have on hand in terms of time, budget, gear, and personnel you have the option to play. Exploring how light falls and wraps, caresses or pops is all part of the joy of lighting. 😀
Hi Robert, I prefer grids because they tend to be less specular, I have them in 1/4, 1/2, full, and silent variants... but before we had grids we used poly and China silks all the time:-)
Yes. Of course one has to be mindful of what else might be on the circuit you choose. Newer buildings or buildings that have been upgraded tend to have 20 Amp circuits available. It’s a bonus when the outlets are labeled with the circuit and panel box where the breaker for that circuit can be found. Asking to speak to the electrical facilities person is also a good idea so that they are aware that you need larger amounts of power and can often help to insure you are spreading your load between separate circuits, especially if the outlets are not labeled.
Hi A X1, The answer to that depends on a lot of different factors! What kind of lighting are you doing most often and in what kinds of environments? Do you need to travel on airplanes or will it just be packed into a vehicle? Will you be renting to others or only working the gear yourself? My hunch is if you're not constantly flying you'll want to stock up on just as much grip gear as lighting. Lighting gear makes the money, but grip gear is what sets you apart from amateur hour.
Ok it makes sense but lets put it this way: which lights make the most money? And which grips would you suggest that make a difference from an amateur look? We're speaking of corporate videos, no flying, no renting. Gear that make you stand out from the amateurs crowd and allow to start a business in this field.
I would be interested :) We have to travel a lot and sometimes fly with our equipment. Often we take 3 1x1 bicolor LEDs with diffusers and it is "ok" but I would be interested what you think of a good solution.
+3M2 Filmproduktion, Usually when flying the issue is what kind of grip gear do you bring. Is it possible to pick up gear where you are going or have it delivered vs needing to be self-contained with all your own gear. There is no one perfect way for any one shoot, but I can do an episode where I share some packages I've put together in the past.
Hi Sander. @Luke Seerveld. Can I add something here? Isn't everything relative? It is all about ratios. Teoretically, a 120d, if bounced, can cover the same area as an M18, given, as Luke said, that the general light levels in the room are lower than your key (I said area, not output, mind you). You don't need a high output for exposure if you shoot say, on a sony A7S II, where you have a base ISO of 1600 or something. (If you are on a low budget and a bit of grain or color banding is a non issue, you could use higher, non-native ISOs to get exposure.) But if the practical lights in your scene are at the same level as the 120d bounced, you don't have a key. (Because there is no ratio between your key and the rest of the lighting in the scene. The game would then be to reduce the output from the practicals, windows, etc...
Absolutely spot on. You can light with candles, for instance, as long as all the other variables allow for that level of illumination... and it works for the story your trying to tell:)
Here’s a link to an answer Art Adams gave a few years back: www.google.com/amp/s/amp.reddit.com/r/cinematography/comments/2hulcu/does_anyone_know_of_a_cheat_sheet_or_a_guide_to/ No doubt there is a qualitative and quantitative difference between full and half, but the determining factor for me is usually how much softness I can get away with give the lighting instruments at hand, as well as distance from talent, how much cutting I can get away with, that sort of thing. At this point in my career, I start with a diffusion I think will work and then go thicker or lighter, in consultation with the DP, if where we started isn’t quite the ticket. I know that’s probably not very helpful... if fact, when I think about it, I have a bunch of go to and available diffusion’s in different sized frames and kind of feel my way through the choices. My goal for skin is usually as big and soft as possible, but that’s not always true, of course:)
Hi Luke, in a room like that, with windows letting in sunlight, would 2x 2k open face lights in the same book light configuration be enough to get the same light output as that M18 or is it not even a close game?
Hi David, Another thing you would need to consider is color balance. If you want to keep the key and ambient somewhat similar you'll probably want to blue up the tungsten, which would cut down the output. A Full CTB might be two much correction even if that's what the meter says. Half blue might be enough depending on skin tone and what mix you feel comfortable with. Each camera deals with highlights differently too, so some blown out windows, if in shot, may look more or less pleasing. Try it out and report back!
Hi Luke, I know this is an older video. This might be a dumb question, but can I ask why you'd use an m18 over something with less light like an m8 etc? Is there a reason why you'd need as much light as an m18 as opposed to other lights to do a book light like that? I hope that makes sense. Thank you, I appreciate your videos a lot!
Hi Logan, It depends on a number of things, such as: load in, avail light, desired look, working unit choice, budget, crew size, avail power... not necessarily in that order. Working unit choice/budget: Let’s say you have a set up during the day that requires an M18. Your next set up may only require an M8, but if the budget is tight you know the M18 “has already been paid for” so you just stick with it and use a denser diff or add wire:-) Loadin/crew size: If you’re asked to minimize your footprint or you won’t be able to go down to the truck after you load in or it’s just you, so whatever you bring you’ll have to move from set up to set up... all these considerations affect the choice of unit too. Hope that helps!
Thanks for the diagram! Great to see you taking on the advice of viewers, very refreshing!
👍
Hi Luke, always a pleasure to hear your hints. Simple stuff but very very useful! Thanks for taking the time!
