Captain’s Blog: Natural Light From Windows Can Be a Blessing and a Curse

Video Production Toronto – The Captain’s Blog

Natural light from windows can be a blessing and a curse.

Hello everyone, it’s John again, producer here at Groovy Concepts.

Today I thought I would talk a little bit about the importance of controlling the lighting in the studio when producing a video production. As humans we embrace natural light but when in a studio to film we need the maximum amount of control over where exactly the light falls on the scene. That means controlling / blocking all natural light.

At last Friday’s video shoot in Toronto natural light from windows was a problem from the get-go. The main room set up for the interviews was 40 X 50 with nice high ceilings, but it had four large windows; one on the north side and three on the east side. Only the north side window had blinds to block the outside light.

We started shooting at 8:00 a.m. under a bright blue sky but by 10 o’clock when clouds started to roll in, our lighting set up had to be adjusted. Then by noon, when the clouds got noticeably thicker we were adjusting the lighting again. The afternoon found us adjusting once again as the skies cleared out to a perfect blue with a blazing sun around 3:30. All this equipment rearrangement and correction cost us valuable shooting time.

So a word to the wise, when considering a video production shoot at the various studios always ensure that those studios are fully equipped with block out blinds before hand. Time is money. Studio time is charged by the hour. The ability to control the lighting environment saves everybody time and money.

The experience we went through at last Friday’s video production in Toronto, falls under the category of “live and learn”. This was the first time we expected and assumed that a professional studio would be suitably equipped for lighting but, to our chagrin, was not.

So the bottom line is never assume, always confirm. You owe it to yourself and to your client.

That’s it for now. I look forward to touching base with you again down the line. Happy filming!