Lighting Tips for Feature Films |
Lighting Tips for Feature Films
While the budget of a major movie director would certainly be nice to work with it is necessary to start looking at things from a very different angle at times. If you have a limited budget, you are working against many of the ideas that tend to circulate about the need for highly advanced equipment. However at the same time, there are ways you can get professional or near professional results for a fraction of the cost of professional equipment and lighting is one of the best places you can save money.
It is extremely important to understand that proper professional lights can easily cost between $200 to as much as $1,000 for each light. This is a price range that most people simply cannot afford for a hobby, much less is it possible to afford this while still ensuring that not all of the other areas of your budget suffer. One of the best things that you can do is look for comparable lighting that will provide very similar results for only a fraction of the price. One of the best examples is a light tree, and the use of halogen lights.
These lights can frequently be purchased for less than $40 each and when combined with a $20 light tree you can easily create a comparable light source. Each halogen light can typically produce 500 watts of light, which would require the use of two halogen lights to create the 1,000 watts of power that each key light will typically offer. This can free up your budget substantially for other areas. One important consideration though is exactly what you are trying to light up.
If you are just trying to light up people in natural daylight the usage of additional lighting will be minimum. If you are trying to light up a room that is completely dark, you are going to have more trouble. The benefit with this is that you are able to adjust the light to your specific needs without a great amount of difficulty, however it is critical that you take the time to carefully study different lighting options both behind and in front of the camera to decide what lighting source you like the absolute best.
If you discover that the usage of 500-watt halogen lights is too strong for the scene you are filming it is quite easy to decreasing the lighting. Either you can angle the lights to focus on a different area, or alternatively you could look at even changing the bulbs in the lamps to a lower wattage. Either method will typically suffice, but it is important to ensure if you angel the lights a different direction you are not creating unwanted shadows. Many filmmakers who are just starting to make feature films find that they have problems with unwanted shadows, which are a result of poorly aimed lights. Continuously watching the footage that you are shooting and making periodic checks can help you to combat this problem.
If you find that you really need a bounce card to properly light up your scenes, you have a couple of ideas that are both reasonable. You can either choose to purchase a premade professional quality bounce card, or you can go to your local fabric or craft store and purchase a large piece of white styrophome which can be used quite easily and for a very inexpensive price. As you can see, getting professional quality lights does not have to cost a fortune. While you may want to start saving money to buy the professional equipment it is best to try to handle working the price into your budget slowly and using different pieces of equipment until it is an affordable option.
Quality does not have to be sacrificed in the pursuit of affordability though. Many filmmakers have worked with budgets that were less than stellar. Simply getting out and making films will take some practice but the experience that you gain using alternative equipment can help you to grow as a filmmaker, which will be very helpful in your experience as you grow in the future. PPPPP Word Count 686
|
3 Pieces of Essential Sound Equipment Making sure you have all of the critical pieces of equipment that you need ... read more
4 Tips to Picking the Best Film School for You Everyone knows there are dozens of film schools all around ... read more
5 Tips to Creating the Best Feature Film Ever It is important if you are looking to create the best ... read more
Average Length of Feature Film Scripts If you are looking to create a feature film for any purpose, you are ... read more
Best Time of Year to Shoot Your Feature Film While the idea of shooting a feature film in the spring ... read more
Choosing a Good School – Is It Necessary to Make a Feature Film? Many, many, and even many more filmmakers ... read more
Developing Characters to Ensure a Hit Film If you are working to create thorough characters that will be able to ... read more
Ensuring the Success of Your Feature Film with Actors The final area that many filmmakers worry about is actually finding ... read more
Essential Tips to Shoot the Best Film of Your Career There are several different ways you can shoot your footage ... read more
Following the Schedule of Film Maker Success While following a strict rigid schedule might not seem like the best way ... read more
Getting Your Next Feature Film Script off the Ground Getting your actual feature film script written is one of the ... read more
Is Professional Equipment Necessary to Create a Feature Film? The simple answer is of course you need a good set ... read more
Is Software Necessary in Feature Film Creation? People who are unaware of the entire process of creating a feature film ... read more
Lighting Tips for Feature Films While the budget of a major movie director would certainly be nice to work with ... read more
Making Appropriate Sound Equipment Choices It is very important to take some time when you are looking for good sound ... read more
Managing the Feature Film Script to Be Successful The script is one of the most important areas of your film ... read more
Organizing Your Film Shoot in 4 Easy Steps Most filmmakers who set out on the task of creating a feature ... read more
Protecting Legal Rights During Filming Your Feature Film One of the biggest problems that can shut down a movie after ... read more
Recording Your Next Feature Film with Professional Results This might come as a surprise to you, but there is a ... read more
Script Issues – Write Yourself or Find a Writer Looking at all of the options for your script it is ... read more
To Show or Not to Show – Deciding if Your Feature Film Should be Shared Deciding whether the feature film ... read more
Ultimate Ideas Exposed – 3 of the Top Suggestions You Will Find Creating a feature film can be a lot ... read more
Ultimate Suggestions to Creating Night Scenes in a Feature Film Making movies is something that a lot of people grow ... read more
Where to Spend Money When Creating A Feature Film The list of places where you need money to make a ... read more
Your Enemy in a Feature Film Budget It is very important as you are creating feature films to understand what ... read more
|
|
|
Disclaimer:
The Publisher has strived to be as accurate and complete as possible in
the creation of this website, notwithstanding the fact that he does not
warrant or represent at any time that the contents within are accurate
due to the rapidly changing nature of the Internet.
This site
is a common sense guide to Lighting Tips for Feature Films. In practical advice websites,
like anything else in life, there are no guarantees of income made.
Readers are cautioned to reply on their own judgment about their
individual circumstances to act accordingly.
This site
is not intended for use as a source of legal, business, accounting or
financial advice. All readers are advised to seek services of competent
professionals in legal, business, accounting, and finance field.
Any
perceived slights of specific people or organizations are unintentional.
|