Studio-in-a-Box
This photo is a frame-grab from After Effects and was shot inside of a closet. The lighting is wonderfully soft and it keys out beautifully. This is a great solution for anyone with limited space in need of a green screen studio (best part – it only costs $34 to build):
We had a need for a ‘news-like’ set for an upcoming show that the beautiful Tiffany (http://tiffany-williams.com) is launching in the coming weeks. The problem was that the only space we have available (in our 700 sqft LA apartment) is a living room closet that measures 4ft X 7ft. The goal was to shove a camera, tripod, mics, chair, and lights (and Tiffany) in to a space that really isn’t big enough to house my surfboard. Oh yeah – And it had have a green screen so that we could make it look like we weren’t actually broadcasting from a closet.
My biggest concern wasn’t getting everything to ‘fit’ in the space, but rather being able to light her and the green-screen evenly – plus - having enough distance from the subject to actually frame the shot properly. Also, there is the issue of the heat from the lights being in such proximity (and in a space with no ventilation). There were many concerns, but here are the solutions I found.
I decided to use flourescents because they have the lowest heat output next to LEDs and they offer the highest lumens-to-wattage ratio (did I mention that there are no plugs in the closet?). We wanted to keep the cost as low as possible, so I thought that I might try clamp-lights (from the hardware store that cost $8-$15). Luckily, Home Depot has a nice assortment of these. I purchased 2 – 6 inch fixtures, 1 – 12 inch fixture, 1 – screw in socket-plug, and 1 – 6 foot extension cord, and 4 – 26watt(100watt equivalent) fluorescent bulbs. I screwed the socket-plug into the overhead closet light and plugged the 3 clamp-lights into the socket-plug via the 6 foot extension cord. I then mounted the fixtures in this configuration:
- 1 – Above ceiling fixture used for a hair-light/back-light
- 1 – 12 inch clamp-light used for the subject key-light
- 2 – 6 inch clamp-lights used for subject/green-screen fill-light
I found a non-glare plastic green-screen on ebay for $5 (search ‘chromakey green screen’ on ebay). Though it is flimsy and pretty wrinkled, it actually works really well. It was simply taped up with gaffer’s tape. The camera and tripod was shoved all the way against the wall and I hooked up a Sony wired lav mic for sound. The result is surprisingly pretty damn good:
Thanks for visiting – you can leave your questions, comments, or suggestions below.
DIY Dolly & Track
I wanted to share my own take on this popular low-budget filmmaker’s tool. My crew used this dolly extensively on our last short film ’3:31′. You’ll find that it is similar to other plans out there (I used ideas from several DIY plans available on the web). The main differences are the nifty 2-way pivoting handle and the off-set wheels which distribute the weight evenly. The materials used in this project where really inexpensive and it was pretty simple to build. You can find most of the materials at your local hardware store. The skateboard wheels and the handle where purchased online. I will include the links for those. Here is a list of what you’ll need to build one yourself.
- 1 – 2′ x 2′ x 3/4″ birch plywood(any hardwood will do – Home Depot and Lowe’s have it already pre-cut)
- 1 – 2-way piviting handle (the one shown is from Northern)
- 8 – Skateboard Wheels w/Bearings
- 1 – 3′ x 1/8″ x 1″ Aluminum Angle-Bar
- 8 – 2 1/2″ x 1/4″ Bolts w/Nuts & Washers + 16 Extra Nuts
- 8 – 2 1/2″ x 1/4″ (Flat-Head) Bolts w/Nuts & Washers
- 4 – 1 1/2″ x 3/16″ Bolts w/Nuts & Washers
- 3 - 10′ x 1 1/2″ Black ABS Pipe
- 2 – Chain-Link Fence Coupler
Before you take a trip to the hardware store – go ahead and order everything you need shipped (the wheels and handle in my case). The wheels need to be standard size (these are 55mm and are really cheap on Ebay). You can adapt any handle you want, but this particular one from Northern works really well and it’s probably the cheapest you’ll find ($8). Once you get those two components ordered, you can go ahead and take a trip to the hardware store and get the rest of the items listed.
Once you have all of your materials, you’ll need to make sure you have the following tools on-hand:
- Drill w/1/4″ & 3/16″ Bits
- Hack Saw or Saws-All
- Wrenches or Sockets 1/4″ & 3/16″
- Straight Edge and Pencil
- Hammer (sometimes you just need to hit something)
First you need to cut the 3′ angle-bar into 4 – 9″ lengths. Then drill the holes for mounting the angle-bar, the handle, and the wheels. All holes are 1/4″ except for the ones to mount the handle, which are 3/16″:
- Drill 2 – 1/4″ holes on each of the 9″ pieces of angle-bar 2″ inches from each end into the ‘V’ of the bend (see diagram below).
