Anyone interested in filmmaking should be watching these videos. Your content is better than some of the paid courses out there. Really appreciate you sharing your tips and tricks with us.
As a doc director/cinematographer I absolutely loved this video. You my friend are the Bob Ross of doc cinematography TH-cam videos. Totally drawn in, and on the journey with you the whole way.
I can tell that I have paid to learn many of this tips. Thanks for sharing your knowledge for free. It is in deed a masterclass and from now, I will consider you one lf my virtual mentors.
Matt this is such a cool build! I’ve done quite a bit of G&E work in the commercial world in Toronto and this is something I’m definitely going to add to my arsenal. Jaw-dropping efficiency by having it all on the one roller. Thanks for sharing!
I'm so pleased the algorithm pointed me in your direction Matt! what a brilliant resource for everyone.Thank you for sharing these videos, looking forward to seeing more.
I typically like using windows as a motivated practical light source, but this works. Your 6x6 soft box set up is a mind blower. I pretty much have all the ingredients to practice this set up and I can't wait to try it out! Thank you so much for these tips!
Most portable book light set up I've seen. I've already got just about all the gear shown in this video, so I may try this some time. I love that it uses 1 stand instead of 3 or 4.
Lo ve the way you shape the light, the fact that you can create a beautiful light on location is always the way to go, nothing can replace doing things right on location, on camera
The quality of light from your key light setup looks great, it’s the first time seeing a key light setup like this. Thanks so much for sharing, definitely one to add to the mind palace.
Although i find this lightning setup a bit overkill for a one man band on a budget, it introduces a lot of very good concepts of lighting that we either can learn from or remind us of details that is often overlooked.
Take what works and run with it! I use this setup all the time. Oftentimes it’s just me setting up, but we do have a budget. All depends on the look you’re going for. That’s what dictates the need in my mind.
@@matt-porwoll great content non the less 😊 I’ll gladly watch more of your vids. Also thanks for a very fast response. I don’t think you did too much, I just know that I’d most likely keep the weight of the equipment down for smaller projects. Your tips are gold!
Honestly with the amount of money on grip equipment and assistants you’d save you don’t need a budget for this kind of setup. The stand and the scrim Jim you could share grid if that’s an option where you live and you can sub the fabrics for white sheets or panda film and cheap shower curtains for diffusion, double them for stronger effect. The best part of this job is typically using cheap household in the moment solutions to problems you must solve. That’s all filmmaking is. No matter the budget and crew size.
Funnily this is a classic way of lighting wide night exteriors. You build a 20x20 version this box with a couple of "walls" of diffusion and the rest bounce material and blast huge lights from under. For those really looking for cheap bounce options look for "panda film". It's basically a poly bounce used for growing things but it's much cheaper than ultra bounce or proper "film" fabrics and basically the same thing. Even get a black side for negative fills so it's super versatile. Diffussion is really a subjective preference but nothing has the magical soft glow feeling of old Hollywood like grid cloth. People like Chivo and Deakins used to be known for doing double grids where you have a lower grade like a smaller frame quarter grid closer to the source then a larger, heavier grade about a foot or two in front of the first. Super soft and glowy 'natural' light. Thats why Deakins and Richardson and a lot of old school guys prefered cheap concert PAR lights that were all about the high output and perfect for bouncing. Now with LEDs being much softer than old tungsten or HMIs, it becomes more about shaping and taking away light as much as anything. Great video!
Wow, this video is incredibly valuable. Thank you for sharing such informative and engaging content! I also appreciate that you included a link to the gear in the description. That's really thoughtful.
I don’t know how or why I was introduced to your video, but I am so glad I did, without letting the video length scare me off. This was one of the most informative and inspiring videos that I have seen in a while when it comes to a subject I thought I already knew a lot about. Thank you for sharing your Methods and techniques! Can’t wait to possibly try some of these!
As a cinematographer who's done One Man Band setups for years, framing up a shot w/o anyone else in the space can be a challenge. Where did you that that handsome mannequin to place in that chair? I know it's very helpful to actually frame with something specific standing in.
Matt....100% agreed on hair/edge lights. I'm not a fan of them either! I'm always telling my crew we don't need a damn hair light because there's already contrast between the subject and the background and etc. I'll sub just because you said that. LOL!
Great content Matt. Really interesting use of a modular system I have never seen. I thought it was also interesting how you didn’t position the key to the left of camera to mimic the ambient light position.
My general thinking is with windows behind the subject, any placement of a key light is arbitrarily wrapping it onto the subject - especially since I wasn’t drastically raking the windows. So the key can be coming from another window in the room. Certainly things to think about, while also factoring in where you can actually place the light. But I think if I were to set up the frame at a more drastic angle to the window, I would key from the other side. So be sure to look out for the coming videos where I do exactly that!
Thanks for coming back to me Matt. Excited to see future content. I’m always on the look out for good cinematography content that delves a little deeper into the lighting of spaces so it’s great to add another channel to my list!
