The Brief: 10 questions (and answers) on lighting for TV by Mike Baker

 

I have been in the business of TV for a very long time, just about 40 years, and involved with creative lighting for the last 27 or so. My background was in vision control in studio and outside broadcasts for the BBC in Manchester between 1967 and 1977 which is where I developed a need for something more creative than just eternally ¢tweaking¢¢ recalcitrant camera channels.

 

Having got on that first important step on the lighting ladder for BBC Scotland, I was let loose onto a huge range of TV studio based programmes that were made in the two main TV studios. My next quantum leap was to BBC Wales where in 1982 I became a senior lighting director. The range of work widened and deepened, especially when I started taking on Drama location lighting which was just SO satisfying.

 

TV doesn¢¢t stand still, and I was then to take on a Question Time type show that was televised live from around the country using ¢black box¢¢ locations such as Leisure Centres and School Halls. Then, it was lighting training at the BBC¢¢s training centre at Wood Norton, near Evesham as a ¢plug in¢¢ practising lighting Director helping out on their Lighting Courses.

 

I have taken my training around Europe to Syria, Turkey, Cyprus, Bucharest and Germany in recent years as well as regular training with a colleague of mine for location lighting in the village of Brockweir in Gloucestershire for BBC and freelancers. You can check out details on my web site at: http://www.bakerlite.co.uk/training.htm

 

Question: Why do we need lighting?

 

In the studio: It¢¢s pretty dark unless you do¢¦.

 

The sensible answer: You need enough to satisfy the technical needs of the camera, and modern cameras perform amazingly well on 400-1000 lux. (40 to 100 of the old fashioned foot candles: still used in many parts of the world.)

 

Let¢¢s suppose you only have one lamp. You can only really ¢illuminate¢¢ your subject news camera wise by coming frontally near to the lens axis. Yes, we¢¢re talking PAG lamps. L.D.¢¢s don¢¢t do illumination¢¦

 

Essentially L.D.s believe that you need a minimum of two lamps, preferably three for each human subject. A ¢key¢¢ light which is used for ¢modelling¢¢ the person by moving off and (usually) above the lens axis whilst still getting light into the eyes. Whether that is from the left or right of camera depends upon the individual face: deep set eyes, crooked nose, asymmetrical facial features, moles, etc, etc.

 

The second lamp is used as a back light or maybe a ¢kicker¢¢ positioned to the rear of the person and usually in line with the camera. This provides ¢rim¢¢ or ¢hair¢¢ lighting that provides depth and separation from the background. It will usually be higher and hence steeper than the key light.

 

The third lamp is used for contrast control. Having created the modelling with your key light and separation with your back light or kicker you will have created a very contrasty image that although is OK for the eye, needs taming somewhat for the camera. The kind of light you use for this will probably be ¢soft¢¢ light in that you do not want to create secondary modelling or double nose shadows by using a third hard light source.

 

Question: What is hard and what is soft light?

 

Hard light is that which causes well defined, sharp shadows. It is ideally a ¢point¢¢ source of light. The sun is hardish, but its very size means that the shadows it throws of, say, a window become softer on the far side of the room. Fresnel lamps are quite good hardish sources of light and are the preferred lighting tool in a studio situation.

 

Soft light is the light generated when it is reflected from a large source: a white wall, a large piece of polystyrene, even a white van! But, and it¢¢s a big but¢¢ it¢¢s less controllable. Large source must be seen as large relative to the subject being lit: a piece of A4 half a metre from the face is as effective as a 2 metre by 1 metre of polystyrene sheet 4 or 5 metres away. Most important that.

 

Question: What do you mean by control?

 

Probably the most important aspect of creative lighting is controlling where it goes and more to the point, where it doesn¢¢t go. With so called ¢hard¢¢ light, you have these hinged metal flaps on the front of the lamp (barn doors) which can be used to ¢shape¢¢ the light and preventing it from, say, spilling onto the background. Spill light is bad news in that it ¢flattens¢¢ the picture and reduces contrast in a way that degrades what you are trying to achieve. Other ways of achieving control are by ¢spotting¢¢ or ¢flooding¢¢ a lamp using a control knob that moves the lamp source with respect to the reflector and lens, or vice versa. This will change the (hopefully) even field of light (wide angle; typically 55-60 degrees) into a more intense ¢blob¢¢ which although much brighter is not controllable by the barn doors and covers a much smaller angle.

