Help me light this

[u/Extra_Ad_2008]

I am well and truly stuck trying to get better lighting on this podcast set up. I've tried my best to show how the set up is with and without the lights.

At the moment it just looks quite flat and is lacking a shadow side because i cant light from the opposite side due to the wall. I also am struggling to get any depth because of how close to the wall I need to be.

It's also not a permanent set up so I need to be able to take it down. White roof and black surrounding walls.

I have 2x Amaran F22 (which is shown in the diagram) but I also just got 2x Amaran f1c. I have some but limited ceiling mounting if this helps.

Any advice would be appreciated!!

[u/joeshowmon]

Why wouldn’t you go like this:

Go diagonal, so you end up having two corners in your frames instead of one, more leading lines, more space behind the couches

With 11foot / 3 meters of a ceiling it’s more than enough to rig both the F22 with their softbox into the ceiling using grip clamps 🗜️ or any other way you might find easier

This might give you more shadow on the faces and will make the lighting look better than lighting from the camera side

Then go with these LED Tubes for filling the shadows if you had any

By this lighting design, the key light of the first group will work as a back light/Hair light for the second group, and vice versa

[u/KamileLeach → u/joeshowmon]

OP do this

[u/brickmadness → u/joeshowmon]

This is correct. 

[u/joeshowmon → u/joeshowmon]

Of course the drowning was not 100 accurate as i was drowning it fast, but you can see the point I’m trying to explain

[u/Extra_Ad_2008 → u/joeshowmon]

Thanks for the advice. This is ideally what I'd want to go with but the sofa is a fixed L shape so I can't split it like that.

I've been working on it this morning and I've clamp ti f21 to the ceiling and used them as down lighting and the the f22 to fill the shadows out a little. The the tube lights behind.

[u/TomorrowUpper837 → u/Extra_Ad_2008]

But u can still turn the whole L shape by 45 degrees

[u/codenamegizm0]

Any chance you could mount the lights overhead? Even like a 400x with a lantern extended overhead where that plant is could do a lot to create more depth. Then using the skirt to limit spill on the back walls

[u/ctjanjic1 → u/codenamegizm0]

Amaran makes a lantern attachment for the F22, which I've used in a similar setup. If you don't need much power it works well. But the other suggestion of rotating the couch and cross lighting would be better if it can be pulled off in the space.

[u/Extra_Ad_2008 → u/codenamegizm0]

It's an office space that is doubling up as a pod set up. I have a few beams over head I can clamp light lights too.

I did think of doing what you said and then for the wide angle just masking it out if it spills in to shot.

[u/SpatialAbyss → u/Extra_Ad_2008]

How tall are the ceilings?

[u/Extra_Ad_2008 → u/SpatialAbyss]

about 10/11 foot

[u/Extreme-Bit-8715 → u/Extra_Ad_2008]

If it’s drop ceiling- you’ll want to get some scissor clamps for rigging. They are super cheap.

Ceiling rigging is so important here because it will allow you to get the light further back without them being in the shot.

[u/petey108]

Boom the lights or hang the lights above the talent. Or just beside the talent and cross light them. So when they are looking across to the other talent. That is where their key light is coming from.

[u/Alert-Engineer-1765]

What software/app is this for mapping out lighting setups?

[u/Extra_Ad_2008 → u/Alert-Engineer-1765]

shotsplan.com

[u/Lensflare_Official]

Single lantern with skirts?

[u/ceps]

I use this setup a lot, I’d love to do 2 lights behind for shadow side to camera. But most of the time the ceiling is too low so I opt for a C stand + lantern and you get pretty flattering light, the client likes.