Cheap Video Lighting Solutions

[ComputerTechTV]

Great video!

[ReadSpeak]

Wonderfully natural and authentic English is modelled in this video. [12-13 reading age]

[funnyfilmsman]

I found a great way to light a video is go to your local video photo store, buys a light stand for around $20...then buy the umbrella stand attachment...then go to a hardware store and buy a 3500 cooler lighting bulb and a can light.....then take the can lights arm off and attach it to the stand and now you have a light on a stand and that can hold an umbrella! and it costs in total around 60 buckS!!

[Theresa702]

THANK YOU !!!!!

[Dakota0204]

Are all these lights okay when you live in an apartment? Isn't 2,000 watts to much power? I don't want to blow out a fuse in my building. 

[bludolphdolph]

great stuff!

[ChiroVette]

I have a question: I am recording my band in VERY dark clubs with a Zoom Q3HD. While I am not expecting miracles, because this is more of an audio recorder, the videos look absolutely HORRENDOUS in dark clubs and bars. We don't have stage lighting yet, so in the meantime, can you recommend a way to light the stage to make the video recordings more passable and without killing the eyes of the musicians? Thanks! :)

[pmalbec]

I have the same yellow tripod with 2-500w tungsten light. The shower courtain is a great idea, but as you mention, it will burn. If you light directly to the subject it is excesive licht and make a shadow behind your subject.

Your great video has a lack : It does not show the effect of light with the courtain or other stuff you used.

I made the exercise to put the light to the ceiling and it covers very good my needs. Your opinions?

And congrats for your lessons.

Regards from Chile

[khallingstad]

Thanks for the tip! You guys rock! :)

[videomaker]

@khallingstad Glad you liked it!

cheers,

The Videomaker Team

[TheNormanvsNorman]

Very helpful!

[videomaker]

@TheNormanvsNorman Glad to hear it!

Cheers,

The Videomaker Team

[ormaisazio]

That's super-useful!! Thank you, guys!

[videomaker]

@ormaisazio Glad to hear it.

Cheers,

The Videomaker Team

[Waggin1]

Polyiso rigid foam insulation in 4x8 sheets, aluminum on one side, plastic on the other, <$10 a sheet, makes great light boxes, reflectors, and backdrops. You can rub off the blue printing with alcohol. Paint the plastic side with ck-green, black, white, etc., or cover with fabric. Get polyiso (-cyanurate), not polystyrene which is flammable. Please see my video about it.

[xOMNIxCIDEx]

So you wanna make a big time movie! but your rendering in 240p

[wcooper97]

@xOMNIxCIDEx This was over 2 years ago, over 70% of YouTube was probably in 240p.

[FashionBySai]

this video is perfect! Just what I'm looking for since I'm on a budget now and I really need to improve my lighting in my videos! thanks for this video :)

[outlawedman]

This isn't a very well lite video.

[rootvalue]

ALWAYS RENEMBER, GUYZ.

[FightingForOurSanity]

This was a perfect video =) It was basic, straight to the point, and had suggestions for cheap replacements! Much better than most videos i've seen

[dougerber]

YOU CAN JUST BUY A REFLECTOR FROM ADORAMA.COM FOR TEN BUCKS. I HAVE ONE, IT'S AWESOME.

[cutibubbli]

wow i liked that alumunium idea alot will try that for my video :)

Kindly suggest some lightening setups for the vanity setups for the video regarding makeup,

[ShadowChimera1390]

I hope it wouldn't cost me an arm and/or a leg...

[soyelmusico]

subtitulos español please!



[besamemucho5]

@soyelmusico el ingles es mucho mas facil que el espanol...y si no quieres gravitar en el mundo de habla espanola, que es el mas pobre de todos los idiomas que conosco, entonces llego la hora de aprender ingles...i know what i am telling you...your best bet would be to learn english the american way...not only you don't have to contort your mouth as you speak it , it also sounds nicer and softer..y otra cosa, no tienes que aprender a pronunciar el idioma simplemente aprende a leerlo y entenderlo

[rstephensonable]

Excellent tips - it's amazing how much lighting makes a difference. Thank you for sharing!

[ElJay1992]

The work light is a brilliant idea!

And best thing is I already have all

the things that occur in the video.

Why didn't I think of using them

earlier?

thx :D

[TEAMZIONPRO]

how would i go about lighting a set that is supposed to be at night but make it so you can still see the key players in the scene ?

[Fnoalle]

Don't use light! It'll ruin the look of the film.

[jordankade1]

@smzackshow great idea thanks!

[HK556]

A note on the light temperatures and color tones: Certain cameras have an automatic white balance feature, although these tend to be on the more expensive workhorse cameras.

[RonansRecordingShow]

Very cool refresher. Never thought of the aluminum foil trick. Thanks!

[webmatros]

Tip: Use baking paper to diffuse the light, as it's made to withstand high temperatures in the oven;-) Same goes for tin foil, which can be used to make reflective surfaces;-)

[NRMStudios]

Which is better: filtering your lights OR filtering your camera?

[ricci777]

oh lord

[Krystelsings]

You can also use dryer sheets tied on with bread ties to diffuse the worklights. They are highly heat resistant and won't burn while you're filming!

