How to Light an Interview | 5 Quick Easy Setups

Hey everyone! Today we're going to be going into five easy but super cool lighting techniques that you can use in your next interview or documentary shoot. Number one, the book light. If you're filming an interview and want to get one of the most softest, most flattering types of light, you'll want to try using a book light. The book light technique was coined and made famous by the cinematographer Shane Hurlbut. We have an entire episode that goes into detail about how to make a book light that I'll leave a link to in the description below, but essentially a book light combines bounce and diffusion techniques. Simply aim your light off of your bounce material of choice, then angle that bounce light through a diffusion fabric of your choice. The combined elements of bouncing and diffusing will not only add a lot of volume to your light, but will also give an extremely soft and beautiful look for your subject. Number two, F the fill. If the subject matter of your interview deals with darker, more emotional topics, let your lighting also enhance the mood of this. To do this, try lowering the overall fill of your subject. If you're using one light, this effect can be achieved by moving your light further to either side of your subject and then controlling the spill of your key with flags, or by using what's called an egg crate or a grid. If you're using two lights, the same concept applies. Lower your fill light and make your key at least twice if not four times as bright to make your key to fill ratio higher, thus giving you a more dramatic look with less fill. Number three, Rembrandt lighting. Originally made famous in paintings, then in photography, Rembrandt lighting gives a gritty and dramatic look and is great if you want to add some really dramatic cinematic lighting to your interview scene. The Rembrandt look is characterized by a tiny triangle placed just below your subject's eye, while the rest of that side of your subject's face is left in shadow. To achieve the Rembrandt look, place your light about 60 degrees to either side of your subject's face and slightly above them, then angle your light down to get that upside down triangle. Add a bounce card to fill in the shadows to vary how dramatic the lighting looks. You can also diffuse the light if you don't want it to look super harsh on your subject's face, but still keep that dramatic contrast ratio. Number four, the topper. If your subject is a powerful figure and you want your lighting to accentuate that, explore topper lighting. This technique is frequently used in movies like The Godfather, especially for shots with Vito Corleone in them. You place your light above your subject, almost directly above them, then angle it downwards. This will give a strong wash across your subject and also add shadow to their eyes, making them look all the more mysterious. And number five, silhouette lighting. This lighting setup is a bit more bold and stylized, but if you want to create a look where your subject is telling a story but wants to remain anonymous, or if you want to give a sort of mysterious feeling to your lighting, you can try silhouette lighting. To achieve this look, you'll want a large, soft light source behind your subject and increase the brightness until your subject falls into almost complete darkness. If you want to give them a little bit of fill in the front, you can add a bounce card in front of them so you don't lose their face completely. So there's five ways you can light an interview, but what's one way we missed? Leave a comment below with your favorite interview lighting technique and the best answer will win one of our new Light Dome Mark IIs. Hit that subscribe button and that notification bell for more free cinematography and lighting tutorials. I'm Nerys from The A-Team. We'll catch you guys next time.