Interview Lighting

Lighting Interviews is the most important skills set you’ll ever need as an Indie Filmmaker!

Welcome to our latest post, where we'll be discussing the paramount importance of mastering lighting for cinematic interviews as an Indie Filmmaker. In the world of independent filmmaking, resources may be limited, but that doesn't mean you can't achieve a professional, high-quality look. In fact, one of the most crucial skills you can develop to elevate your craft and make a lasting impression is the art of lighting cinematic interviews.

Lighting not only sets the mood and tone of your film, but it also enhances the depth, texture, and emotion of your visuals. As an Indie Filmmaker, you'll often find yourself conducting interviews, be it for documentaries, promotional videos, or narrative projects. Understanding and implementing effective lighting techniques will help you bring your subject to life, making your interviews engaging and visually stunning.

In this blog post, we'll delve into the importance of this skill set, and provide you with some key tips and insights on how to achieve that cinematic look, even on a shoestring budget. So, let's illuminate the path to creating compelling visuals with the power of lighting!

So, how do you get this cinematic interview look?

Here is how I would do it!

Key Light

The most important thing here is the quality of the light. I would make the key as soft and as controlled as possible. Double Diffusion or even book lighting would probably be the way.

Negative Fill

I always use Neg to add contrast.

Practicals

The practicals add that beautiful out-of-focus illumination. Using a low output from those practicals is also crucial to protect the highlights.
I love tube lights for the backlight and add just a tad of illumination on the head and shoulders.

What do you think?