You typically want the key light coming from the far side, makes for more pleasant wrap and is slimming for most faces, plus you can control how dramatic you feel by how contrasty the roll off you actually see because it’s facing the camera. The “motivation” is a similar sized window to camera right. You don’t wanna get too hung up on “where is it coming from”, mostly you want talent to look good and then light the set around them. Usually we want to shoot against windows because they add depth to background which 90% of the time makes shots more dynamic and interesting. Also having bright points behind talent opposite to the key side always adds a touch of separation and contrast even if it’s “unmotivated” or unnatural for the scene. You’re just separating talent from the background trying to create depth.
My first time seeing such setup. Everything on a rolling stand. At 22:00, when you sat down, you took off your glasses. Would also love to see how to set up interviews with people with glasses. You probably need a new mannequin 😂 Thanks again for the valuable video
Having a subject with glasses with a key this large will be the same setup, only with a little more tweaking. The goal here is to show some techniques that get you a certain quality of light. Maybe when I have more resources to have people to sit in, other than my handy, albeit super white, stand-in, I can cover some more details!
I don’t normally use a light meter, unless I’m setting up an interview look that needs to be duplicated (like the HBO series “Tiger”). When I do that, I just measure the key, the fill and the various parts of the background so I can dial them in as close as possible. But even then, I still use screen grabs that I can A/B.
The flagging of the light hitting the shirt is interesting as I feel like this would be very easily achievable in post production and would then save money in gear, you wouldn’t have to bring those extra bits and pieces and would save time on set (if those things are concern) Do you think it’s still worth going to that extra effort to make those small adjustments in camera as opposed to in the colour correction/grade?
I never think it’s a good idea to hope you can fix something in post. Setting a simple flag to fix in camera is more time saving in my opinion. Especially when you’re needing to isolate something like the shirt from the background. And without detailed notes to the colorist, there’s a high likelihood it won’t get fixed…
Wow! Just discovered this channel (by the algorithm I think) and your content is amazing! Have a question, what happens when the talent has glasses with this setting?
Glad you found my channel! Having a subject with glasses with a key this large will be the same setup, only with a little more tweaking. Might need to wrap the key a little more to the side, flag where and what you can, even add some gaff tape to their glasses frames so they tilt down a bit when sitting on their ears. Depending on the subject, I'll also ask them if they are comfortable without the glasses on as well. All depends on how much time and flexibility you have with your subjects.
Thanks for your comment. In the lighting that I do, it’s mainly for interviews, so this is the way I’ll use a net. But anywhere you want to slow down the light without affecting the softness, a net is the way to go. Think of it as burning and dodging in post, but without affecting the entire image. You can really tweak the levels of any object with a net.
Thanks for this Matt, I loved you comment at the end about how it's a subjective thing and how what appeals to one person may not to another. I really wish you had. amodel sitting in because that smooth-faced dummy became annoying! It would alaso allow you to talk more about what suits different people's faces, hair, glasses and clothing in the environment as well what the effect of having the subject's eyeline close to further to one side of the camera. The frame you set up suggested you were going to have them look a little off to the right of camera. Hope you get some more subscribers and can afford a model or rope in a friend!
Solid question! And a tricky one indeed that I haven’t found myself in. But, the main concerns to tackle are contrast ratios and dappled light. So it all depends on how much gear you can get out there. Bare minimum, a 6x or 8x heavy diffusion you can fly over talent. That’ll control the dappled light falling on them. And then whatever bright daylight unit you can get in there to act as a key to come close to balancing the highlights in the forest background. Hopefully the day lands on an overcast day that’ll make your life a lot easier!
@@matt-porwoll Thanks, Matt! I successfully backlit the subject by scheduling the interview in the morning. Traveling by air and shooting solo in a public space limited my options. Next time, I'll bring a negative fill to add contrast to the face. I'll keep you updated on any future learnings. Hope you're doing well!
Great Video again! I do like the versatility of the westcott system and your idea to put the frame on top! Unfortunately all your gear is hard to find in Europe... What kind of 17 Inch Monitor are you using? Any recommendation? Thank you ;)
I’m sorry this stuff is hard to find for you! Hopefully they’ll hear the message! For the monitor, I use the SmallHD 1703, but sadly they don’t make it anymore. The Sony LMD-A170 (LCD) and Sony PVM-A170 (OLED) are probably the industry standards on set. But generally, I highly recommend SmallHD of any kind.
Great info and I appreciate explaining the overall workflow step by step. If you don't mind, do you always use a 5600K light inside or do you adjust temp? What's your thought process in terms of BiColor light vs adding filters? Thanks :)
My use of a dedicated daylight vs bi-color all depends on the setup and the amount of light I'm trying to balance to. As I talk about in the video, I'm using the 600D because it's brighter than the bi-color version. And when I'n trying to balance to a window (so need 5600K), I'll go with a daylight-dedicated light. But if I'm shooting something like the 3rd video of the series, I don't need that kind of output and want to shoot in tungsten, so I'll use my 300X (bi-color). As far as adding filters, I haven't had to do that since working with traditional tungsten or HMIs. You can certainly do it, but you will have better output using a bi-color or RGB light over a gel.
Super good video, very helpful. Curious as to why you keyed from camera right instead of camera left? it seems like, besides space constrictions, it might look more natural keying from the opposite side- I think its looking a bit lit coming from camera right.
