DV Dilemmas

Many videographers use film lenses like this Century/Fujinon lens toget more of a film look from their digital cameras. Other techniquesinclude using stockings or other filters in front of or behind alens.

A number of years ago — and vanity will prevent me from beingmore specific — a client informed me that we needed a new“cameraman” for an upcoming video shoot. I was well knownin the field as a cinematographer, but portable video was new and thisclient felt he needed someone more experienced. I boldly assertedmyself, telling the client that basically all cameras are the same.“You look through the viewfinder, whether optical or electronic,compose the picture, light the scene, press the button, and picturescome out the other end,” I confidently said.

While at the time I was being naïve, not to mention arrogant,my philosophy has pretty much stayed the same over the years. A camerais a tool, and in the hands of an experienced photographer it shouldn'tmatter if it's an old analog video camera, an Arriflex film camera, orone of the new miniDVs flooding the market. What I have come to admitis that there are subtle differences in how you present the subject tothe lens. So while the videographer doesn't need to know all theelectronic jargon of how the image gets from the lens to the recordingmedia, knowing how to light, compose, and expose are vitallyimportant.

As with most of my counterparts in the industry, I have slowly beenmaking the transition from analog videography to digital. Along the wayI've been learning how the videographer treats the new formatsdifferently in terms of light and darkness, contrast, exposure,composition, and focal length choices. Since the field is relativelynew, I didn't want to rely solely on my experiences, so I enlisted theexpertise of other respected videographers and lighting directors.

This is not the final statement on the subject, but merely astarting point. The tools are changing every day, as well as the ideason how to use them, so let's call this a work in progress. I would alsolove to hear from readers on what you've learned or some of thetechniques you employ. Please feel free to email me at millerfilm@attbi.com.

While opinions differ widely on the quality of digital images, allof those consulted agreed upon one thing: Lighting is critical for goodphotography no matter the format or media on which it is beingcaptured. A videographer needs to learn the basics of good lighting,which haven't changed much over the years.

Doug Jensen, freelance cameraman and owner of Vortex Media, says theprinciples of lighting haven't changed for decades. “Yourlighting techniques have very little to do with the format beingrecorded on. A nicely lit interview takes the same setup whether youare shooting on HDCAM, Betacam, miniDV, or VHS. The camera doesn't carewhat the recording format is. So my advice is to learn the basics anddon't get sidetracked on slight differences among formats.”

This is not to say that different cameras don't have uniquecharacteristics that must be considered. In that light, I'd like topresent a concept that works better in theory than in reality, but whenyou can afford to do it, it's a wonderful asset. Test your lightingtechniques and video equipment, especially if you're going to be usingit for the first time. Read the manual and set up various lightingsituations before going out on a production. If you've been usingBetacams until now and the new job calls for DVCAM or miniDV cameras,try setting up side- by-side comparisons so you can see how differentcameras deal with highlights and shadows, color balance, and imagereproduction. If you have time, dub the results down to the finalrelease format.

This is really the only accurate way of pre-judging what your finalresults are going to be without wasting precious time and money duringproduction, or worse yet, having to do a re-shoot. Most of the newdigital format cameras are full of built-in gimmicks and effects. I ama fan of turning all of these off and capturing the image as cleanly aspossible, even if you know you're going to posterize, stutter-frame, oralter the image in any other way. Postproduction is so advanced thesedays that any image doctoring can be done in the edit room. Even theinexpensive editing tools have tons of digital effects. So if you'realtering the image as it goes into the camera, you're limited in howyou can change it in post.

Neil de la Pena, a DP in Los Angeles who likes to live on thecutting edge, thinks digital cameras look best when the gain ispumped.

“I like to push the whites sometimes and I don't worry aboutexceeding 100 (if I even have a wave form monitor on the set, which israre) because I know when broadcast the whites will be clipped at 100regardless,” says de la Pena.

He also likes to shoot on the long end of the lens and at wide-openapertures, which is somewhat of a contradiction when pushing the gain,but can be achieved by keeping light levels very low. “Becausegenerally the quality of lenses that come with video packages are farless sharp than those we use for film, I find myself in a constantbattle to narrow my depth of field. Soft backgrounds — andforegrounds, for that matter — help create the illusion of a filmfeel,” he says. Video lenses are notorious for greater depth offield, so the videographer has to work extra hard to keep depth offield narrow.

