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Cinematography3 min read

LESSON 107

Lighting interviews on a budget

A window, a reflector, one lamp.

IN THIS LESSON

  1. Start with what is there
  2. A window as key
  3. Adding one lamp
  4. Practice: sound and frame matter too

Start with what is there

Available light is any light you did not bring: sunlight through a window, room lamps, street light. For an interview it is often the best place to start, because it is free and looks natural. Its drawbacks are that you cannot move it, it may change through the day, and it can carry a colour cast. The trick on a small budget is to choose the position of the person and the camera so the light you already have does most of the work, then add only what is missing.

A window as key

A window to one side of the subject can serve as a large, soft key light, much as the sun or sky does outdoors. Sit the person so the window is about 30 to 60 degrees off the camera axis, the classic key position in three-point lighting, and avoid direct sun hitting the face. The side away from the window falls into shadow, which gives shape. If the shadow is too deep, a reflector on that side, a white card or a white wall, bounces some light back as fill.

Adding one lamp

With a single extra lamp, the most useful job is often a backlight, placed behind the subject and to one side, to separate hair and shoulders from the background. Alternatively it can light the background to give depth, which is the fourth light of four-point lighting. Balance its colour to the window: daylight LED panels match windows easily, while tungsten bulbs will look orange next to daylight unless they are gelled. A cheap clamp lamp with a daylight bulb can do this job well.

Practice: sound and frame matter too

This is working practice. An interview is judged as much by its sound as by its light, so clip a lavalier microphone to the subject's clothing; these small clip-on microphones date from 1932 and are made for interviews because they leave hands free. Turn off fridges and air conditioning while recording. Frame the subject slightly off centre, looking across the empty side of the frame toward the interviewer, and keep the background a little darker than the face. Record a minute of room tone at the end.

Try it today

  1. 01Find a room with one window and sit a person beside it.
  2. 02Place the camera so the window is 45 degrees to one side.
  3. 03Add a white card or foam board as fill on the shadow side.
  4. 04Add one small lamp behind the subject as a rim light.
  5. 05Record a two-minute test with a lavalier and play it back on headphones.