Video Production with Mixed Lighting

Using the Bi-Pin Adapter
To demonstrate the effects of mixed lighting, we decided to shoot this lesson in the living room of a house at dusk. First, we began by setting up and positioning a Medium Starlite Kit to the right of our subject. Inside the box, we used Bi-Pin adapter bulbs with 1000 watts.

We wanted this light to provide a broad, soft light across the couch (figure 1).

Here, you can see the Bi-pin adapter lamp just before it's screwed into the light head. Note that the Bi-pin adapter allows you to use several different sizes of bulb to adapt to your specific production needs (figure 2).

Next, we had our model sit on the couch. Even in this set-up shot, you can see how the color temperature of the Tungsten soft box is markedly different from the light coming through the window. A classic example of mixed lighting (figure 3).

The mixed lighting is even more obvious in this first example shot. With our White Balance in the camera set to Tungsten, notice how blue the daylight is (roughly 5600K) compared to the light thrown from the Tungsten-balanced soft box (3200K). Here, you can see the effect both light sources have on either side of the model's face (figure 4).

To fill in the shadow side of the model's face, we decided to add another Medium Starlite Kit with the same configuration to the left side of the couch (figure 5).

This next result shows how the subject and couch are both evenly lit. From here, we can begin to make adjustments to our lights for a more dramatic look. Note that even though we've added this second Tungsten light, the daylight coming through the window is still quite blue.
(Figure 6)

Adding CTO Gels
To balance window light (5600K) with indoor Tungsten lights (3200K), it's best to place Color Temperature Orange (CTO) Gels on the windows. The gels help to warm up the daylight so that it's closer to the color temperature of Tungsten lights. When working with Photoflex Starlite QL bulbs, we recommend using a 3/4 density CTO Gel.

CTO Tip
If you're going to attach CTO Gels to the windows, place them over the outside of the window if possible, rather than cutting them to fit perfectly on the inside. Use double stick tape and/or gaffers' tape to secure them to the outside of house. This will allow you to reuse the rolls of CTO gel again and again. The only downside to this method is that if there is any significant wind outside, you may lose the gel or see it partially attached, swaying in the wind. Needless to say, this can be quite distracting and frustrating when you're focusing on other aspects of the shot.

3 Tips for White Balancing Mixed Lighting
If you can't gel lights to achieve color balance, here's how to achieve the best with what you have to work with.

1. Position a neutral white/gray card so that it catches both the daylight and the Tungsten light and make a Custom White Balance setting off of the card. This will reduce the level of blue from the daylight, as well as reduce the level of orange from the Tungsten light(s).

2. If you're still unhappy with the color temperature, try White Balancing in different parts of the room, as you'll likely capture varied results. It also a good idea to check your results on a high-resolution quality monitor to confirm the color bias.

3. If you want to completely balance with daylight, go outside and record a Custom White Balance there so that you're not picking up any reflected light off of nearby objects that may be affecting the color temperature.

Most "prosumer" video cameras have multiple White Balance settings that allow you to switch from one to the next quickly. This makes it easy to compare your results. This Sony HRD-FX1 has three settings: Preset, A, and B (figure 8).

This feature is really nice to have when you're working on a fast-paced production, where one minute you're indoors and the next you're back outside in the elements.

Warming Up Your Shot
Here's a simple trick that will make your shots just a little warmer in tone. To make your daylight (or even Tungsten light) look like the "magic hour" of sunrise/sunset, place a color correction gel over the lens while recording a Custom White Balance (figure 9).

This will, in effect, trick the camera into thinking that the light is cooler (more blue) than it actually is. When you take the gel off and look at your monitor or final image, you'll see a huge difference. Experiment with various densities of blue gel to dial in the appropriate level of warm light, starting with 1/4 density CTB (Color Temperature Blue). Keep in mind that you can double up on gels if you don't have the density you're looking for.

Adding CTB Gels To Tungsten Lights
One of the best ways to balance your Tungsten lights with that of daylight is to attach CTB gels to the faces. Note that while a full density CTB gel will transform a 3200K light into a 5500K light, it will also cut about two stops of light output.

Here, we added a CTB gel to a soft box with clothesline clips (figure 10).

The main drawback to using gels this way, other than the 2-stop loss of light, is that it can be time-consuming to cut and fasten them to your lights. Gels can be bought in small sheets and in 3-foot, 5-foot, or 6-foot rolls.

Clothesline clips, or "C-47s" as they are known in the film/video industry, are ideal fasteners for small grip fixes. Always keep a bag of them somewhere in your lighting kit to add more diffusion, black wrap, or gels. Your gels do not have to fit precisely inside of the soft box -- they can be folded over on the edges and will hold a good crease when folded over. Four clothespins are all you need to make a secure fit to your soft box (figure 11).

Although it's hard to tell from this shot that we have a gel attached to this soft box due to the precise cut, this gel has now provided us with a nice, broad, blue soft light. Here, this soft box illuminates the wall, couch and front of the table with daylight-balanced light (figure 12).

In this situation, we used gaffers' tape (instead of clothes pins) to attach the gel to soft-box. We simply taped the four corners inside and stuck the gaffers' tape around the edges. Afterward, we were able to remove it quite easily from the soft box.

In the result shot, notice how our overall exposure in now darker? This is a perfect example of how much a full density gel can decrease the light output of a soft box (figure 13).


With continuous lighting, the only alternatives are to either substitute the lamp with a higher wattage one, or to physically move the light unit closer to your subject.

Adding the CoolStar 150
You can avoid using gels by substituting the Tungsten lamp with the daylight-balanced CoolStar 150 lamp. As this lamp is relatively lower in light output, you may want to remove the Internal Baffle of the soft box to maximize the light output.

Note that the CoolStar light by itself throws considerably softer light than the Tungsten lamp due to its unique, broad design. So when used with just the front diffusion face of the soft box, the quality of light is just as soft and diffused as it is with the Tungsten lamp with both layers of diffusion attached (figure 14).

With the CoolStar lamp in place, you will not need to add more color correction gels to match daylight, as the bulb is balanced to 5600K to match daylight.

The light output of the CoolStar lamp is similar to that of a 400-watt Tungsten lamp, and as you can see, it gives off plenty of light to reach our subject and the surrounding furniture (figure 15).

In this next result shot, notice how the colors of our model and the couch have changed from the earlier Tungsten lights. The blue light hitting our subject is much more in line with the light coming through the window.

Note that the White Balance setting for this capture was still set to Tungsten, as we wanted to illustrate how far we've come in color-balancing our soft box lighting with the daylight coming through the window (figure 16).

Even from this set-up shot, you can see how well these lights cover a large area and provide natural, soft, interior lighting (figure 17).

For our final shot, we adjusted the White Balance in the camera from Tungsten (3200K) to Daylight (5600K). Here, you can see how well the Daylight setting syncs up with the CoolStar lamps and the outside light (figure 19).

Versatility with your lighting equipment allows you more flexibility when it comes down to shooting. Remember to experiment with your lighting equipment and have fun!