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AN INTRODUCTION TO LIGHTING FOR DIGITAL FILMMAKING - page 4
EXTERIOR LIGHTING EQUIPMENT Much of what we've discussed applies to exterior lighting, so we'll only look at equipment that is specific to exterior lighting. Portable Lights Lights that typically operate on 12VDC and thus can be run off a car battery. Wattages are low, usually 50 to 100W. When mounted on the camera, it can be effective as an eye light (defined below). But if you can, avoid using it as your only light, since this will yield "flat" and unflattering images of a person. Get an assistant to hold the light off to a side, and diffuse it. A dimmer is also very handy. Two affordable brands are NRG and Bescor. A good, pricier brand is Frezzi. Controls for Exterior Lighting A handy tool is a collapsible multi-purpose reflector from Photogenic called a Chameleon, which has silver, gold, white diffusion and black surfaces. Silver Reflector A silver reflector will reflect a relatively hard light. For even more reflected light, a mirror is better still. Just know that if you use a mirror with the sun on a clear day, the light will be very hard. Gold Reflector A gold reflector will reflect just about as much light, but it will add a gold hue, which can be used to "warm up" a subject; this should be used with caution if you don't want to draw much attention to the lighting. White Reflector A white reflector will reflect softer light on the subject than a silver or gold reflector. Diffusion Screen A diffusion screen can be used as a white reflector, or more commonly, it can be used to diffuse a hard light source, like the sun. When you have a large diffusion screen on stands overhead, it is called a butterfly, and nerdier types insist that this term only applies to a screen that is supported by one stand. Other terms that apply are net and overhead.
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