Glad you found the video helpful! With the window behind the subject and not raking (like in the Book Light setup video), there is no true motivation for the key, so it would be coming from an unseen "window" regardless. The placement of the subject in frame dictates the placement of the key - especially if you're using multiple cameras. So in this instance, I feel keying from the left would feel far more unnatural. But these kinds of decisions all come down to the look you're going for!
It seemed like the camera left side of the mannequin was naturally much brighter prior to the turning on the key- would be cool to see a comparison between the two. Super cool space too
I definitely find the 600d is needed when competing with windows. If not a 1200d! Since I like to bounce & diffuse, that eats up a lot of light. There's no way I can compete with a smaller unit...
Matt, thank you. Your content is top-notch. It's so valuable to see you think through a space. How much time do you allocate for load-in and set-up? I'm often shooting solo and find it overwhelming to do sound, camera, and lighting while also chatting with the talent. I'd love to see how you handle the logistics of a real-world shoot.
I normally ask for 3 hours from call to roll. This gives me enough time to load in, build and tweak. If it’s multiple cameras and I’m doing sound, I’d love to have more time…
I also try to ask the talent to get comfortable and grab a coffee or something so I can focus on getting setup :) The talent chat while building can be a real time-suck!
@@matt-porwoll Three hours sounds dreamy! I once had a doc shoot where I set up lights, camera, sound, then did the interview, and then broke down and skedaddled ... all in 70 minutes total. Nerve-wracking. But that's the time I had. I need to have the confidence to ask for more time, clearly. :)
Hi Matt and thanks for yet another content-rich video. I wonder how much of this gear you carry in different scenarios. I mean, my impression is that it is possible to carry all this this to known and predicted environment, or a set shoot. But my guess is that whenever the situation is of a more unpredictable and changing nature, it is not possible to carry, let alone to mount all of this equipment. What would be your most basic lightning kit, that follows you to 99% of your shooting scenarios?
Thanks! Obviously every project and every shoot is different, with their own set of challenges, but I am almost always traveling with everything I have in my lighting kit when interviews are scheduled. It's rare that I know where we'll shoot, so I need the options. If I'm shooting a pure verite film, it's totally different. We won't shoot a lot of interviews during a normal day, so that's really just my camera kit. But when an interview does get scheduled, it all comes.
@@matt-porwoll Thanks very much. That’s a very illustrative answer. It’s a pleasure to listen to you guys who understand and can your line of work in this manner
Matt, this setup is awesome! I always avoid book lights because of the amount of extra grip involved, spill, etc. this solves all that! Do you ever use an egg crate on the front to control spill or just flag as needed?
It all depends on whether I use an egg crate or not. Generally, I don’t and just flag off what I need because I often catch a piece of the light in reflections of glasses. Having an egg crate would make those reflections quite unnatural and obvious. But for some studio builds, the egg crate helps a lot to restrict its ambience. So all depends I guess!
Incredible breakdown! What is your experience with taking something like the nova p600c or equivalent panel light through a 2 stop grid diffusion of the same size as this setup? Similar softness or has the book light always worked better for you?
I had read that comment. Currently I am using a 300d II into an intellytech fast frame (5.5x6ish) with bounce material back through another fast frame with 1/2stop diffusion. I definitely lose a lot of light but get a soft source. If I setup a 6x6 with thicker diffusion and start with a much softer source (nova, skypanel, etc) and move the light back enough to fill the frame, I was curious if that would be just as soft or softer.
There are certainly a lot of ways to do it! I like to contain the spill in the space and could do this with an UltraBounce skirt like you mentioned, or flag the sides, or use the silver/whites like I did. It’s all about options, right?
😮. I see how this is another option for creating a large soft source. I love the setup is on one stand. From my experience, I desire to create smaller one stand lighting setups. This is partially why I’m interested in CRLS. I’m curious about your setup in a smaller spaces. Any thoughts on this?
Awesome! I think you could build a frame like that for really cheap for the budget folks like me :D It's not that much bigger than a normal booklight setup, right?
If there's a will theres a way, so would love to see what you come up with! There's no standard size for a "book light," only the concept of diffusing a bounced source. So you can make them as big or as small as you need!
I’d be curious to look at these side by side as well. Looking at the photometrics of the Intellytech Mega-6 3.0, I would get a starting exposure of f/11 & 2/3 at ISO 800 (292 fc at 6’). This basically matches what I got out of the 6x soft box from the video. But the 600d was at 76% intensity and would be a softer source. So add a layer of diffusion to the Mega-6, you’re losing minimum a stop. Plus, the light won’t be as large, so the falloff would be more intense. So it would certainly be a good option for a smaller space where you aren’t competing with a window. I’d love to get my hands on one though and see how it handles in a real-world environment!
