Video 101

Lighting

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Lighting Lesson
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Light > Control > Barn Doors

If you'll remember the beginning of the section, I said one key to good lighting is putting light in exactly the right place. Precision and control is critical. There are a number of devices that can help control the flow of light out of the instrument--here is a rundown:

BARN DOORS:
Nearly every fresnel, portable spot, and HMI has an attachment known as a barn door. Barn doors are metal flaps that allow you to block out the light from a certain area.In the example below, note how before the barn door is moved into place, the light spills everywhere. But after the barn door is positioned, light hits the person on the left--and NOT the camera on the right.

 

Here's how it works. The shot on the right has a woman AND a prop in the background (an old camera). Both are lit. But we want the prop to fall into shadow and NOT be lit--while retaining the light on the woman. So we adjust the barn door (play the movie on the left to see how this is done). As a result, light is no longer falling on the prop, although it stays on the woman (play the clip at the right and notice how the prop now falls into shadow. Watch the camera, NOT the woman). (IMPORTANT Note: Always use gloves when adjusting barn doors. They get REALLY hot! Similarly, NEVER touch the lamp (bulb) on a lighting instrument with your bare hands. First, it could be hot. Really hot. Really, really hot. Even if it is cool, the oils on your fingers can cause problems for artificial lights. That is, if you touch a fresh bulb with your bare fingers and then turn it on, the bulb could explode. So use gloves.)