Lighting Equipment and Set-up for scenarios:

A small documentary where portability is paramount:

1 - LED torch. This is a lighting method for better lighting and the ability to shoot footage during the night if so desired. It is also easily portable as LED lights/lighting rigs can come in a variety of sizes.

2 - Reflector. This will allow the director to bring more light onto subjects close to the frame if necessary. Reflectors are also fairly cheap and fold down to make them very easily portable.

The pros and cons of this type of lighting set-up are that the subject/subject matter of the image will be well lit, however, the amount of light may be too much and the footage could end up being over exposed.

‘Talking Head’ style interview:

1 - Soft box. The use of a soft box creates a more natural lighting of the face and allows the subject to be see clearly (it can also give the footage a softer appearance).

2 - Reflector. This will allow more light to be bought into the image without over exposing the footage.

The pros and cons of this type of lighting set-up are that the director will be able to use a shallow depth of field for the footage, however, the use of natural lighting for the interview could be more effective.

A ‘night time’ shoot:

1 - Spot light/LED torch. This will provide the lighting for the image (if no other natural or environmental source is on hand) as well as being used to highlight certain parts of the scene.

2 - Additional light source. The use of an additional light source could be necessary to create desired effects.

The pros and cons of this lighting set-up are that there will be a good/large amount of light going into the image, however, it could create an unwanted amount of contrast/shadow in the footage or image.