What lights for this studio

[AndyFew]

Hello, and sorry if you have seen a million of these threads, I am in charge of figuring out a lighting scheme for a new community television studio, and I don't really know much about lighting so I need your help. We have roughly a 20' X 35' room with 8' high fixed grid with 3' space. This will be a for a filming, hopefully to be used either lengthwise or width wise (filming on either wall) and attached to a fairly basic 16 channel dimmer panel. We have a white wall, navy blue curtain, or green screen as a backdrop, and of course a tight (very) budget. I was looking at either pars or fresnel for broad lighting, but not sure what the difference between those two are, and the difference between different pars are, like parnels for instance. Also in our theater at school there are sike lights which look like a quarter pie from the side and would possibly work well for a green screen, but not sure what they are called, or if they are the best solution.

Ok, that's a lot of info, pretty much what I would like is if someone can design a lighting setup for cheap as possible, but decent quality for television, nothing fancy. A good even lighting, and green screen lighting if possible.

Thanks for any help you can offer.

 

[derekleffew]

...I was looking at either pars or fresnel for broad lighting, but not sure what the difference between those two are, and the difference between different pars are, like parnels for instance. ...

Fresnel. Has a distinct, but soft-edged beam, capable of being flooded and spotted and shaped via barn door s.
PAR. Has a distinct, bright, oval-shaped blotch of bright light in the center and a dimmer outer "halo." Barn doors are not as effective in beam-shaping. The only way to adjust the beam size is to change the lamp (bulb, like a car headlight), which are (from narrowest to widest) VNSP, NSP, MFL, WFL.
Source Four PAR. Similar to the PAR can, except that one changes only the lens, which are available in the same spreads as the PAR lamp.
Source Four PARNel. An attempt by ETC to combine the best features of the PAR and the Fresnel. Some think it successful and others don't. Type PARNel into the CB Search box to find discussion.

In the TV/film studio, the predominant fixture is the Fresnel. Its wide adjustable beam and soft edge allows fixtures to be blended, while the flood/spot allows one to control intensity without the use of a dimmer. Due to amber-drift, lowering intensity via a dimmer can wreak havoc on a camera's color balance. Studio lighting differs from stage lighting in that it is at least 90-95% close-ups, so there's no need to light what the camera doesn't see. A smooth, even wash of the entire performance area is seldom needed or desired.
In general, one wants to light the "talent" from three angles:
Key. The predominant light source, 45° off camera center and with an angle of elevation of 45°
Fill. A softer light at a lower angle, from the opposite side as the Key, to fill in shadows cast by facial features.
Backlight (aka Rim light). Coming from behind the performer at a 70-90° vertical angle. Provides a highlight on the back of the head and shoulders, and serves to pull the talent forward to distinguish him/her from the background.

See the information at Lighting Tutorials , especially Three Point Lighting , for more.

...sike lights ...

See the wiki entry cyc light. (Click on any of the underlined words to be taken to the wiki definition.)

 

[shiben]

For the green screen I would imagine you are going to want a pile of cyc-light type instruments. They make some specifically for film but I cant remember the name. Full spectrum florescent tubes with reflectors might work ok for this, would have to ask someone who does that kind of work more often. In our TV studio, we have 2k and 1k fresnels, Source 4s of various degrees, A bunch of that cyc-type thing that I cant remember what its called, and some HMI thinggers (Cant remember what they are). I think everything is corrected to 5000ºk but im not positive, I know all hard edged units have a lot of diffusion. Control is an express.

 

[jglodeklights]

In basic TV light, you want all the units to have the same white balance/color temperature. Typically this means Tungsten, or 3200K units, or Daylight 5600K units. This is either through white balance on the camera, or filters on the camera lens. With the predominance of digital this means using tungsten white balance as color correcting filters cut out more light while results in lower light intensities that result in higher amplifying of the sensor signal (AKA high ISO) that result in higher noise levels.

Fresnels, with their larger beam size and less harsh beam edge, are excellent for creating an even wash of light.

Cyc lights, short for cyclorama light, provide large and even focused beam that covers a large vertical area. With an appropriate diffusion gel, they can produce a nice even beam that works well with green screening .

 

[AndyFew]

Hrm, ok, got some good info. I think we will go with some fresnels, but mounted a little further back than the usual 45* angle, and some cyc lights seem like the best for a green screen.

On the other hand, we did our first recording... we somehow passed with four construction work lights zip tied to the grid... one of which blew out in the very first bit, but un-noticed until it was too late to stop

Thank you to all!