Most DPs I know work hard to get video to look as much like film aspossible. Where cameras have interchangeable lenses, videographers areturning to film lenses to increase the film look of digital videocameras. Using stockings or other filters in front of or behind thelens (or in post) enhances the film look.

I have found that the smaller DV cameras have far less latitude(contrast) than the traditional Betacams, which are at best barelytolerable. This means that the highlights will blowout and the shadowswill lose detail faster. Shooting recently at the circus, where thelighting is high contrast because of low-level ambient light and brightfollow spots, I had a chance to compare Betacam directly to a newminiDV. I found that wide shots on the miniDV could not be intercutwith the Beta tapes because of the high-contrast lighting. However,closeups were easily cut together with great results.

Smaller lighting units are often used with DV cameras, as theyrequire less lighting than broadcast cameras. Small units like thisKino Flo 12V Single system can be put under dashboards or behindfurniture.

Ed Marcotti, a Boston director of photography, agrees. “I findthat digital video is more forgiving with the amount of light needed toget the results you are looking for, but the contrast problem stillraises its ugly head … once you get outside in bright sun. Youstill have to fill in most of the time to lessen the contrast. Skintone and color balance is improving with the upgrade of chip technologyand better optics.” Marcotti says the key to good-looking digitalvideo is soft light. He likes to use large soft sources, like 5KWFresnels through soft diffusion.

Dominic DeSantis, a freelance cameraman in Maryland, finds that withDV less is more most of the time. “The new video formats seem toneed very little light,” he says. “DV thrives in the murkylow-light world, constantly surprising me.”

DeSantis says he is often thrown into situations where the clientwants him to go with available light. Because DV cameras require lesslight, the videographer can get away with using smaller lighting units.Now, a 2ft. Kino Flo unit often does the trick, where before a 1000Wopen-faced par light was needed. The newer lights take up less space,have smaller power requirements, and can be hand-held. You can alsosneak them under dashboards in cars, behind furniture, or in the shower(of course, being careful not to electrocute the talent).

Los Angeles-based DP Jim Simeone gives this example of why lesslight doesn't necessarily mean less lighting.

“When shooting a scene where ballet dancers were rehearsing intheir supposedly sun-lit, wood-floored dance studio, I was able toexpose for the existing meager overall light level of the room. Withthe use of just two very small lights, I was able to shape bright andbelievable window patterns on the shiny floor,” he says.“If I was using a broadcast grade camera or even the new high-defgear, I would have needed bigger and more lights to create the sameeffect. The extreme sensitivity of that camera, in conjunction withcareful placement of the lights, allowed that scene to happen with thetiny crew and budget that we had.”

In fact, many experienced DPs find that the lower-end corporate andconsumer grade cameras are more light sensitive than the expensivebroadcast models. Having cameras that are more sensitive to light isnot always an advantage, however, especially if you want to shoot atthe wide-open end of the lens. You may have to use negative lighting(hanging drapes or black cards) to limit the light in the scene, employneutral density filters, or switch to -3db on the camera to achievesmall depth of field.

Finally, knowing where your video is going to end up is crucial tohow you light a scene. For instance, if I know a scene is going to endup on the Internet or on a CD, I light with little contrast, using lotsof fill light. If the video will be broadcast, I can be more creative,taking chances with dark and light areas.

Ed Marcotti, who I've worked with for years, taught me not to beafraid of the dark. “Don't be afraid to shoot at higher contrastlevels if it will make a better-looking picture. Low light can give youbeautiful pictures,” he says. “But be sure to experimentwhen it's not going to hurt your career or your pocketbook.”

I think Simeone summed it up best: “Lighting is critical forgood photography, whether it be film, analog, or digital video. It isalso important towards advancing your career and increasing the caliberof the quality of what you shoot, your demo reel, and your laborrate.”

This is just the beginning of the dialogue on lighting for digitalvideo. Stay tuned to this section for updates.

To comment on this article, email the Video Systems editorialstaff at vsfeedback@primediabusiness.com.