[mariomoran33]

very  smart!!!!!!!!!!!!!

[achieverstudios]

Those yellow construction lights come with their own stand. I also un-screwed that little black handle on the top - turned it around, screwed it on pointing forward. Duct-taped and fashioned a clothes hanger on it to hang my gels and diffusion, keeping them away from the hot light enclosure...Works best on non-windy days. That was before my purchase of a snazzy Lowell lighting kit for $75 bucks, but I still use the yellow ones for background effect lighting.

[Cartmanfor2012]

Yeah the only problem is what if you don't have enough people to hold the reflectors, lighting diffusers?

[DontMcflippingCare]

try finding different stands, tripods etc. I'll bet a music stand could work for holding the reflector, and there are a lot of options in the way of lighting stands. check out home depot.

[achieverstudios]

Yeah a music stand works great, I've also used my microphone boom, and at one time a bar stool during a seated interview. But I've always managed to solicit the help of a by-stander. Most of all, don't forget to bring the ever handy duct-tape; it keep everything together.

[KWASHIC]

Yeah here in Africa its budget budget budget.... but i am even worse being a father and husband who cant spend the family money ha ha ha! I also use those yellow lights a lot though they were made for other purposes. They do alright. I even had to have thee stands made by backstreet welders! But if you love video you will do anything .... tsk tsk!

[cbcnate]

@KWASHIC Africa? Wtf?

[Evanpatricksmith]

Hey! You shot this video in Chico!

[CHALADEITALIA]

Have you ever tried flash lights? There are a spectrum of bulbs with different colors and also there are the cheap dollar flash lights, all you really need is cartboard if you are picky about the direction of the light, you could easily afford 15 flashlights w/ the bulbs for your type of movie and its cheaper and you can get an even better lighting than the thing used in the video. Just make sure to focus your flashlights and not have them dangle, that sill expose the light trick.

[d4rkst0n3]

Thanks for this video, I have to film a short film for my Media project and these lights are perfect.

Anyone in Australia looking for these lights you can pick them up at Bunnings Warehouse for 38 bucks.

[TheCroatianStation]

thanks :)

[sameerraza2005]

Thanks mate for that!

[katdanmo2]

I bought this yellow light last summer. You have to be really careful with this tousand volt light, it can burn you rhouse down. Do not put any thing around the lights and turn them off right away when you are done. It gets hot fast

[SillyEddyPhotography]

@katdanmo2 Thousand Watt, lol. Roughly 110V or 240V depending on where you live. That would be between 4 and 9 Amps, and that is lethal!

[CyberCrusoe]

Shop lights are also very good for bouncing on white areas (walls or ceilings) to get a nice even fill.

[vonImages]

Thanks, as always ... very useful!

[Maynlander]

Another good light to use in a pinch is long flouresent tube lights which can give a great deal of diffused lighting over a large area.

[CyberCrusoe]

Maynlander: most fluorescents don't have a balanced light spectrum, which means that your colour temperature is uneven.

[Maynlander]

Well ex-cuuuusssse me, go have fun balancing out your color temps while I continue to use what works for me. And btw, I did say "in a pinch". Besides, I have the same lighting they use on the Lazytown sets so there ya go pal...PS Merry Tootin X-mas

[CyberCrusoe]

Maynlander: apology accepted, but I can only repeat what I've learned from lighting engineers, who obvously do not measure up to your extensive experience. Google "full spectrum fluorescent" some time. As for other people, "in a pinch" they should definitely stick to incandescent lights gelled or properly balanced and avoid cheap fluorescents that would turn their videos into newbie mistakes.

[Maynlander]

I was'nt apologizing bud just being the sarcastic ass that I've always been. Now, go read your books or google or whatever you do to increase your knowledge of the obvious and bother with me no more. in other words, "piss off" btw, the title of the video is "CHEAP VIDEO LIGHTING SOULUTIONS" durrr

[CyberCrusoe]

@Maynlander:

I make short films that were shown in festivals and next year I'm making a feature. What do you do to "increase your knowledge of the obvious"?

But by all means, don't let me stop you from joining the obscure ranks of the clueless. YouTube can always use more amateurish, badly-lit, pointless videos.

[johnkarliss1]

@CyberCrusoe Huh?

[Lukey404]

Couldn't agree more. I use the same thing. I tried shower curtains before, they stink and will melt.

[JALNFILMS]

thanks

[spiderboy83]

bonito bueno y barato XD

[Archii25]

Thanks!

Very useful!

:)

[cmmovie]

thanks it is useful !

[thatgaybloke]

I think the plastic shower curtain near a hot lamp is asking for trouble. Would bouncing the light off a reflector work to diffuse it? (As long as it wasn't tin foil on cardboard - fire risk.)

[katotmottgogo]

Cool...

Thanks!

[darkpivotpro]

Hmm... I never thought about that aluminum foil thing. Thanks ;) 5/5, keep up the good work.

[pilopi123]

thanks for the video

[MegaBoss]

great tips, thanks!

[paulalex19]

Can you say anything to say besides that? Good vid.

[jordankade1]

@lauritz93 u rock!