[News]

News: emotionDV has upgraded to High Definition. Welcome to emotionHD!

[WBTVideo]

Hey folks,
I know, "we'll fix it in post" should never be on our lips or floating around in our brain cells. Do it right the first time, when you're shooting, and you'll save yourself hours, or days, of extra work in post. BUT, what about those times when you got what you got and the lighting needs some help?

I was in a training course a few years ago and saw a before and after scene shot in a corporate boardroom in flat, boring florescent light. Then, afterwards with some lighting effects added in post. It was amazing. The project had a six figure budget, can't remember what they used, that wasn't really the focus of the course.

OK, so have you done any lighting effects in FCP to enhance an interview with flat lighting? I watched two freebies on Lynda.com and can't find anything else. This was in respect to motion lighting effects, which I don't want in the interview (shot HDV 1080i 60) they need to be static. So may try the concept to see how it works, but wondered if anyone else has a workflow.

Do you have any thoughts, tips?

Thanks, Chris C

[Duane]

Offering advice on fixing lighting on images we cannot see. Well, less than ideal, but here are some general thoughts.

Enhancing the contrast is the first place to start; I like a 3 way Color Corrector and then tweaks blacks, whites and mids, keeping an eye on the scopes because we know the damage that can be done from past experience. Then maybe bump up saturation.

You can create a simple vignette by applying a Mask Shape > Oval to a duplicate of your clip on a track immediately above and making it large enough it wraps above your subject like a sunrise and invert the mask. Now make the outer edges darker by using the 3-way CC you had applied previously (you are affecting the two clips separately now). Apply a Mask > Feather to smooth the look.

Quick, relatively easy, and done with care your interview will look a whole lot better. Maybe not 6-figures better, but certainly worth a Starbucks or two.

[WBTVideo]

Thanks Duane! The current plugin I found takes a lot of work to get it just right, then rendering takes forever. I'll give your suggestion a try. FYI, for anyone that is interested. We have been using FX Factory for some efx/vfx (or whatever) and transitions sparingly when needed. There's a plugin for that called Luca Light Box. I've used it on one interview (so far) we did overseas that needed lots of help. It worked nice, but again, setting it up and rendering took forever.
Chris C.

[Duane]

Ah yes, I too keep up the eternal search for the "Make My Video Not Suck" plug-in. Will post here when I find it.

[WBTVideo]

Hey Duane,
Thanks for the lead on the plug-in. I'll do a google search 
I'd be delighted to hear any tips, cheeky or sincere, from those working in similar environments. I often find myself in very challenging interview situations overseas, sometimes not even any electricity or only able to use one small light, a reflector or window, due to the limited power. (Though I do try to get brief soundbites outdoors when I can.) I carry few lighting instruments anyway in these remote locations due to weight restrictions, budget and having to haul all the gear myself. Unfortunately I'm a one person crew, I really really love what I do, so I'm not grumbling, but I often run the camera and interview at the same time. Not the way I was trained/mentored, but you gotta do what you gotta do and sometimes that means fixing some things in post. Again any suggestions would be greatly appreciated to avoid fixing in post
All the best my friend,
Chris C.