How to Light a Scene for Interviews

Video Production Oakville – The Captain’s Blog

How to Light a Scene for Interviews

It’s time for another Captain’s Blog from me, John Secondi, at Groovy Concepts – your video production professionals.

Shooting video interviews can be a complicated and challenging process. One of the very first things you should consider is the location of the shoot. Some office locations have very low ceilings with cramped space and poor access to wall outlets to power your lighting rigs. If possible, try to scout out the location in advance and make detailed notes for your crew. If you refer back to one of my earlier blog posts, Natural Light From Windows Can be a Blessing and a Curse, it is important to know what kind of windows are at this location and, in turn, what kind of ambient light will you have to work with. It is often best to choose a location with no windows to avoid any lighting complications.

Let’s assume you are good to go … what kind of lights should you consider using and where should they be placed. I described the types of lighting in this blog: Should You Use Tungsten or LED Lights to Shoot Videos? so we will talk more about positioning in this blog.

You should consider using a traditional 3-point lighting setup with a key light, fill light and back light to add depth and texture to your subjects.

Key Light

This is the main illumination source for your interview subject. We like to position the camera on an angle to the subject and use a key light that is also at an angle to their face. LED or TUNGSTEN lights with soft boxes work very well for these purposes.

Fill Light

The fill light is basically on the opposite side of the camera and the interview subject and is used to “fill in any shadows” cast by the main key light. Using LED lights with variable intensity settings is a good way to keep things in balance. Your main goal with this fill light is add just enough to give the subjects face detail and depth.

Back Light

This is a light that is usually placed above and behind the interview subject to add more depth to the scene and separate them from the background which is likely in softer focus.

Bounce Light

Bounce lights are often used when you have to shoot outdoors where the background light from the sun may overtake that light falling on the subjects face. A good trick is use for bouncing light is to go to Home Depot or Amazon online and buy some sort of white reflector board like sheet insulation or poly-styrene. The sun will bounce off this and act as a nice fill light in most cases.

Generally speaking, the different levels of these 3 main lights and bounce fill lights will help you to create different moods for each specific interview. Try different setups to get it just right for your next video production.

When you need a helping hand with your video production and editing here in Oakville, give Groovy Concepts a call. We have the experience to do it right.

We. Are. Video Production. Oakville.

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