- Use a straight edge to mark a mounting reference on the base for mounting the angle-bar 2″ from the edge.
- Use the holes that you drilled in the angle-bar to mark your base holes for mounting and drill them with a 1/4″ bit (see diagram left).
- Drill 2 – 1/4″ holes in each angle bar for mounting the wheels. Each side should be 2″ from center, but offset from one another (see diagram below).
- Mark and drill the 3/8″ holes for the handle. Align the handle so that it moves freely in all directions.
Now you can mount the wheels. If your bearings aren’t already installed you need to do that – one bearing for each ‘side’ of the wheel (so it takes 16 bearings for 8 wheels). Each wheel will need 1 – 1/4″ bolt, 4 – nuts, and 4 – washers. Assemble the wheels in this configuration:
Bolt>Washer>Mounting Hole>Washer>2 Nuts>Washer>Bearing>Wheel>Bearing>Washer>Nut
Do this for each of the 8 wheel mounting holes. Once that is complete – you can mount the assembled angle-bar to the base of the dolly. Insert the flat-head bolts into the base mounting holes from top to bottom. Use a washer with the nut to tighten. Next you can mount the handle – simply use the 4 - 3/8″ bolts to tighten the handle mount to the dolly base. At this point you should be able to test that all of the wheels are spinning properly – you will need to adjust the tension in the wheel bolts to assure that they are rolling smoothly. And that’s it…you should have a working dolly.
Now that your dolly is trued up you can work on the track. The benefit of using ABS pipe (black outdoor PVC) is that it is a harder material than PVC and it’s really light and cheap. It’s easy to move around for set-ups and it’s easy to replace if something happens to it. I suggested buying 3 – 10′ lengths is so that you will have multiple set-up options. You can leave 2 pieces whole and cut one in half so that you will have 2 – 10′ pieces and 2 – 5′ pieces. This way you’ll be able to do 5′, 10′, and 15′ runs by joining the ends together. That’s were the fence coupler come in – I stumbled accross these while I was browsing around Lowe’s, but you should be able to find them in the garden section of any hardware store. They fit almost perfectly inside the ABS Pipe and you can wrap them with gaffer’s tape to make the pieces fit tightly together:
Here is a video with the dolly in action:
That’s it! I hope that I have explained everything clearly. If you have any questions or comments – you can leave them below and I’ll quickly reply. Thanks for visiting and I hope you have fun with this project.
DIY Field Audio Kit
Audio for Video
Most of us have entered an edit session following what at the time seemed to be a successful shoot – perfect lighting, clean lines, smooth pans, precise focus….uh oh - that boom mic was noisy as hell! How could you have not realized it in the field? Well, most of us utilize the awesomely convenient XLR inputs on our cameras to handle the usually simple audio recording options required. You can use a boom mic in one input and a lavalier in the other. This setup will usually suffice.
The Problem
We all use this set-up and probably all run into the same problems. The camera is now attached to something. The extra wires cause many inconveniences in changing set-ups and handheld work. And, you are monitoring your sound levels and quality from a camera which is not ideal. Shots are probably your number one concern when standing behind a camera - not audio. This run-and-gun solution works 90% of the time. For the other 10% when you need to impress: You have a client/interview/film that needs a little “wow” in it. You have an idea for something big with the “look” and being hassled with boom mic placement is a distraction that you can’t afford.
The Solution
By recording your sound independently from your camera set-up - You can be more creative, more mobile, and more precise. More subtleties can be realized and you free your eyes from level meters to the picture. If you are low budget, but maybe have an extra person on hand, make that person your sound guy/girl. The benefits of quality of sound will outweigh what this person could attribute as extra grip. This DIY field kit is easily set-up and operated and you can teach just about anyone how to use it.
The Set-Up
There are many solutions out there that range from all-in-one field recorders to complex 12 channel boards. The system described in this article falls somewhere between the two. The intrical piece of the system is how sound is interfaced digitally. This DIY kit is built around USB audio interfaces used for recording in home studios with Pro Tools - specifically the M-Audio Fast Track Pro. It gives you dual XLR or 1/8 pin inputs, 48v phantom power, and is powered by USB. I connect the Fast Track Pro to a Asus Netbook. These mini notebooks have just about everything that laptops have. You can run full operating systems like Windows 7 and since the screen is so small and the hard drive is SSD, the battery life is extraordinary (5-7 hours per charge). With software you have a couple of options – You can use Pro Tools (M-Powered in this case) or free audio editing/recording software such as Audacity.
