Is it important for churches to know how to light appropriately for video? A quick perusal of YouTube or church websites should answer that question for you. Sadly, it will also answer the question as to how many churches actually understand it. However, lighting for video does not have to be a mystery. In fact, once you get a handle on the basics, it makes your design and programming easier!
A high-quality monitor, a good scope, and a trusted light meter—three tools every church tech team needs.
Exposure
In order to understand how to use light to manipulate the camera, we have to know how the camera works. Let’s begin with the “Exposure Triangle.”
As you can see, each side of the triangle has a significant impact on the image, and each side is influenced by light. Let’s break down each one.
Aperture
An aperture is the element of the camera that works like the iris of the human eye. In fact, it is often referred to as the “iris.” The opening of the aperture is measured by or referred to in f-stop numbers. The thing to remember is, the smaller the number, the larger the opening.
Aperture not only determines how much light reaches the sensor, it also determines the depth of field of the shot.
ISO
ISO refers to how sensitive the camera’s sensor is to the light let in by the aperture. Lower ISO numbers are less sensitive, and higher numbers are more sensitive. For example, in low light situations, you might want to try shooting with a higher ISO so that the camera is able to better see with less light.
The drawback is the amount of “noise” created by the extra sensitivity.
Every camera has a native ISO in which its sensor is best suited to shoot. When it comes to ISO, you really have to know your camera to make beneficial decisions.
Shutter Speed
The final side of the Exposure Triangle is shutter speed. Between the aperture and the sensor of the camera is the shutter. The shutter opens and closes at a defined speed in order to allow the light to pass through to the sensor. Shutter speed is measured in time – it can be as fast as 1/1000th of a second or multiple seconds long. The shutter speed determines motion blur.
What is important to notice on the Exposure Triangle is the impact that light has on each of these elements, and the impact they have on lighting. Notice the “Brighter” arrows on the inside of the triangle graphic. These indicate the fact that more light is required to create the shot as the arrow gets brighter. This is important to understand when working with a video engineer or cinematographer. The decisions he or she makes about how a scene will be shot will determine how much light you need to be prepared to use.
Practical Application
So, how do we use this information in our lighting design and programming? Let me give you a few tips that I have learned (sometimes the hard way) over the years.
Great cameras can’t fix bad lighting—understanding light is the real key to great video.
1. Make friends with the video team
Lighting and video are inexorably linked. The most expensive camera on the market will not make a beautiful image without the proper lighting. The lighting designer (LD) can’t produce lighting that looks good on camera without understanding the limitations and goals of the camera gear. Therefore, the human beings who manage both of those systems need to be a tight team.
When I was early in my lighting career, I had absolutely no knowledge of how cameras worked or what the video operators needed from me. I had to spend time learning their craft - both to understand how the gear operated and to endear myself to them by showing I actually cared about their trade. The result was a better grasp of how my lighting impacted video, and a strong collaborative relationship between the lighting and video departments.
The secret to video excellence isn’t more gear, it’s better collaboration.
2. Cross-training is important
This is related to Tip #1, but take that situation a step further. I am a huge fan of cross-training lighting ops and video ops. Putting the lighting operator at the shading controls will instantly open his or her eyes to how the lighting is impacting the cameras.
3. Determine design standards
The great thing about lighting for video is that math makes everything predictable. Here is what I recommend: decide what you want your video shot to look like, then set the lighting to accommodate. Let the video team determine which f-stop and ISO they want to run the cameras at (based on depth of field and picture quality), then set your lights to match.
For example, if the director decides the cameras need to be at ƒ4.2, then put a person on stage with the camera on a tight shot at that setting. Then, bring the key light up until the video operator’s scope looks correct (the details of this are outside the “scope” of this article). Once everyone is happy, jump on stage and take a measurement with your lighting meter. Whatever the reading is, that is your target footcandles (or lux if you’re into that) for all of your keylight on stage.
4. Have the proper measurement gear
By the way, you can do anything in Tip #3 without the right gear. You need at least three key pieces of measuring equipment. First and foremost, you must have a high-quality video monitor at FOH. When I install a new video system, I make sure that the EIC (engineer in charge) and the lighting operator have matching monitors. And these monitors should not be cheap. Those two monitors are the gold standard for what we determine is “correct” in the video image.
Second, the video operators need a quality scope in order to make the camera look the way we want. Not only brightness, but color, skin tones, and a number of other elements rely on a good scope for proper measurement and adjustments.
Finally, the lighting designer needs a high-quality lighting meter always at the ready. Even those of us who have been doing this for a long time can be fooled or misled into believing the lighting focus or brightness is “good.” The meter doesn’t lie. Now, in the age of LED key light, your meter also needs to be able to take a reading of color temperature, including CRI details. Remember, 4000 Kelvin can be achieved in multiple ways. Oftentimes, you need to be able to see specific color wavelengths that need to be adjusted for the camera's skin tones to be happy.
5. Focus matters
Finally, armed with all of the information above, you can create a stage focus that will make your video team smile. Spend the tedious time it takes to dial in every inch of the stage so that you can walk across with the meter and read +/- 5 footcandles. Ideally, your video operators should be able to sit back on Sunday morning, making minimal adjustments to the camera iris.