@@matt-porwoll I have been experimenting with a large Aperture lantern as a keylight and it seems to give a nice soft look and that's with a 60-watt light. I had brought it to a couple of interviews, but the rooms were too small, and didn't want to worry about spillage. Producers only give me 15 mins to make it look like 60 Minutes...lol
The space between the source and the diff is key in the soft look. Lite cloths are large sources, but slim, so the space between the emitters and the diff is minimal. There's really no substitute for having space between the source and the diff
8.17 - starts building a softbox and it all goes wrong.. why not hang white on your black solid (or use solid white!) and just bash off of that, 500 reasons that that is better! home in time for dinner. Also unusual to put the key so it is not 'wrapping' the window. Some of those 500 reasons? larger softer source, more natural better catchlights better for other camera angle, space for talent ingress, space for director inverse squarer law will keep waving hands less hot.
19.16 the hot shirt.. it is not 'equal exposure' its a stop more - try a light meter to find out.. here due the the inverse sqare law the shirt is too close to the box and is getting .. predictably hot. Any waving hands will be worse. Now you see the problem of a close in softbox, you check mated yourself. Waste more talent and director time clogging up the set with some more dumb kit, the scrim.
As you point out in your comments, there are plenty of ways to tackle a challenge. And within those challenges, there are many ways to solve it. Certainly all good points, though! Many of your points I’ve already addressed in other’s comments, so please check those out as well. You can certainly light this with just a large bounce, like you mentioned. For my taste, that won’t produce a soft enough source at the size. So would want to diffuse that bounce. And then will need to control the spill from that bounce. In the end, we have the same sized source with just more grip (never a fan of that!)
@@matt-porwoll Indeed there are many ways to tackle a challenge - i just feel that with less kit and more speed you may have got a more natural look in THIS room. Most of all Im suggesting only get the toys from the van if you need them (or others should even feel free to start a career with three pony clamps and a sheet). Im not suggesting owning a soft box or 6.6 is a bad thing. It is not. I dont see how a large bounce will not be a soft source.. well its too technical for YT comments.. indeed a 6foot source 10 foot back is 'harder' than a six foot source 3 foot back, but a 12 foot source (two sheets hung up) will be as soft as the smaller closer source and have less inverse square/hot spots and work for more camera angles - but you need more power.. and this is where the ap600 comes in vs previously affordable lights and is a win. Yes spill is a consideration. But your scene is so dark on the right some spill may have helped. Nice to watch :)
Matt, I don't know why you're doing these, but they are a goldmine. Thanks for opening up your bag of tricks for the rest of us to see.
Thank you so much! I’m glad it’s been helpful!
I can only agree with this. Thank you very much Matt. 🙏
I agree this channel is a masterclass
Anyone interested in filmmaking should be watching these videos. Your content is better than some of the paid courses out there. Really appreciate you sharing your tips and tricks with us.
Thank you!
As a doc director/cinematographer I absolutely loved this video. You my friend are the Bob Ross of doc cinematography TH-cam videos. Totally drawn in, and on the journey with you the whole way.
You made my day with this comment! Thank you!
You should have a lot more subscribers, man. This is top notch lighting info.
I appreciate that!
I can tell that I have paid to learn many of this tips. Thanks for sharing your knowledge for free. It is in deed a masterclass and from now, I will consider you one lf my virtual mentors.
Did not skip even a second of this video. This is really good teaching. Subbed you with Bell !
I watch a lot of these and they often feel like reminders of tips or tricks I’ve used or been exposed to before. This was gold!
Awesome, thanks!
What a great breakdown. Very clear. Full or information without feeling bloated or overwhelming. Thank you for putting this together!
Glad it was helpful!
Matt this is such a cool build! I’ve done quite a bit of G&E work in the commercial world in Toronto and this is something I’m definitely going to add to my arsenal. Jaw-dropping efficiency by having it all on the one roller. Thanks for sharing!
Thank you! I’m all about efficiency, especially when doing it myself!
I'm so pleased the algorithm pointed me in your direction Matt! what a brilliant resource for everyone.Thank you for sharing these videos, looking forward to seeing more.
Welcome aboard!
I typically like using windows as a motivated practical light source, but this works. Your 6x6 soft box set up is a mind blower. I pretty much have all the ingredients to practice this set up and I can't wait to try it out! Thank you so much for these tips!
Awesome! Let me know how it works out!
Most portable book light set up I've seen. I've already got just about all the gear shown in this video, so I may try this some time. I love that it uses 1 stand instead of 3 or 4.
Awesome! Let me know how it works for you!
Love the structure of this tutorial thank you. Plus that single stand solution is rad!
Glad you like it!
Nice! Thanks for the video. It helps to see how other DPs set up an interview.
Glad it was helpful!
Lo ve the way you shape the light, the fact that you can create a beautiful light on location is always the way to go, nothing can replace doing things right on location, on camera
It’s the only way!
Excellent tutorial. Absolutely brilliant.
This is the best tutorial hands down!
Amazing, thank you!
Soon as a saw a thumbnail for this video I knew what it was doing to give me and it gave me even more, thank you so much 🫶🏿🫡
That’s amazing, glad you found it helpful!
Never seen anyone use a 6x6 to create a book light like that! thank you so much for showing us your process!
You’re welcome! After building my 6x book lights with a bunch of stands, I finally found this to be an easier option :)
Genius simple book light solution! 🔥
Thanks! I love it :)
Wow, awesome video. I don't do videos but this is so helpful.
