The eye light is a piece of the lighting puzzle that is often overlooked in non-professional productions. As unimportant as it may seem, that little sparkle of the eye will add a significant amount of emotional depth and a sense of life to your on-screen talent, allowing your audience to better connect with the character.

Since much of the talent’s emotions are expressed through their eyes, it’s important that the eyes are well-lit and able to reflect the emotion the character is portraying. To maximize the effectiveness of this light, dedicate a specific light as the “eye light.” The eye light should be a small, low-powered light placed near the camera. Though the eye light doesn’t need to be exactly in line with the key light, it should come from the same direction. For example, if your key light is high, so should your eye light. This will help in making that sparkle appear to be coming from the appropriate light source. Remember, the eye light is supplemental to your light setup and should be adjusted to aid your talent’s focus not bother your talent.

Make production easy on yourself and use the eye light as a guide for focusing on a subject. You’re really looking for the reflection found within a person’s eye and that reflection of the light will be come most defined when the focus is precise on his or her pupil. Since most people have dark irises, this intriguing and colorful section of the eye is also game for your eye light.

Whether you are using a high-key or low-key lighting scheme, throwing an eye light into the mix will help your characters come to life. Adding that sparkle to their eye can greatly enhance any emotion, making each scene much more compelling.

To learn more about eye lights and where to place them, check out Lighting: The Eye Light

Looking for Props for your next movie? Check out After Halloween Sales!

So I was at my local department store shopping for a storage bin and I stumbled upon my biggest pet peeve this time of year, “The Nightmare Before Christmas” a long row of Halloween items on sale while Christmas music blared happily overhead.

I always wish we could have a rest from exposure to both of these over-saturated events between Halloween and Thanksgiving, but I’m also a savvy shopper. Anyone who makes videos that might need movie props or makeup should consider the Halloween sale aisle. If you have a fake fight, you’ll need scars or makeup. If you have an ethereal fairy or wizard making magic, you’ll need tiaras and wands.  This time of year you’re going to find wigs, fake swords, zombie makeup and more – all at 50% to 75% off. What a deal. Facial scars, skin putty and glue, fake teeth even fake blood props are all on sale – and you probably won’t find them again until next year.

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Want to learn how to make a storyboard for video or film? Videomaker has asked a professional Hollywood storyboard artist to share the tips and techniques that an aspiring storyboard artist needs to understand in our latest free report How to make a Storyboard: Movie Storyboarding Examples.

In this special fully illustrated report, professional storyboard artist Jennifer Albright shares all the tips and techniques that an aspiring storyboard artist needs to succeed.

When you’re making a video, the more planning ahead you do, the better. Figuring out exactly what you’ll be doing during a shoot saves your crew time and labor, and saves you from cost overruns and production headaches. A good  sample will help you see how your shots fit together before you’ve shot a single foot of film or kilobit of video. This report explains how to make a storyboard that will show your crew what you have in mind, and save you from trying to convey what you want with wordy explanations and frustrated hand gestures.

Complete with illustrated examples, this 100% new report is a fast and simple way to learn how to use the storyboard format. This free report explains all the subtle tricks that communicate movement and action in a static medium. Learn how to show camera angles, lighting and camera motion in storyboard format with “How to Make a Storyboard: Movie Storyboarding Examples!”

We asked Jennifer Albright to compile this helpful guide to storyboard art, drawing on her own experiences as a freelance storyboard artist in the television and film industry. Jennifer is a UCLA film school alumnus and Los Angeles-based illustrator whose clients include Fox Sports Marketing.

Download your free report How to make a Storyboard: Movie Storyboarding Examples.

There will be times when your video productions will take you places your lighting equipment can’t go. Other times your production budget will determine whether or not lighting equipment is present. Either way, a lack of professional lighting doesn’t mean all hope is lost for creating a properly exposed video. If the location of your shoot is outdoors, you’ve got one of the biggest and brightest light sources around – the sun.

The sun can provide more than enough light for your set. However, it often provides too much light, creating harsh shadows and areas of overexposure. One way to avoid both extremes is by putting your subject in the shade. This will create a soft, even light. You can then use a reflector or bounce card to fill the remaining shadows while illuminating the face. In addition, have the subject face the sun, as opposed to having the sun shining on their back, and you won’t have to worry about that dreadful silhouetted look.

