Lighting Equipment and Setups

Small Documentary

For a small documentary it could be assumed that there is a limited time frame as well as a limited budget, so the lighting equipment and setup needs to be reasonably priced and easily portable. The three point lighting setup could be used in this situation as it is the basic lighting setup for lighting a person on camera as it uses each light to accentuate the predominant features.

Although the three point setup is perfect for this situation of a documentary it isn't the most portable setup available. A camera light could be more suitable for mobility.









'Talking Head' Style Interview

'Talking head' is the term used for the style of interview where only the head and shoulders of the interviewee are visable to the camera; it is mainly used in reality TV shows and documentary style shows.

A reality TV show that uses this technique is Keeping Up With The Kardashians, it's a show with a combination of documentary style footage as well as talkin head interviews. And like all other techniques for filming it requires a certain set up.
The backdrop must give a slight indication to the type of person the interviewee is; in the case of the Kardashians the backdrop is clean and simple and in the recent seasons it's had a slight marble pattern which is very 'in' much like the Kardashians.
Although it is considered that to have natural lighting is quite significant, in KUWTK there is no natural lighting it is all done with studio lighting that is most likely to be the three point setup; like described in the video above there are three lights in this set up, the key light, the fill light and the back light; and they all work together, complimenting each other to give the perfect lighting.

Night Time Shoot

Night photography is more than possible on a DSLR camera but there is some preperation needed because if you were to just 'point and shoot' the photos would either come out blurred or have lost all atmosphere.

The camera needs to be perfectly stable for night photography. In some scenarios it might be necessary to hold the camera (sporting events), but majority of night shoots the camera needs a steady platform, like a tripod or any other flat, sturdy surface.
With night shooting unwanted lights could be a distraction in the final piece. One technique that could be used is an on camera flash although it could lower the quality of the final outcome and make it come across as unprofessional. Another is off camera flash, this is more convenient for night shoots as it gives greater control of the quality of light given. In night shoots the camera settings are crucial to how the lighting will effect the final outcome, it's important they are set correctly in order to get the best quality as possible.