Thanks Matt for creating the best channel on TH-cam! Look forward to each post. Legend!
My pleasure!
The quality of light from your key light setup looks great, it’s the first time seeing a key light setup like this. Thanks so much for sharing, definitely one to add to the mind palace.
Glad it was helpful!
Brilliant, so many takeaways from these videos. Thanks again for sharing your knowledge.
You’re so welcome!
I like your Mitsubishi wall-mount unit!!!
I’m a hobby landscape photographer, but light is light great video. The BTS and gear are wonderful well done!
Thank you!
Although i find this lightning setup a bit overkill for a one man band on a budget, it introduces a lot of very good concepts of lighting that we either can learn from or remind us of details that is often overlooked.
Take what works and run with it! I use this setup all the time. Oftentimes it’s just me setting up, but we do have a budget. All depends on the look you’re going for. That’s what dictates the need in my mind.
@@matt-porwoll great content non the less 😊 I’ll gladly watch more of your vids. Also thanks for a very fast response. I don’t think you did too much, I just know that I’d most likely keep the weight of the equipment down for smaller projects. Your tips are gold!
Honestly with the amount of money on grip equipment and assistants you’d save you don’t need a budget for this kind of setup. The stand and the scrim Jim you could share grid if that’s an option where you live and you can sub the fabrics for white sheets or panda film and cheap shower curtains for diffusion, double them for stronger effect.
The best part of this job is typically using cheap household in the moment solutions to problems you must solve. That’s all filmmaking is. No matter the budget and crew size.
So glad I came across this channel!!
Glad you're here!
Love the use of your scrim. Brilliant idea!
Thanks!
Funnily this is a classic way of lighting wide night exteriors. You build a 20x20 version this box with a couple of "walls" of diffusion and the rest bounce material and blast huge lights from under.
For those really looking for cheap bounce options look for "panda film". It's basically a poly bounce used for growing things but it's much cheaper than ultra bounce or proper "film" fabrics and basically the same thing. Even get a black side for negative fills so it's super versatile.
Diffussion is really a subjective preference but nothing has the magical soft glow feeling of old Hollywood like grid cloth. People like Chivo and Deakins used to be known for doing double grids where you have a lower grade like a smaller frame quarter grid closer to the source then a larger, heavier grade about a foot or two in front of the first. Super soft and glowy 'natural' light. Thats why Deakins and Richardson and a lot of old school guys prefered cheap concert PAR lights that were all about the high output and perfect for bouncing.
Now with LEDs being much softer than old tungsten or HMIs, it becomes more about shaping and taking away light as much as anything.
Great video!
Wow, this video is incredibly valuable. Thank you for sharing such informative and engaging content! I also appreciate that you included a link to the gear in the description. That's really thoughtful.
You're so welcome!
Just lovong this series. Thank you Matt.
Glad to hear it!
good looking interview!
Thank you!!
amazing video Matt !!
Thanks!!
I don’t know how or why I was introduced to your video, but I am so glad I did, without letting the video length scare me off. This was one of the most informative and inspiring videos that I have seen in a while when it comes to a subject I thought I already knew a lot about. Thank you for sharing your Methods and techniques! Can’t wait to possibly try some of these!
Thanks so much for your comment!
As a cinematographer who's done One Man Band setups for years, framing up a shot w/o anyone else in the space can be a challenge. Where did you that that handsome mannequin to place in that chair? I know it's very helpful to actually frame with something specific standing in.
Getting this guy has been a huge help making these videos! I added a link to him in the video description :)
Another cracking video - thank you Matt
Thanks again!
This was incredibly helpful, thank you
You're very welcome!
Thanks for teaching us 🙏
My pleasure!
09:39 this is brilliant!
Thanks!
this was a masterclass!!
Thank you so much!
this channel have to be in 1m subscriber right now
So helpful and insightful. Thank you!
Glad it was helpful!
Awesome video!! Thank you
Brilliant! Awesome content.
Thank you!
Great video! Thank you for the insight. It’s quite a gigantic setup compared to a typical softbox setup. Would love to see a comparison between both.
It’s a very different setup from a typical softbox. This produces a different quality of light as I break down in the video.
Matt....100% agreed on hair/edge lights. I'm not a fan of them either! I'm always telling my crew we don't need a damn hair light because there's already contrast between the subject and the background and etc. I'll sub just because you said that. LOL!
Ha! Love that!
Great content Matt. Really interesting use of a modular system I have never seen. I thought it was also interesting how you didn’t position the key to the left of camera to mimic the ambient light position.
I was thinking the same thing.
My general thinking is with windows behind the subject, any placement of a key light is arbitrarily wrapping it onto the subject - especially since I wasn’t drastically raking the windows. So the key can be coming from another window in the room. Certainly things to think about, while also factoring in where you can actually place the light. But I think if I were to set up the frame at a more drastic angle to the window, I would key from the other side. So be sure to look out for the coming videos where I do exactly that!
Thanks for coming back to me Matt. Excited to see future content. I’m always on the look out for good cinematography content that delves a little deeper into the lighting of spaces so it’s great to add another channel to my list!