The Advantage
You have endless options to effect the quality of recording “live” that you are not afforded with the cameras “level” controls. It gets your camera “wireless” from any audio devices which allows for freedom of movement. You now have a dedicated person for audio which enables a more concentrated effort for picture and talent. And, you have a stand alone system for grabbing natural or b-roll sounds without having to break out any camera gear. Give it a try and shoot me a message or comment with some feedback.
|JONNYHEE|
Poor Man’s Light Kit
Like you I struggle with the cost of staying on the cutting edge of the video production. Everything associated with what it takes to shoot video/film professionally is horribly over priced. Well, I have a money saving idea that I will take you step by step to owning a professional portable light kit for less than half of the leading manufactures like Lowel and Arri.
First get juiced - The number of watts any given lighting kit will output is the key to professional results. Second is control - Once you have a kit that continuously lights at 1500 watts, you have to be able to control that power to get the results you are looking for. Lastly is price - You don’t have to pay $1500 for a kit that you can put together separately for under $300 and get the exact same results.
Step one: Be super! The kit that I use is assembled from old Super 8 camera lights. These lights were made to be mounted onto Super 8 cameras and usually output up to 650w at 120v. This is key considering that a 650w Lowel or Arri light can cost upwards of $800 each. These “super lights,” as I call them, can be found either around town or on eBay for sometimes as cheap as $10. What’s the catch? Well, there really isn’t one. Most are made of plastic which is probably the only downfall. Some of these supers come with the hot shoe mount. That’s OK because you can buy stand mounts for around $5 here. If you take care of them, they will last a really long time. And, otherwise at $10 a pop, they might as well be disposable. So search around and find at least 3 of these “super lights” to get your kit started.
Next: Stay in control. I suggest soft boxes. You can find these at B&H or eBay. The ones I use are cowboy studio’s soft boxes. They control the light just like the Lowel Rifa soft boxes. It has the option to have two levels of diffusion (outside and inside) with the two included diffusion clothes. You need to find a way to attach the speed ring to the light. The easiest way is to screw it to the ring of the barn doors. Some of the “super lights” come with barn doors, others do not. You can find them at B&H, but with everything else they sell, they can be pricey. So, when purchasing the “super lights” try and find ones with the original barn doors.
Lastly: Take a stand. You have to have stands for all of your new lights. The ones I use are Smith-Victor and can be found relatively cheap on eBay. Think quality over cosmetics. It doesn’t matter how ugly any of these components are. What matters is how well they make your subject look on camera.
With the soft boxes and gels, you can get professional results for well under $300. Remember that the softboxes have to attach to the light. Some supers come with barndoors that are usually the easiest solution. Most soft boxes have “speed rings” which will easily attach to the barndoors. Check out the details and measurements of each component, so you are sure they will be compatible. Questions? Leave me a comment here.
3-point-lighting: hard vs. soft
I said in the previous entry that I am not a “soft” kinda guy, so I prefer a harder lighting. Someone asked what that meant, so here we go! I found an example of what I consider is three-point-lighting at it’s best. The configuration consists of the following:
1. A key light just off center in front to initially “light” the subject.
2. A fill light more off center in front to fill the shadowing.
3. A backlight behind the subject to give contrast from the background.
(Center is in relation to where the subject is looking, not the camera or where the interviewer would sit when asking questions).
Even though this is the most basic of lighting techniques, it is a time tested standard. The dramatics of the lighting on screen are controlled by the contrast between the hardness of the key vs. the softness of the fill along with strength or brightness as a pair. If the key is brightened and the fill is dimmed, then the subject will have more defined shadows.
Below is an example of hard vs. soft:
The first technique uses tungsten lights with the classic umbrella and diffusion paper. The second uses all softboxes. Though both very well lit, I prefer the first photo. The edges of the shadowing have harder lines. Notice the chin shadow on her lapel. Also, notice the sheen of her hair from the backlight. This feels more natural to me and the source of the light seems more believable. The second shot seems to be more of a photograph taken in a mall somewhere; bright and happy and a little bit washed. If the subject of your work is dark and you are looking for a more dramatic look, the soft technique doesn’t lend itself to be as versatile. When you back off of a soft set-up, it tends to just simply look dark; not dramatic.
Note: I am in no way pretending to be an expert on the matter. These are just my thoughts and observations. Comments? Do it!
Photos courteusy: lowel.com