 

Question: The lamps that I have access to are not fresnels, they are open faced lamps or ¢redheads¢¢. What do you think of them?

 

Ah. A lot of light for your money into a big beam angle. No lens, just a light source (bubble in the trade) that sits in front of a fairly crude reflector. It has barn doors, but they just don¢¢t work nearly as well as a Fresnel lens lamp. I NEVER use one of these for a face. They are a great source of soft light when ¢bounced¢¢ off a light surface such as a wall or ceiling though. In fact, many news inserts on location are simply lit by bouncing a 2K ¢Blonde¢¢ off the ceiling of the office/hotel room. I have to put myself on record as saying that I do not have a very high opinion of such lighting.

 

Question: Why?

 

Because in effect, you are creating a large soft source of light (cloudy sky lighting?) in a room that will spread everywhere in the room in an uncontrollable manner. It will light the back wall, side walls and I have known it not even achieve its main purpose: getting into the eyes of the interviewee.

 

Question: Why is getting light into the eyes important?

 

Have you ever tried to talk to someone in very dark glasses? The eyes communicate as much as or maybe more so than any other body language. People tend to look away if they are uncomfortable with something that they are saying (untruths, perchance) and we tend to associate dark eyes with shiftiness or untrustworthiness.  Imagine, therefore, how your Mr Honest politician would feel if he saw himself on TV, lit by you, with poorly lit eyes. It has happened; in 2006 David Cameron, no less, insisted on being lit by his chosen lighting person in an interview for a current affairs programme after having seen a government Minister badly lit earlier in the week.

 

Question: So can I use my redhead for a key light in that situation with the barn doors shaping the light?

 

You can, but that would not be my choice. Try setting up a redhead pointing at a blank wall and set the barn doors into a neat box. Look at the shape of the box and the multiple shadows caused by the ¢bubble¢¢ and the reflector. Use your hand to create a shadow and then look at the strange nature of that shadow. It is multiple and changes as you turn your hand through 90 degrees. Rotate the doors and notice the way the shape changes and how the patch of light is uneven with a rough edge to it.

 

Now rig a small Fresnel lamp and do the same. There is no comparison! The Fresnel gives a nice even and well edged patch of light and produces single (not multiple) shadows. When the doors are set properly, there is very little spill on the background.

 

I was always taught: One lamp, one function. If you want to light the background, use a separate lamp to ensure that you get an effect that is entirely under your control. ¢Spill¢¢ light is the death of creative lighting.

 

Question: Fresnel lamps are more expensive than redheads (or open faced lamps as they are generically known) I can¢¢t afford three of them in my kit?

 

Prioritise. As I have (rather strongly) suggested, use a Fresnel for your ¢key¢¢ light. At a pinch you can use open faced lamps for back light and contrast control (fill). Depending on the situation, you might use a 300, 500 or 650 watt Fresnel for a small interview setup. Although you could use a red head for a back light, I wouldn¢¢t recommend it as a) it¢¢ll probably be too strong and b) it will certainly spill all over the place. In a tight situation (and who hasn¢¢t had one of those?) you need precision lighting and that means Fresnel type lamps and barn doors.

 

Question: I have heard that Dedo lights are good, are they Fresnel lamps?

 

Er no. They have a plano convex lens (if my limited lens knowledge serves me correctly) and are excellent lamps. They are beautifully made small lamps with a multitude of fixture possibilities. Because they are small and light, you can clip them in all manner of places that you wouldn¢¢t even consider putting a red head. They run cool and have an even field of light as well as a fantastic flood to spot ratio. You can get various different kits, either with mains bubbles and in line dimmers or low voltage (more efficient and cool) complete with tripods and various clamps all in one neat flight case. They are quite expensive but most of the lighting cameramen that I have worked with usually end up with one of the various kit options.

 

Question: All the lamps you have mentioned are basically tungsten filament lamps, what about the so called ¢daylight¢¢ lamps? Do I need them?

 

Daylight or discharge source lamps are a whole different topic that I will discuss in a future article. They definitely take you ¢out of the box¢¢ in that you wouldn¢¢t normally want to use them in a studio. That also takes us onto colour temperature of light which also is a whole different subject.

 

A short article such as this can only scratch the surface of creative lighting. Lighting is such a ¢hands on¢¢ subject that words alone are pretty inadequate but I hope they just might have started you thinking about lighting and not just illumination.

 

 With thanks for this article to Mike Baker www.bakerlite.co.uk