Thanks so much! Glad to be on your list!
You typically want the key light coming from the far side, makes for more pleasant wrap and is slimming for most faces, plus you can control how dramatic you feel by how contrasty the roll off you actually see because it’s facing the camera.
The “motivation” is a similar sized window to camera right. You don’t wanna get too hung up on “where is it coming from”, mostly you want talent to look good and then light the set around them. Usually we want to shoot against windows because they add depth to background which 90% of the time makes shots more dynamic and interesting.
Also having bright points behind talent opposite to the key side always adds a touch of separation and contrast even if it’s “unmotivated” or unnatural for the scene. You’re just separating talent from the background trying to create depth.
My first time seeing such setup. Everything on a rolling stand.
At 22:00, when you sat down, you took off your glasses. Would also love to see how to set up interviews with people with glasses. You probably need a new mannequin 😂
Thanks again for the valuable video
Having a subject with glasses with a key this large will be the same setup, only with a little more tweaking. The goal here is to show some techniques that get you a certain quality of light. Maybe when I have more resources to have people to sit in, other than my handy, albeit super white, stand-in, I can cover some more details!
Thanks a lot for posting this sir
My pleasure!
Do you use a lightmeter? If yes, I would like to see your workflow on set.
Great video btw.
I don’t normally use a light meter, unless I’m setting up an interview look that needs to be duplicated (like the HBO series “Tiger”). When I do that, I just measure the key, the fill and the various parts of the background so I can dial them in as close as possible. But even then, I still use screen grabs that I can A/B.
@@matt-porwolldo you normally use false color?
I’ll use false color from time to time, but mainly use the waveform monitor.
The flagging of the light hitting the shirt is interesting as I feel like this would be very easily achievable in post production and would then save money in gear, you wouldn’t have to bring those extra bits and pieces and would save time on set (if those things are concern)
Do you think it’s still worth going to that extra effort to make those small adjustments in camera as opposed to in the colour correction/grade?
I never think it’s a good idea to hope you can fix something in post. Setting a simple flag to fix in camera is more time saving in my opinion. Especially when you’re needing to isolate something like the shirt from the background. And without detailed notes to the colorist, there’s a high likelihood it won’t get fixed…
Wow! Just discovered this channel (by the algorithm I think) and your content is amazing! Have a question, what happens when the talent has glasses with this setting?
Glad you found my channel! Having a subject with glasses with a key this large will be the same setup, only with a little more tweaking. Might need to wrap the key a little more to the side, flag where and what you can, even add some gaff tape to their glasses frames so they tilt down a bit when sitting on their ears. Depending on the subject, I'll also ask them if they are comfortable without the glasses on as well. All depends on how much time and flexibility you have with your subjects.
Matt, I would love to see more ways that you use a NET.
Thanks for your comment. In the lighting that I do, it’s mainly for interviews, so this is the way I’ll use a net. But anywhere you want to slow down the light without affecting the softness, a net is the way to go. Think of it as burning and dodging in post, but without affecting the entire image. You can really tweak the levels of any object with a net.
@@matt-porwoll Thanks for your reply. There’s any situation that you use a white to slow down the light instead a black net?
I’ve never come across a white net honestly. Not sure the advantage one way or another.
Thanks for this Matt, I loved you comment at the end about how it's a subjective thing and how what appeals to one person may not to another. I really wish you had. amodel sitting in because that smooth-faced dummy became annoying! It would alaso allow you to talk more about what suits different people's faces, hair, glasses and clothing in the environment as well what the effect of having the subject's eyeline close to further to one side of the camera. The frame you set up suggested you were going to have them look a little off to the right of camera. Hope you get some more subscribers and can afford a model or rope in a friend!
Hey Matt, if you happen to see this, what do you do for outdoor interviews in locations like the forest?
Solid question! And a tricky one indeed that I haven’t found myself in. But, the main concerns to tackle are contrast ratios and dappled light. So it all depends on how much gear you can get out there. Bare minimum, a 6x or 8x heavy diffusion you can fly over talent. That’ll control the dappled light falling on them. And then whatever bright daylight unit you can get in there to act as a key to come close to balancing the highlights in the forest background.
Hopefully the day lands on an overcast day that’ll make your life a lot easier!
@@matt-porwoll Thanks, Matt! I successfully backlit the subject by scheduling the interview in the morning. Traveling by air and shooting solo in a public space limited my options. Next time, I'll bring a negative fill to add contrast to the face. I'll keep you updated on any future learnings. Hope you're doing well!
Great Video again! I do like the versatility of the westcott system and your idea to put the frame on top! Unfortunately all your gear is hard to find in Europe... What kind of 17 Inch Monitor are you using? Any recommendation? Thank you ;)
I’m sorry this stuff is hard to find for you! Hopefully they’ll hear the message! For the monitor, I use the SmallHD 1703, but sadly they don’t make it anymore. The Sony LMD-A170 (LCD) and Sony PVM-A170 (OLED) are probably the industry standards on set. But generally, I highly recommend SmallHD of any kind.
