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Forums - Bricks in Motion » Equipment & Software » What are some good lights that are better than desk lamps?
Hi, I've been posting on this thread a lot lately because I'm trying to improve the quality of my videos and lighting is something I'm focusing on doing so I'm looking at some professional lighting gear. Any suggestions?
Lights get really expensive really quickly, I have no idea what price range your looking at, but this, this, and this are all products that I've used and been happy with that aren't horrendously expensive. If you went for one, I'd probably say go for the impact lighting kit. The LED light is really more of a supplemental light.
Edit: I also use some good ol' classic desk lamps as well.
Last edited by backyardlegos (February 7, 2016 (02:39pm))
What is your current gear? That might help with giving you suggestions.
Most of the brickfilmers here (I think) just use desk lamps. What is more important that the actual lights that you have is how you use the lights. Here are two examples from my THAC entry (just using desk lamps):
Half-way decent lighting: 
THAC 0123 by Rivvm m, on Flickr
Much better lighting:
THAC 0000 by Rivvm m, on Flickr
Also, a quick Google search of "lighting tutorial" brought up quite a bit of information on the subject.
I agree with Rivvm, while having good gear can make a big difference, I feel that the way you use your gear is even more important. I typically use two to three desk lamps, (You can see my lamps here) as my base lighting set up. Though in the case above, I was actually only using the one. It's amazing what you can pull off with just a couple of lamps, so don't underestimate them.
For example, as far as I remember, these two frames both used just two lamps. (Possibly even the exact same lamps) Notice at the difference? Good, and Bad.
I've also used a short string of cheap, white Christmas lights, and some Lifelites (See here) to bring in more variety.
But even now, most of my 'outside' shots are lit with just two or three of those desk lamps. I did use just one lamp in several shots for "And Men Loved Darkness," showing that more lights isn't always better. (Here's some pics from the making of that film that may help you.)
I'm just saying that there's a lot more potential in a couple desk lamps than some may realize. Then, throwing in a few cheap flashlights and a stand of Christmas lights can really add a whole lot to a film, without doing the same to the budget.
Now, investing in fancier bulbs, tiny LEDs, lighting gels, and all sorts of other stuff can shoot your films off the charts in terms of lighting and design, (See Sloth's Work) they aren't required to get nice lighting.
I've spent around $100 on my lighting gear over the last five years. With most of that being Lifelites LEDs. I'm not saying you shouldn't go for some of those awesome kits, because if you can, then go for it. But if you don't have the money, you can do quite a bit on a budget. You just have to learn how to work it.
It really depends how much you are willing to spend. One of the most annoying part of dealing with desk lamps is mounting and positioning them, but they are designed to sit on flat surfaces, movie lights are not, so in addition to buying expensive lights you will also need expensive stands. (and for the sake of safety sandbags)
Professional LED movie lights are very experience, which is why I am using tungsten lighting, I have four of these lights, which a single one of those lights new is likely more then most brickfilmers want to spend on there entire lighting setup, I got mine for around $120 - $150 each off ebay over a long time. As they are tungsten lights they do get hot.
The LED equivalent of something like that is running about $950 more per light, now I am sure that there are more afordable LED options then Mole Richardson, but you don't want to get super cheap stuff, I have used cheap movie lights in the past and if just feels like I am spending $100 extra on a fancy desk lamp, they have issues I just don't have time to deal with so I never use them. I am not in the market for a new LED light kit but I feel like a 3-4 light kit that is decent runs about $2.5k - $3k or so.
For stands you can use normal light stands but I really hate normal light stands, the bases take up to much room, they don't have the streanth to mount lights on arm for further flexibility and a host of other issues, so getting a few C-Stands would be ideal.
And that is why people recommend sticking with desk lamps, getting pro movie lamps are not only cost prohibitive, but the stands and power requirements are pretty hefty as well.
You can see some of my behind the scenes wackiness here, here and here.
I'm asking this because I feel like I'm not getting enough light from three 40w desk lamps on 400 iso. So how bright should I go?
so that is a total of 120w, which is not much, what is the largest bulb size your desk lamps are rated for, could you get 60w or 100w bulbs? just check to make sure the lamps you are using can safely handle the higher watt lights. Even using some 1000w lights I run into issues where I have to expose each frame for 1 - 2 seconds.
I have two desk lamps in my studio. They work perfectly for me. I put some notebook paper in front of the lamps to diffuse and soften the light, and I also place fill lights (just pieces of white paper on the ground and around the set) to lighten up dark places like under the subject's hat.
Here's my examples:
Without paper on lamps and with fill lights
With paper on lamps and with fill lights
With paper on lamps and without fill lights
You can read more info about the differences on the tumblr blog post here
well im trying to find lamps that can handle more than 40w
If you use LED or CFL bulb you should be able to get plenty of light, because they only draw around 15 watts for a 60 watt incandescent equivalent so even if a lamp is only rated for 40 watts, you can put a 60 or 100 watt equivalent CFL or LED in it.
also, if you are using a DSLR, the power of your lights shouldn't matter as much, you could just lengthen your shutter speed to increase the exposure.
I'd recommend a RGB LED strip. Most are pretty cheap and come with a remote control and a bunch of color options. If you're handy with electronics, most of the strips are designed to be cut and soldered as well, so one strip can provide lighting for dozens of sets, and it doesn't have to stay in strip-form.
I got a strip and power source from this site which work pretty well and put out a significant amount of light, especially when placed close together. The site also sells the strips by themselves with no power source in case you need more lights.
If you use LED or CFL bulb you should be able to get plenty of light, because they only draw around 15 watts for a 60 watt incandescent equivalent so even if a lamp is only rated for 40 watts, you can put a 60 or 100 watt equivalent CFL or LED in it.
also, if you are using a DSLR, the power of your lights shouldn't matter as much, you could just lengthen your shutter speed to increase the exposure.
What would be the best shutter speed to animate at then?
If you have a DSLR you should first adjust the aperture so you have the desired depth of field. Then you can adjust the shutter speed and ISO to whatever makes the graphic on the back of the camera looks like the one below (in the quote).
Also, here is a helpful quote from Jasper on his current production thread:
There is this meter on the display that gives a rough estimate of how bright or dark the image will be, and if I set the exposure so that the little better is in the middle, the image will look alright. The meter looks like this:
v
-2 0 +2
l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l lIf I have the little arrow at 0, the overall brightness of the frame is almost perfect.
Remember, like Sloth said, you might still need a 1-2 second exposure for even a well lit set.
MarkNelsonMovies wrote:If you use LED or CFL bulb you should be able to get plenty of light, because they only draw around 15 watts for a 60 watt incandescent equivalent so even if a lamp is only rated for 40 watts, you can put a 60 or 100 watt equivalent CFL or LED in it.
also, if you are using a DSLR, the power of your lights shouldn't matter as much, you could just lengthen your shutter speed to increase the exposure.
What would be the best shutter speed to animate at then?
That's impossible to answer. It all depends on the shot. If you have a dark night-time scene, it may take a 1 or 2 second exposure, but if you're in the daytime, it may be half a second. It all depends on your lighting and what looks good. The way I do it is first, if a scene is too dark, turn up the shutter speed, but if the shutter speed gets too slow an it's a nuance, turn up the ISO. I always keep the iso on 100 for most shots, but occasionally, I will go to 400.
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