No-Point Lighting

Anyone who's ever shot a frame of video is probably familiar with three-point lighting. You know, key light, fill light, back light. But what about no-point lighting?

Often we're out on a shoot and for whatever reason — low budget, space limitations, client idiosyncrasies, or poor planning — we're caught with our lights down. Or more to the point, without any lights at all. Video, like life, lives or dies with light. Without light there is no image; there is no video; there is no career. So how do you get along if this vital ingredient is missing? You improvise. A household lamp, the headlight of a car, a flashlight, a match. All have come to the rescue in times of need.

Let me begin with how I handle a lack of lights. I like to take shiny boards (reflectors, as they're professionally called) to a shoot whenever possible. They can be rented inexpensively. However, they're big and bulky and may need a body or sand bags to keep them from flying away in the wind. Reflectors come with a smooth side, which is highly reflective, and a rough side, which reflects softer light.

If you can't rent a reflector, you can easily make one. Take a square of cardboard, plywood, or even a bulletin board. Wrap one side with aluminum foil, and you've got an instant reflector. You can keep the foil smooth and highly reflective, or ball it up and then flatten it out for a rough, less reflective surface. Or you can use showcard, bead board, or a white card. Whatever works for you.

You can also take an old storm window and paint one side black, and you have another type of home-grown reflector. (Use plastic storm windows. They break less easily.) However, this type of reflector acts more like a mirror, and the light reflected back at the subject will be harsh and not pleasing. This can be fixed by putting some schmutz between the reflector and the subject. Schmutz, translucent material in a variety of densities, can be purchased from a production shop, or you can use an old shower curtain. You just need any material that lets some of the light through but not all of it. Be advised that these materials may change the color temperature of your scene. Be sure to white balance often.

What about dealing with no lights on a night shoot? If you don't have any professional lights, you can use those square yellow construction lights sold in most hardware stores. I've bought them for as little as $10, and many come with their own stands. Be careful, though. They usually cast an ugly hot spot right down the middle of your subject. To get more pleasing results, try bouncing these lights off that homemade reflector board. But be careful. These construction lights get very hot, and any material near the bulb may catch fire if it's not high-temperature rated.

I've also had very good results with bouncing the beam from the headlight of my car onto a reflector card. You can buy very powerful searchlights that plug into the auxiliary outlets of vehicles or boats. I recently needed to light the wheelhouse of a boat. I beamed this portable light off the ceiling, and it did the trick.

Sometimes you are faced with too much light, especially outside in direct sunlight. That calls for negative lighting. Remember the shower curtain you took when your spouse wasn't looking? It's great for softening the direct sunlight. Anything will do in a pinch — a tree branch (with the leaves still on), several window screens stacked together, even a milk carton or bubble wrap. Let your imagination run wild, and let your creative mind light the way.

Got some tips? Send them along to me at
billmillerfilm.com.