Great info and I appreciate explaining the overall workflow step by step. If you don't mind, do you always use a 5600K light inside or do you adjust temp? What's your thought process in terms of BiColor light vs adding filters? Thanks :)
My use of a dedicated daylight vs bi-color all depends on the setup and the amount of light I'm trying to balance to. As I talk about in the video, I'm using the 600D because it's brighter than the bi-color version. And when I'n trying to balance to a window (so need 5600K), I'll go with a daylight-dedicated light. But if I'm shooting something like the 3rd video of the series, I don't need that kind of output and want to shoot in tungsten, so I'll use my 300X (bi-color).
As far as adding filters, I haven't had to do that since working with traditional tungsten or HMIs. You can certainly do it, but you will have better output using a bi-color or RGB light over a gel.
Super good video, very helpful. Curious as to why you keyed from camera right instead of camera left? it seems like, besides space constrictions, it might look more natural keying from the opposite side- I think its looking a bit lit coming from camera right.
Glad you found the video helpful! With the window behind the subject and not raking (like in the Book Light setup video), there is no true motivation for the key, so it would be coming from an unseen "window" regardless. The placement of the subject in frame dictates the placement of the key - especially if you're using multiple cameras. So in this instance, I feel keying from the left would feel far more unnatural. But these kinds of decisions all come down to the look you're going for!
It seemed like the camera left side of the mannequin was naturally much brighter prior to the turning on the key- would be cool to see a comparison between the two. Super cool space too
Amazing!
Thanks!
Great video! What is your 17 inch monitor, the brand? Thank you
Thanks! It’s a SmallHD 1703
thank you for this! can we have a link for the "friend"?
You're welcome! I just updated the video description to include a link to the mannequin. Glad you like him!
i feel like i should be paying for this info. this is so rich wow
Thanks for the light box idea. Got all the parts, but never built it like this on one stand. You find the 600D is needed when in front of a window?
I definitely find the 600d is needed when competing with windows. If not a 1200d! Since I like to bounce & diffuse, that eats up a lot of light. There's no way I can compete with a smaller unit...
Matt, thank you. Your content is top-notch. It's so valuable to see you think through a space. How much time do you allocate for load-in and set-up? I'm often shooting solo and find it overwhelming to do sound, camera, and lighting while also chatting with the talent. I'd love to see how you handle the logistics of a real-world shoot.
I normally ask for 3 hours from call to roll. This gives me enough time to load in, build and tweak. If it’s multiple cameras and I’m doing sound, I’d love to have more time…
I also try to ask the talent to get comfortable and grab a coffee or something so I can focus on getting setup :) The talent chat while building can be a real time-suck!
@@matt-porwoll Three hours sounds dreamy! I once had a doc shoot where I set up lights, camera, sound, then did the interview, and then broke down and skedaddled ... all in 70 minutes total. Nerve-wracking. But that's the time I had. I need to have the confidence to ask for more time, clearly. :)
Really cool
Thanks!
Hi Matt and thanks for yet another content-rich video. I wonder how much of this gear you carry in different scenarios. I mean, my impression is that it is possible to carry all this this to known and predicted environment, or a set shoot. But my guess is that whenever the situation is of a more unpredictable and changing nature, it is not possible to carry, let alone to mount all of this equipment. What would be your most basic lightning kit, that follows you to 99% of your shooting scenarios?
Thanks! Obviously every project and every shoot is different, with their own set of challenges, but I am almost always traveling with everything I have in my lighting kit when interviews are scheduled. It's rare that I know where we'll shoot, so I need the options. If I'm shooting a pure verite film, it's totally different. We won't shoot a lot of interviews during a normal day, so that's really just my camera kit. But when an interview does get scheduled, it all comes.
@@matt-porwoll Thanks very much. That’s a very illustrative answer. It’s a pleasure to listen to you guys who understand and can your line of work in this manner
So valuable! Thank you!
You're so welcome!
In a set-up like this how would you handle it if the subject wore glasses?
Thanks for your question. I talked about this in a few of the comments, so be sure to check those out.
Matt, would you share the name/model of your field monitor?
Hey, it’s a SmallHD 1703
Matt, this setup is awesome! I always avoid book lights because of the amount of extra grip involved, spill, etc. this solves all that! Do you ever use an egg crate on the front to control spill or just flag as needed?
It all depends on whether I use an egg crate or not. Generally, I don’t and just flag off what I need because I often catch a piece of the light in reflections of glasses. Having an egg crate would make those reflections quite unnatural and obvious. But for some studio builds, the egg crate helps a lot to restrict its ambience. So all depends I guess!
@@matt-porwollthanks, love the content, super helpful!
Incredible breakdown! What is your experience with taking something like the nova p600c or equivalent panel light through a 2 stop grid diffusion of the same size as this setup? Similar softness or has the book light always worked better for you?
Check out the comment thread posted earlier about my thoughts on using the Intellytech Lite Cloth. We talk about that very question!
I had read that comment. Currently I am using a 300d II into an intellytech fast frame (5.5x6ish) with bounce material back through another fast frame with 1/2stop diffusion. I definitely lose a lot of light but get a soft source. If I setup a 6x6 with thicker diffusion and start with a much softer source (nova, skypanel, etc) and move the light back enough to fill the frame, I was curious if that would be just as soft or softer.
