The cheapest way to light and film....
The cheapest way to light and film....- special effects and filmmaking
Hi, I was looking thru all the topics, but none actually gave the advice I needed..but anywayz. I learned tons about lighting already for this site, but u see I don't want to buy lighting equipment. I'm an aspiring actor who needs a demo made. I was going to film it on dv. Is there anyway I can just make home made lights for a indoor 8 minute scene? Also I assume that when I do the sound only the actors voices are recorded. How do I put in the backgorund sounds? And also what is the best editing software? I've gone to pro's and they have offered to this for me for 400-600 dollars and I can't afford it. I just want the cheapest way with the best quality. I will appreciate any insight u guys give me.
The easiest and cheapest way to get a demo is to do student films, shorts and cable access work. If you are not getting paid they will probably offer a copy of the project.
Lighting depends on whether you are shooting on film or video. If film, you need to get lights that are color corrected for the type of film you are shooting on (see the other posts on color correction.) If video, then as long as you don't mix and match lighting, you can white balance for the appropriate color.
Rather than buy a pro lighting kit, you can just use lights that are available to you. Stand-up halogen lamps, for instance, or the 500W work lamps you can get from Home Depot. Also, get a couple of aluminum reflector fictures (you know, the lights with clamps on them)also from Home Depot, and put some lamps (or bulbs) of various wattage into them, depending on the types you need. You can also make cookies out of cardboard, and use white postedboard or cardboard covered in aluminum foil as a reflector. Finally, you can take any pole or pipe, and hang a piece of white cloth down from it. Hold it in front of one of the work lights, and bingo - a softbox! Oh, and tracing paper makes a great diffusion material.
As for the background sounds: if you edit on a computer, you can just drop them into the additional audio tracks in your editing software. If you do it on a linear machine (or even in-camera), you'll need to find out how to do an audio dub. Check the instruction manuals for your camera or VCR.
Finally, the editing software. Most pro editing software is very expensive, but for simple work, there are several freebie programs out there. Search the forums. Also, the new Windows ME and Mac OS come with free video editing programs.
Now, a question of my own. Assuming you create your own lighting kit, how do you make barn doors? Any suggestions?
When you talk about "mixing types of lighting" are you talkin about mixing fleurescent (or however you spell it) and standard type lamp bulbs, or what exactly?
Daylight is your biggest enemy, since it is a vastly different color than most indoor lighting (at least on film.) Check the posts on color temp. for a better description of what color most lighting types are.
Just thought I'd mention that when you're plugging all this crap in, you might want to know where the fuse box is and what outlets are on what circuits. Looking for the fuse box when the lights have already gone out isn't very fun. But if you're only using a few lights that aren't that strong, it shouldn't be a problem.
If you wind up going linear, or even cheaper (but tougher) "crash editing" directly from the camera to your VCR, be sure to record the voice in stereo. An audio dub will erase the sound you already have, but if you only hook up one channel (split left and right) you should be able to leave the voice on one and lay down your other sounds on the second. It's easier then it sounds. I would then make a mono copy mixing the channels in case the tape is not played back in stereo.
Best of luck.
ADOM
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