Hi Luke, these videos are always a pleasure! Yours is the only channel I regularly check, thanks for the videos!
Hi Akos, I'm glad you find them worth your time. Thank you for the kind words.
Luke this is Pablo from Mexico, thank you so much, great help all the information.
Hi Pablo! I'm glad you find the information helpful.
great luke. thanks. loved that you also explained your flag setup. most people don't share this.
Hi Elias, Yes! Taking away light is often as important to a scene as adding light. Thank you for the note.
Hi hi, Luke. I totally dig your videos. It would be cool to maybe have some progress photos to show what the shot looks like as you progressively add each element. But if not, I get it, keep doing your great thang!
Yup, not always possible in the heat of the moment, but good idea!
@@meetthegaffer The drawing most certainly helped.
Great content as always Luke!! Also thank you for responding to my questions about gaffer and grip questions 👍🏽👍🏽 joe the photo assistant haha
Hi Luke. It was nice meeting you at Cine Gear! (I'm the one from LA with short spiky hair and glasses...)
Enjoyed this episode, as always!!
Hi Hiro! Friend me on FB/Messenger and I'll send you the pic.
I just sent you a friend request on FB!
This is great
great video. I was wandering could you tell us more about putting 2 rags on top of eachother. Do you need space between them? How do you know when the second rag will make a difference? Is it only cutting output from the source? thanks again
In this case the layering probably did very little to change the quality of the light and like you say was more about taking down the intensity because the size did not change. In this case, separating the two diffs would not have made any real difference.
love your stuff, Luke
Amazing!
Great stuff as always Luke. Have you ever done anything showing dots and fingers for tabletop work? If not and you happen to have that kind of shoot coming up it woud be great to see.
Copy. It doesn’t come up in my work very often these days, but will keep your request in mind! Thank you.
Very useful! Thank you Luke! :)
Thank you! One question - is the "book light" that much different from just diffusing the light pointing directly at the talent (perhaps you could use thicker or more diffusing to match a similar look?) I'm wondering the main advantages of it, or purpose of it? Thank you so much, Mr. Seerveld, you're a valuable mentor to so many!
Hi Mark, it's a good question:-) I think the idea is that the starting quality of the light is that much softer if you start with a bounce. Your question still stands, so maybe we'll have to have a shootout...
I have started learning the booklight setup. One thing that surprised me is how little power it takes for a super bright light to shine thru double diffusion. I have a Godox UL150, and at first I thought I would need a 300d for enough light, but I turn the 150 down to 30% and thats plenty. What is the usual power setting for your key light?
It totally depends what other elements you are working with. It’s not really possible to make a generalization that will cover all scenarios. Most often, a 150 watt Fixture is not enough.
@@meetthegaffer Thanks for the info!
Great!!
Hey I don't know if you remember me, but I had the pleasure to meet you at CInegear on day 2!
Hi Matthew, I'm terrible with names, but are you from SF, LA, or San Diego?
No worries bro. Me too lol. Plus I know you probably had a bunch of people coming up to you all weekend. I'm from San Diego!
Right! Yes, I could send the pic... through FB?
Oh yeah definitely!!
Again, many thanks.
Luke, any particular reason the Arri M-18 was on a turtle mount? Was it good housekeeping, to keep the setup neat and unobstructive?
The chair was pretty low, if I remember correctly, so I didn’t want the key to be too tall. A low boy combo could have worked, but having the head low gave a little longer throw to the bounce... something like that was probably the thinking behind it:) Book lights definitely take up room and we were trying to keep our footprint somewhat more confined so as not to mess too much with the regular walkways.
Love the channel thanks
Hi cdevarona, Thanks for the love!
i just discovered your series. So great! excellent job! Thanks for sharing your knowledge. Can you please type the name of the light you bounced into the 8x8 ultrabounce? I can-t understand it clearly in the video. Thanks again!
Hi A X1, It was an Arri M18, which is an 1800 watt HMI. I'm sorry I was not more clear!
nice
Do you mind me asking: why build a huuuuge lighting setup, when you block 3/4 of it in the end? Am I missing something or would a much smaller setup (like a large softbox with good internal diffusion) have a comparable result?
It’s all relative… A book light offers the potential of another step of light scattering that can translate into softness. Direct light, no matter how many times you break it, is just going to be subtly different than indirect light. There are many different ways to get to a similar result, but depending on your preferences and what you have on hand in terms of time, budget, gear, and personnel you have the option to play. Exploring how light falls and wraps, caresses or pops is all part of the joy of lighting. 😀
Hi Luke, what are your feelings on silks vs grid for diffusion? Great video as always!
Hi Robert, I prefer grids because they tend to be less specular, I have them in 1/4, 1/2, full, and silent variants... but before we had grids we used poly and China silks all the time:-)
Nice!
Thanks for sharing!
One question: М18 can be just plugged into the local office socket without any generator power outside?
Yes. Of course one has to be mindful of what else might be on the circuit you choose. Newer buildings or buildings that have been upgraded tend to have 20 Amp circuits available. It’s a bonus when the outlets are labeled with the circuit and panel box where the breaker for that circuit can be found. Asking to speak to the electrical facilities person is also a good idea so that they are aware that you need larger amounts of power and can often help to insure you are spreading your load between separate circuits, especially if the outlets are not labeled.
hi luke, if you had 10,000 $ to invest in lights, which ones would you pick?
