Chapter 2. Light

Hack 17. Compile a Cheap Lighting Kit

Put together a bare-bones, super-cheap lighting package for digital video.

As most of us know, lighting is key to capturing a good-looking image. While preparing to shoot an independent film on location in Thailand and Cambodia, I realized that most of our gear had to be carried on our backs as we moved from location to location. I knew I was going to be lighting mostly with standard lights and using any available light source when possible, so I needed a portable and highly functional kit.

2.2.1. Gathering the Kit

Thailand and Cambodia both use 220-volt current, so I decided to buy most of my lighting elements in Bangkok. Before I left Los Angeles, however, I purchased the following items at a great place called The Expendables Recycler:

• 3/4 full roll of 12" black wrap (black tinfoil used to block out and shape light)

• CTO ( color temperature orange gel)

• CTB (color temperature blue gel)

• ND (neutral density gel in 0.6 and 0.8)

• Full Blue (a vivid blue gel)

• Diffusion (both 216 and opal, with opal being more transparent)

• Gaffer tape in both black and white (a strong 1" cloth tape)

• A bag of clothespins (used to clip gels, diffusion, and black wrap to lights)

Here are the additional items I felt I needed to have in my kit, but didn't bring with me due to the difference in voltage:

• Two clamp lights with flexible necks (the kind you can clamp to your bedpost for reading)

• Two dimmers (to control the amount of light coming off the lights)

• A power strip

• About 100 feet of extension cords

• Additional dimmers to control any additional lights

You should be able to find all of these items at a home improvement store, such as Home Depot. Unfortunately, there wasn't a Home Depot in Bangkok, but I did manage to locate some in a small lighting shop. Figure 2-1 shows the lighting kit in its full glory . The blue containers on the left are extension cords (25 feet each).

I have found certain extension cords, designed where the cord coils up into the case of about 7 inches in diameter, are easy to transport and store. Everything in the kit can fit into a medium- sized backpack .

2.2.2. Using the Kit

Obviously, lighting is lighting and using a kit is a matter of placing lights as needed. But here's an example of the versatility of this kit.

During the shoot in Cambodia, I needed to light a shower that was located on the second story of a building. I was planning on beaming both clamp lights through a row of glass blocks running about shoulder high in the shower. The problem I had was that there was no way of clamping the lights to the wall outside the shower.

Gels are a tremendous help when lighting a scene. As a rule, you should remember that Color Temperature Orange (CTO) gels match tungsten lights, while Color Temperature Blue (CTB) gels match natural sunlight.

2.2.2.1. Placing the lights.

When I looked around the location I noticed that there was an abundance of bamboo stalks lying on the ground. I decided that I would build myself a bamboo C-Stand (a stand to hold the lights) and clamp the lights to the top of the stand. I found a solid-looking bamboo shaft about 10 feet long. About a foot down from the top of the shaft, I taped a three- foot bamboo cross member and clamped both lamps on left and right side of the cross member. I mounted my new C-Stand to the top of a nearby fence; the lights aligned just right with the glass. You just can't do that with the "professional" lights shown in Figure 2-2.

Figure 2-1. The lighting kit

2.2.2.2. Using the dimmers.

While I was setting up, it was late afternoon, but I was going to shoot the scene after sundown. I needed some way to control the level of light entering the shower without pulling the lights down every time and manipulating the dimmers that are hardwired to the lamp cord. This is where the extra dimmers come in handy, when you're placing lights that are out of reach but need to be adjusted periodically.

2.2.3. Staying Functional

This lighting kit is extremely versatile and functional, while staying affordable. Professional lighting kits usually start at $500 and go up dramatically from there. If I lose a light from my kit, it's no big deal.

Figure 2-2. Heavy-duty mounting required for professional lighting

The fact the kit is highly portable is simply another bonus. Shooting independent, low-budget (or no-budget!) movies often involves getting shots quickly and moving onto the next one. "Shoot and run" is often a reality in the truest sense, and being able to carry your lighting kit in a backpack is essential.

— Ilya Lyudmirsky