Whether you’re indoors or outdoors, there’s plenty of light available. By being aware of alternative lighting and becoming familiar with the lighting techniques to match, your videos will never have to suffer from bad lighting again. The next time you find yourself without professional lights, take a look around and see what you can find.

For more tips and techniques on lighting your subject without the use of professional lights check out Finding Light for Video.

When lighting for video there are many different factors to consider. The quantity and placement of lights are usually the first things that come to mind, however, paying attention to light temperature is equally important if you want your lighting to look professional. If you’re in a situation where you are mixing light sources with different color temperatures, you’ll want to be sure to use color correcting gels.

Our eyes automatically adjust for the differences in light temperature, however, video cannot. This results in lights with a cooler light temperature (outdoor, 5600K) appearing to have a blue hue to them, and lights with a warmer light temperature (indoor, 3200K) appearing more yellow. Color correction gels will allow you to match different light temperatures, so that they appear to be of the same source.

Color Temperature Orange (CTO) gels come in varying strengths of orange and will allow you to turn your cooler light sources into warmer ones. They can be used to match outdoor light and indoor light. For example, by placing a CTO gel over a window, adding warmth to the daylight shining through, the outdoor light will match the incandescent lights you are using for your indoor shoot.

Color Temperature Blue (CTB) gels come in varying strengths of blue. CTB gels will make warm light temperatures appear cool. By placing a CTB gel over an incandescent light, you’re able to make it appear cooler. This allows you use your incandescent lights in conjunction with daylight without there being an unnatural mix of color temperatures.

Plus Green and Minus Green gels are color correcting gels one would use when mixing fluorescent lights with either daylight or incandescent light. Since fluorescents tend to emit a light that is greenish in hue, you would want to gel the fluorescent light with a Minus Green gel (magenta in color) to counteract the green. In some cases, gelling all of the fluorescent lights may be too difficult. Adding Plus Green gels (green in color) to your production lights, will allow them to match the fluorescents. Minus green (magenta) gels can also be added to a kick light to eliminate the greenish light bouncing onto your subject from a green screen.

There are many types of gels that can assist in almost any lighting situation. Becoming familiar with your gel options and techniques for using them will allow you to flawlessly light any scene while achieving that desired look.

For more information on using gels to correct your lights check out Videomaker’s article Lighting Gels.

Sucessfully lighting a scene can be easily understood and imitated if you see someone actually do it in person. There’s nothing more beneficial to the process of learning new information than hands-on experience and help from a knowledgeable person. That’s why, at Videomaker, we offer you the opportunity to learn lighting techniques from a qualified instructor. Check out our upcoming event schedule to learn more about our Workshops and Webinars and sign up for a class today!

Proper green screen lighting requires planning. A well planned lighting setup can assist in making the desired green screen effect believable. Generally, when first starting out, videographers will grasp the concept of a properly lit green screen, but fail to seamlessly incorporate the lighting of their subject. This can break the illusion that the subject is actually in the keyed scene. For example, if the background plate is a dimly lit rain forest with pools of light shining through the thick canopy, it would look unnatural to have your subject lit by high-key, even lighting.

The trick to selling any effect is to match the light on your set to the light of the background plate. Choosing your background prior to starting production will allow you to plan your lighting design accordingly. Study the background plate; try to decipher from which direction the main light source is coming from, what color temperature it is, if there is any other light sources, and so on. The lighting information you collect from your background plate will allow you to effectively recreate the mood with your own lights, which will further sell the effect.

Lighting can make or break your green screen effect. Ensuring your on-set lighting matches the lighting in your keyed scene is one way to help make your effect more believable. By learning how to recreate a variety of lighting scenarios, you will greatly improve your ability to pinpoint light sources, as well as implement a lighting plan that works.

Lighting green screens requires advanced skills that take you beyond the basics of video lighting. For videographers that are ready to take the next step we have created an Advanced Lighting eDoc bundle, which includes 4 eDocs that will provide you with the knowledge you need to light video for situations that require a higher level of sophistication.