PRODUCTION • Studio Lighting Test | Development

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Due to us shooting our opening scene in studio 2 it was important that we test the scene with cameras and lights to make sure that we would be able to achieve what we wanted and for it to look believable and not let the scene down. 

To start this we began with lighting which I initially thought would be our biggest challenge as the space we were filming in was quite large and the only lighting the studio is the overhead house lights which can make filming look quite grainy and have a slight green tint to them which we didn't want. It was part of my role to find a way to counteract these issues and find a way to make our footage look clean and well lit. 

Studio Floor Plan
The director and I started with a floor plan of where we thought our props might work, this included the television we wanted to green screen and the drinks table where one of our actors would be standing at. We got into the studio and looked at our plan to work out the dimensions of everything and how much room we would need and take up. This then helped us work out where we could place our lights and our cameras to best capture the action. 

Once we did this, we then went into one of the second year's studio workshops to test out our lighting plan. For this, we used the tungsten lights which allowed us to get a really strong light against the background and on our subjects. 

To light up the black curtain that forms our background I used the tungsten lights with different coloured gels on to add some depth to the shots. After trying blue, red, pink and purple, we found that the orange was the brightest and stood out the most. We also thought that this would bring a warmth to the scene and contrast from the white light we were planning on using to light the foreground and our actors. We chose to use the LEDs for the foreground because they're less harsh and much easier and quicker to adjust, they also allow or easier adjustment of the temperature which would help us with the setup and keeping with our schedule. To add extra depth, we ruffled the curtains to make some shadows with the lights which not only make the background more interesting but made the overall image look less flat.

We didn't want the lights to be visible in our shots so we planned to move some of our props from their original positions so we could hide our lights behind them. This should help to make the scene look more seamless and won't distract from the action happening on screen; not being able to see the lights might also help to make the scene look less staged and more legit. 

This test was very useful and it really allowed for me to see how much equipment I will need for the day, the amount of space we are using and where everything is going and where the main action is happening so I can be sure that those areas are well lit, and the cameras are focused on our characters and the right points. It has also highlighted some issues we might have with the space looking empty so it'll be important for me to consider some ways of getting around the space looking empty and techniques to make an area look busy and full of more people than there are.

View of lighting from inside the Gallery


Ruffled Curtains with Tungsten light (Orange Gel)






Images //

Taken by myself & Laura Bess Draper

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