Creating Shadows (page 2)

Which type of lighting instrument should you use? Recall that a hard light is any light that is small in relation to the subject. They can be open-faced designs, those with focusable lenses, like Fresnels, or even very small softboxes. In most cases, LEDs and fluorescents do not cast discernible shadows.

Fresnels give you the best-looking shadows and light control. Open-face designs lack a lens, so they actually throw two ill-defined shadows: one that comes from the reflector and one directly from the lamp. With a Fresnel, all the light is effectively emanating from just one point, the lens. The lens' concentric rings also create a much more defined edge between light and shadow.

Careful placement of your lights projects the mood you have envisioned for your scene. The further away from your camcorder you place your main light, both horizontally and vertically, the more shadows will define your subject.

For example, to light a dialog scene at night in a living room, you may place your lights based on the light sources either visible within your shot or expected to exist in a standard living room. For example, you have two actors sitting on a couch with a lamp just behind the actor on the left and a fire crackling in a fireplace to their right. Place one light out of frame behind and above the lamp pointed at the actor on the right, skimming the hair of the actor on the left. Place another light (with an assistant flicking an orange gel in front of the instrument) just out of frame near the fireplace, pointed at the actor on the left and skimming the hair of the actor on the right. You now have a setting ready for heated action or romantic dialog.

One of the most dramatic light modifiers is the cuculoris, or "cookie." You can make cookies yourself out of opaque material like wood, plastic or even foamcore. Simply make cutouts that are geometric, randomized or cut to resemble natural elements. When you place it between the light source and the subject, the cookie will cast shadows that create depth and drama by simulating tree branches, window blinds or a host of abstract patterns. While you can use cookies on your subject, you will most often use them to cast intriguing shadows on background elements and walls. Other light modifiers such as flags, fingers and cutters are used to either corral stray light or to create their own shadows. (See Tips and Tricks www.videomaker.com/vidcast/87/ to see some ideas for using cookies.)

For the most distinct shadows with any light modifier, use a Fresnel light and set it to full flood position. Your shadows will become even more defined the further you place the cookie from the light. Of course, in attempting to create softer shadows, be careful not to get the cookie too close to the light. Instead, you can use very light diffusion material either on the light or taped to the cookie itself. Although this is not immediately intuitive, you can also soften the shadows projected through a cookie by adjusting the light toward its spot setting.

So think twice the next time you reach for that soft box. Instead, experiment with shadows and add some drama to your next project.

Contributing editor Brian Peterson is a video production consultant, trainer and lecturer.

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