Field Production 141

Field Production 141

Figure 5.43 Place lav microphones about 5 inches away from the source’s mouth to record high-quality audio.

away from the mouth, then you run the risk of capturing a low-quality signal and too much extraneous noise.

Ask the subject to remove any jewelry that may make noise during the interview. Dangling earrings and necklaces are notorious for ruining interviews. Be sure to hide your microphone and cable. Exposed microphones look unprofessional and can pick up unwanted handling noise.

Three-point lighting. Lighting is truly an art form that can take years to learn and master. Three-point lighting is one of the most basic but effective interview lighting configurations. It is called three-point lighting because three light sources are required to illuminate the interview subject: a key light, a fill or side light, and a back light, also commonly called a hair light. You can use various light sources to light your interview: portable LED lights, natural light, and lamps or light fixtures available in your shooting environment.

Lighting serves three basic functions: to provide general illumination to the scene, to highlight specific elements in your frame, and to add depth or texture to your scene. B-roll is typically shot with natural or available light. You must actively light your interviews to highlight your subject and to make this static shot more visually appealing.

142 PA RT I I : P r o d u c t i o n a n d P o s t - P r o d u c t i o n Te c h n i q u e s

Figure 5.44 Three-point lighting is

a basic, but powerful, configuration for achieving well-lit interviews.

After you have positioned and framed your interview subject, you can light your shot:

Step 1: Control ambient light. The first step in lighting your interview is to eliminate light sources with conflicting Kelvin temperatures. As discussed earlier, a camera will reproduce accurate colors only when it has been properly white balanced. Mixing different light sources with different color temperatures will result in portions of your shot being too orange and other portions being too blue. For example, if I shoot a scene that is primarily lit with tungsten lamps and my camera has been white balanced for tungsten light, the scene will have accurate colors. However, if there is a window with daylight spilling into the shot in the background, the window and the light around it will appear to be bluish in tint.

You must take control of the light sources in the interview environment. Cover up windows if you will be lighting with tungsten light sources. Turn off lamps if you will be using daylight-balanced LED lights. If you do not have a blanket or drapes to cover a window, then you must

be sure to frame the shot so that the window and any daylight spilling into the room is out of the shot.

Step 2: Key light. Once you have eliminated conflicting light sources, you must set your key light. Your key light is, in general, your most powerful

Field Production 143

light source, and it is used to provide most of the illumination on your subject. Your key light is placed about 30 degrees from your camera in relation to your subject. To avoid shining lights directly into your source’s eyes, place lights above the subject, tilting down at about a 30 to 45 degree angle.

Figure 5.45 Be careful not to mix light sources. Daylight coming in the window will appear to be blue compared to the incandescent light in the room.

Figure 5.46a A videographer setting up the key light.

144 PA RT I I : P r o d u c t i o n a n d P o s t - P r o d u c t i o n Te c h n i q u e s

Figure 5.46b The subject has been lit with only the key light. Note the dramatic shadows on the subject’s face.

Figure 5.46c The subject has been lit with only available light. The image is flat and dull.

Some lighting kits have dimmers to adjust the intensity of the light. Use dimmers to adjust the amount of light on your subject until your subject’s face is properly exposed. If your light does not have a dimmer, you must move the light further or closer to your source to adjust the intensity. Like audio, light intensity follows the Inverse-Square Law. If you move the light away from the subject, the intensity of the light will decrease exponentially.

A key light will illuminate most of your subject’s face and separate it from the background. Compare the two screenshots. The second

Field Production 145

uses a key light. This shot has much greater depth and the source is separated from the background.

Key lights will illuminate your subject, but notice that it will also leave harsh shadows across his face. Some shooters like this dramatic look and choose to use only a key light. Crime, mystery, and investigative documentaries often use this style to increase tension and suspense.

Step 3: Fill light. The fill light, also known as the side light, is used to eliminate the shadows created by the key light. Fill lights are placed on the side of the subject that has the shadows. Like the key light, the fill light is typically placed at a 30 to 45 degree angle above the subject.

By increasing the intensity of the fill light, you will flatten out the lighting on your subject. Experiment with how much fill light you want to use in your shot. Using a little bit of fill light will slightly decrease the shadows on your subject’s face. Some faint shadows will remain, preserving some depth and contrast on the face. Increasing the fill light will make the subject more evenly lit. This will eliminate all shadows and will flatten out the subject’s face. The intensity of the fill light will have a direct effect on the dramatic effect of the key light.

Step 4: Back light. Many videographers will stop lighting after setting the key and fill lights. Two-point lighting does an excellent job of illuminating the subject, separating the subject from background, and balancing out

Figure 5.47a A videographer setting up the side light.

146 PA RT I I : P r o d u c t i o n a n d P o s t - P r o d u c t i o n Te c h n i q u e s

Figure 5.47b The subject has been lit with the key and side lights. Note the even lighting on the subject’s face.

Figure 5.48a The videographer setting up the back (or hair) light.

any harsh shadows that may appear on the subject. Some videographers will choose to use a third light to further highlight their subject.

The back light, or hair light, is placed behind the subject, but just out of the frame. Like the fill and side light, this light is also placed above the subject, angled down similarly to any ceiling or track lighting