Would you not want a black / white ub for the skirt? So you're not having two 6x silver bounces just open and interacting in the setup?
There are certainly a lot of ways to do it! I like to contain the spill in the space and could do this with an UltraBounce skirt like you mentioned, or flag the sides, or use the silver/whites like I did. It’s all about options, right?
@@matt-porwoll yeah true. Cool channel just discovered it
😮. I see how this is another option for creating a large soft source. I love the setup is on one stand. From my experience, I desire to create smaller one stand lighting setups. This is partially why I’m interested in CRLS. I’m curious about your setup in a smaller spaces. Any thoughts on this?
It’s certainly proved to be a quick way to do it!
And yes, this is a series of 3 lighting setups, so we’ll look at smaller setups soon!
@@matt-porwoll Right on. I'm looking forward to seeing your approach.
Great Thank you!
You're welcome!
Random question but where do you get this mannequin from! Would love to grab one for practice
There's a link for him in the description
@@matt-porwoll my bad! Thanks man and great stuff!
All good!
Awesome! I think you could build a frame like that for really cheap for the budget folks like me :D It's not that much bigger than a normal booklight setup, right?
If there's a will theres a way, so would love to see what you come up with! There's no standard size for a "book light," only the concept of diffusing a bounced source. So you can make them as big or as small as you need!
@@matt-porwoll I'll try!
What are those black solid? Where to get them? Can I make them as diy flags?
The big ones are just scrap pieces of duvetyne. Cutoffs from a roll. The small solid is from the Matthews Road Rag II kit.
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I´m curious on how something like an Intellytech Litecloth would compare to this setup softness
I’d be curious to look at these side by side as well. Looking at the photometrics of the Intellytech Mega-6 3.0, I would get a starting exposure of f/11 & 2/3 at ISO 800 (292 fc at 6’). This basically matches what I got out of the 6x soft box from the video. But the 600d was at 76% intensity and would be a softer source. So add a layer of diffusion to the Mega-6, you’re losing minimum a stop. Plus, the light won’t be as large, so the falloff would be more intense. So it would certainly be a good option for a smaller space where you aren’t competing with a window. I’d love to get my hands on one though and see how it handles in a real-world environment!
@@matt-porwoll I have been experimenting with a large Aperture lantern as a keylight and it seems to give a nice soft look and that's with a 60-watt light. I had brought it to a couple of interviews, but the rooms were too small, and didn't want to worry about spillage. Producers only give me 15 mins to make it look like 60 Minutes...lol
The space between the source and the diff is key in the soft look. Lite cloths are large sources, but slim, so the space between the emitters and the diff is minimal. There's really no substitute for having space between the source and the diff
Exactly. Much more succinct:)
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thx
You’re welcome!
8.17 - starts building a softbox and it all goes wrong.. why not hang white on your black solid (or use solid white!) and just bash off of that, 500 reasons that that is better! home in time for dinner. Also unusual to put the key so it is not 'wrapping' the window. Some of those 500 reasons? larger softer source, more natural better catchlights better for other camera angle, space for talent ingress, space for director inverse squarer law will keep waving hands less hot.
19.16 the hot shirt.. it is not 'equal exposure' its a stop more - try a light meter to find out.. here due the the inverse sqare law the shirt is too close to the box and is getting .. predictably hot. Any waving hands will be worse. Now you see the problem of a close in softbox, you check mated yourself. Waste more talent and director time clogging up the set with some more dumb kit, the scrim.
22.7 whips off glasses to hide the massive reflection of a large softbox. Lets hope you talent has good eyes.
required kit.. 3 pony clamps, 1 white sheet, 1 ap 600. one small lightstand. 1 sandbag. 1 matt for cable.
As you point out in your comments, there are plenty of ways to tackle a challenge. And within those challenges, there are many ways to solve it. Certainly all good points, though! Many of your points I’ve already addressed in other’s comments, so please check those out as well.
You can certainly light this with just a large bounce, like you mentioned. For my taste, that won’t produce a soft enough source at the size. So would want to diffuse that bounce. And then will need to control the spill from that bounce. In the end, we have the same sized source with just more grip (never a fan of that!)
@@matt-porwoll Indeed there are many ways to tackle a challenge - i just feel that with less kit and more speed you may have got a more natural look in THIS room. Most of all Im suggesting only get the toys from the van if you need them (or others should even feel free to start a career with three pony clamps and a sheet). Im not suggesting owning a soft box or 6.6 is a bad thing. It is not. I dont see how a large bounce will not be a soft source.. well its too technical for YT comments.. indeed a 6foot source 10 foot back is 'harder' than a six foot source 3 foot back, but a 12 foot source (two sheets hung up) will be as soft as the smaller closer source and have less inverse square/hot spots and work for more camera angles - but you need more power.. and this is where the ap600 comes in vs previously affordable lights and is a win. Yes spill is a consideration. But your scene is so dark on the right some spill may have helped. Nice to watch :)
your plastic model friend saved you lot of money that you would spend on hiring a model 😂
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