Cinematic Lighting 101 | On-Location Interviews

[@rammo1181]

Not sure if this is technically a documentary, but the Masterclass interviews look sooo buttery and cinematic.

[@nicolemoser7892]

That's what I searched, how to light like they do for their interviews, and landed on this!

[@RogueWolfArtist]

That was the breadcrumb that got me here.

[@johntnguyen1976]

I was floored by Netflix's documentary about the FYRE festival. Very classically cinematic...and GREAT lens choices!

[@guigapira]

The documentary series "Explained" has stunning interviews. Not only because these scenes are super well lit, but also the lighting matches the compositions amazingly. The marriage between lighting and composition is something that should always be kept in mind.

[@danielchen604]

In Free Solo, there were many interview scenes taking place in Alex's (the climber) van. It's a tight space where he eats, sleeps, and trains in, which helps build his character. And they make great use of different tones of natural light coming through the windshield indicate the passing of time and the growing tension leading up to his climb.

[@NatesFilmTutorials]

Needed this! Would like to see more on cinematic natural lighting for daylight, maybe against a window like the shot at 0:49

[@baekmedier]

Please more of these lighting for interviews :) its always great to get inspired from you guys.

[@JonHoltMusic]

I *LOVED* Free Solo. It's a must watch, and the cinematography is outstanding.

[@sergiomartinez5946]

I love watching Chef's Table. I think that's the first time I saw a cinematic documentary. I love how they tell the story and the shots of the food are just breathtaking. It's inspired me to want to make everything I do cinematic, it shows me that something as "mundane" as an interview or a shot of a bowl of noodles can be art.

[@amirperrymusic]

Great video. Love the channel

[@mitchdoll1254]

Great video. I loved the lighting in Wild Wild Country!

[@dominicudell]

One really great recent example are some of the interview setups in Three Identical Strangers. Simplicity at its finest. The mood, texture and framing were perfect for that doc.

[@roughlives]

Wild wild country . The interviews definitely popped to me. Some great lighting choices happening there (not to mention insane doc). And I loved your fyre fest and Jim carry refs. Thanks for sharing

[@ben.fulfillm]

Won't you be my neighbor had some of the best cinematic lighting for a documentary I've ever seen. It was snubbed at the Oscars, and deserves more recognition

[@tonygarcia1986]

My go to for interview lighting is Errol Morris' "Fast, Cheap and out of Conrol". Soft, wrapping light. Large source which I love. Natural roll-off contrast and brilliant use of the Interrotron. All of this is juxtaposed with the less formal cinematic style of the B-Roll, which utilizes black & white, dutch angles, scrubby video footage and so much more!

[@Loqu4]

The first season episode one of Wild Wild Country has one of my fav interview set ups, from lighting the set, composition, color temp. I still use that episode for reference before I write my videos. Wayyy to nice!

[@A90skidAu]

whoa, actual experts on youtube! Gotta study a bit to take this all in.

[@jerzain.ortega]

Wormwood has amazing cinematography on both interviews and recreated scenes!

[@johnthorne3401]

Errol Morris is the GOAT.

[@gsmithweddingfilms]

Epic! Keep this series going... love it

[@redumbrella4218]

I loved the lighting on "Trespassing".

[@markkeraly708]

This was really, really awesome...great stuff.

[@webling3]

I think the lighting in the FYRE documentary is beautiful and cinematic!

[@valentinavee]

webling3 yes!

[@heyyitsandy]

Loved this episode..... I’m a fan of the lighting setup in No Country for Old Men

[@chrisklugh]

These behind the scenes of how to do lighting are very nice. Not only are they very good, but its showing that most of the time your using more or less the same equipment. When I first seen this, I was intimidated cause it looked like you needed 20 different lights and wrote it off. I'm glad its growing on me. :)

[@MatthewHyatt]

I LOVE these. Keep rolling!

[@jennygw1883]

Great tips here. Really like the b cam compositions

[@lucabaffo]

Masterclass interviews is the best!

[@brendanlevi4214]

I just watched the documentary short Nzingha. The lighting complements the natural sources so well! Incredibly dynamic and cinematic implementation. 🌟 🌟 🌟 🌟 🌟

[@dankwilde]

I liked the outdoor interviews used in Free Solo!

[@thierrybeaulieu4403]

Wow! I didn't know that Aputure was making tutorials. Thumbs up!

[@followyourfocus]

The lighting for the Fyre Documentary on Netflix is Nice. It was very cinematic!!!

[@WithersProductions-2290]

All my company uses is Aputure lighting. I absolutely love it!

[@macsnapsmedia]

I'm in love with the cinematic interviews in Chefs Table. They are all about the perfect balance of location, light and emotion. It's near impossible to find a single interview in that show that I'm not in love with, and want to analyse to improve my own interviews.

[@daviiid45]

which white balance temperature was set on the camera for the first interview scene?

[@WilliamHellmuth]

I believe I had the camera somewhere in the 3200 to 4000 range.

[@daviiid45]

@@WilliamHellmuth so did you this warm yellow mood in post with colorgrading?

[@WilliamHellmuth]

@@daviiid45 No, this was in camera. I think I also had CTS in front of the light. Maybe even a CTS/CTO combo.

[@dr.karangautam3848]

Wild wild country !!!! Danm how they have mixed old footages and interviews

[@PeterV]

The Defiant Ones - an HBO mini docuseries of stories of Dr Dre and Jimmy Iovine. Love the way each person was lit in each interview. They had tons of artists sit down and tell stories.