Hi A X1, The answer to that depends on a lot of different factors! What kind of lighting are you doing most often and in what kinds of environments? Do you need to travel on airplanes or will it just be packed into a vehicle? Will you be renting to others or only working the gear yourself? My hunch is if you're not constantly flying you'll want to stock up on just as much grip gear as lighting. Lighting gear makes the money, but grip gear is what sets you apart from amateur hour.
Ok it makes sense but lets put it this way: which lights make the most money? And which grips would you suggest that make a difference from an amateur look? We're speaking of corporate videos, no flying, no renting. Gear that make you stand out from the amateurs crowd and allow to start a business in this field.
What do you have so far? Maybe be we should take this offline... unless other people are interested?
I would be interested :) We have to travel a lot and sometimes fly with our equipment. Often we take 3 1x1 bicolor LEDs with diffusers and it is "ok" but I would be interested what you think of a good solution.
+3M2 Filmproduktion, Usually when flying the issue is what kind of grip gear do you bring. Is it possible to pick up gear where you are going or have it delivered vs needing to be self-contained with all your own gear. There is no one perfect way for any one shoot, but I can do an episode where I share some packages I've put together in the past.
Hi Luke, awesome channel! Just curious: would an Aputure 120D be powerful enough to create a book light?
Maybe if you are working at low light levels...
Hi Sander. @Luke Seerveld. Can I add something here? Isn't everything relative? It is all about ratios. Teoretically, a 120d, if bounced, can cover the same area as an M18, given, as Luke said, that the general light levels in the room are lower than your key (I said area, not output, mind you). You don't need a high output for exposure if you shoot say, on a sony A7S II, where you have a base ISO of 1600 or something. (If you are on a low budget and a bit of grain or color banding is a non issue, you could use higher, non-native ISOs to get exposure.)
But if the practical lights in your scene are at the same level as the 120d bounced, you don't have a key. (Because there is no ratio between your key and the rest of the lighting in the scene. The game would then be to reduce the output from the practicals, windows, etc...
Absolutely spot on. You can light with candles, for instance, as long as all the other variables allow for that level of illumination... and it works for the story your trying to tell:)
This might be a stupid question. What's the difference between half grid and full grid? Nice video btw!
Here’s a link to an answer Art Adams gave a few years back:
www.google.com/amp/s/amp.reddit.com/r/cinematography/comments/2hulcu/does_anyone_know_of_a_cheat_sheet_or_a_guide_to/
No doubt there is a qualitative and quantitative difference between full and half, but the determining factor for me is usually how much softness I can get away with give the lighting instruments at hand, as well as distance from talent, how much cutting I can get away with, that sort of thing. At this point in my career, I start with a diffusion I think will work and then go thicker or lighter, in consultation with the DP, if where we started isn’t quite the ticket. I know that’s probably not very helpful... if fact, when I think about it, I have a bunch of go to and available diffusion’s in different sized frames and kind of feel my way through the choices. My goal for skin is usually as big and soft as possible, but that’s not always true, of course:)
@@meetthegaffer Thanks for the reply! Very helpful (:
Hi Luke, in a room like that, with windows letting in sunlight, would 2x 2k open face lights in the same book light configuration be enough to get the same light output as that M18 or is it not even a close game?
Hi David, Another thing you would need to consider is color balance. If you want to keep the key and ambient somewhat similar you'll probably want to blue up the tungsten, which would cut down the output. A Full CTB might be two much correction even if that's what the meter says. Half blue might be enough depending on skin tone and what mix you feel comfortable with. Each camera deals with highlights differently too, so some blown out windows, if in shot, may look more or less pleasing. Try it out and report back!
Hi Luke,
I know this is an older video. This might be a dumb question, but can I ask why you'd use an m18 over something with less light like an m8 etc? Is there a reason why you'd need as much light as an m18 as opposed to other lights to do a book light like that? I hope that makes sense.
Thank you, I appreciate your videos a lot!
Hi Logan, It depends on a number of things, such as: load in, avail light, desired look, working unit choice, budget, crew size, avail power... not necessarily in that order.
Working unit choice/budget: Let’s say you have a set up during the day that requires an M18. Your next set up may only require an M8, but if the budget is tight you know the M18 “has already been paid for” so you just stick with it and use a denser diff or add wire:-)
Loadin/crew size: If you’re asked to minimize your footprint or you won’t be able to go down to the truck after you load in or it’s just you, so whatever you bring you’ll have to move from set up to set up... all these considerations affect the choice of unit too.
Hope that helps!
That does help. I've enjoyed your youtube channel a lot and I'm trying to recommend it to friends as well. Thank you very much!
Can I get a signed copy of the light plot?
With friends like you, who needs trolls?😂
Just found your channel; fantastic
Welcome, Andrew!
Tutorial from an actual seasoned gaffer in the bay area? SUBSCRIBING NOW!
Ha, ha!