[@hotshoestudio]

great job guys great chatting at NAB too

[@ИльсурГареев-п9ы]

Aputure + Cooke Optics = best cinematography channels, thnx!

[@vincentggielen]

Just watched ReMastered: Devil at the Crossroads. It gave me a feel that they really knew how to work their lights. With depth, whole lotta contrast, playing with different colors on the background as well. They sure took care of preparing thoroughly the different location for the interviews.

[@patrick4912]

Leaving Neverland! Some of the best interview lighting I’ve seen

[@pele5828]

OMG the video is gold!

[@EmceeGraffiti]

I recently watched a short documentary from The Atlantic about the Pearson Twins. It was called “Identical Twins Who Look Nothing Alike” - it was interesting itself, but I did find it intriguing how they were able to honestly make Mr Adam Pearson as flattering as they were able to in many different locations. It was a pretty neat video and also a bit heartbreaking.

[@mvvtheus]

Why there's so much head space in the warm shoot (3:05)? Is this a creative choice? What does this add to our scene?

[@murraycohenfilm2677]

Hotel Cecil on Netflix has amazing interview setups, they are very contrasty and work well with the narrative. There was little to no reflection on their skin which looked very professional. My only think wrong with it was the white balance or at least the colour of the light hitting the interviewee's faces, it made some of them a bit red in the face but arguably it felt right for creating a dingy and mysterious atmosphere!

[@zachb6328]

Faces/Places, killer lighting

[@Sdamobubbles]

I tend to emulate a window for motivated lighting using tube lights and shower curtains as diffusion with a daylight key. I also tend to use incandescent practicals for colour contrast in the background.

[@CriticasDeCineEn2Minutos]

Street Food on Netflix was great. Even the interviews looks delicious.

[@mSabinPhotography]

What is the documentary with this little boy @ 5:26 ?

[@mmagowd]

What focal length did you use with the arcade video? 21/24 ish? Love to know.

[@derdajader]

The interviews in the netflix doc "The legend of Cocaine Island" were very cinematic. The lighting really conveyd a very moody feel and added to the story. Actually the whole doc looks very nice regarding lighting.

[@jasonknight5980]

All of the doco interviews from the series MARS are amazing - all shot close up on a really wide lens with nice lighting and huge, deep soft backgrounds.

[@Moravia90s]

To be honest I haven't really watched any documentaries lately in Netflix, but I'm super into Banger TV's interviews to Metal musicians. That is something I'm really working hard to achive in my country: create mature and serious content related to Metal and Rock bands.

[@langley8418]

Strong Island was very well shot

[@wod105]

Great! Thanks!

[@adilsheikh3480]

Shot at 3.59 I tried iwth dome but it lights both side of fsce.. Jist could not get the shadows..

[@jaredlamar]

Any of the Chef's Table interviews are sooo well done

[@AntonyKabue]

I'm watching this in 2021 😬😬😬!! But my most recent documentary with amazing cinematic lighting for me was Britney vs Spears!! Thanks for the tips. Much love from Nairobi, Kenya

[@JaxyYT-j4c]

Hi my name is Erick Villaran... I really like the interview setups from the Netflix Canadian reality show "Highway Thru Hell", specially when they sit in front of the lit rescue trucks to narrate their versions of the wrecks they rescued. Thanks!

[@juansrealm86]

Im a sucker for chefs table, but the most recent one ive seen, a few days ago to be precise was hand cut, by Griffin Hammond. Yeaah, bring over them lights! Hehehe

[@noahreadhead1718]

Loved the interviews in the pool hall and bar in The Legend of Cocaine Island.

[@oitoumfilmes]

Melhores dicas, SEMPRE!

[@HackMyControlSystem]

Is there any reason you didn't just ND the practical or add dimmer/lower wattage bulb versus the lens and compensating with even more luminance?

[@danie4819]

glad I found your page!

[@nolanwoodward5365]

the casting of jonbenet had some of the nicest middle of the frame interview lighting I’ve ever seen

[@ethansmith1688]

Cartel land had some crazy awesome cinematic interviews

[@RichJohannsen]

The imposter has my favorite interview lighting as of recently.

[@DrewRomano]

I thought Nobody Speak was done beautifully. The interview lighting drew you into the subject and kept you interested in what they were discussing. Maybe not the most creative, but i think used for the purpose of the story.

[@IamColt13]

Where do I get some of those bounce boards?

[@natebrav-mccabe3816]

The Fear of 13 had some amazing cinematic lighting interview set ups

[@danielirvine7468]

Leaving never land doco looked nice

[@albertoflores3688]

What was the nd amount for second clip?

[@dganyer]

I love the interviews in The Defiant Ones and in The 13th

[@Praxiszooms]

the boyband con I found interesting with the framing

[@w4ck02]

MasterClass's Martin Scorsese Teaches Filmmaking, if you look at the trailer, at 0:37 is an incredibly beautifully lit shot. A lot of other interviews from MasterClass felt very standard, and this one felt like Scorsese had a lot of influence on the lighting set up.

[@nicklennox]

Anybody know what strength CTS he used in the first setup?

[@sergluviano]

Maluma KZbin Original has one of the most appealing setups Ive seen for a documentary.

[@drpierce792]

The Fyre Festival documentary’s cinematic lighting was pretty well done.

[@beatnikwolf]

I thought the lighting in The Legend of Cocaine Island was really great. Varied and interesting, they did a great job of communicating the contributor's personality. The reconstructions using the actual protagonist gave it a very humorous feel. What impressed me most was the use of a moving camera in one of the interviews (not sure if it was on a dolly). It takes a very good eye/ear to direct a move like that on the fly, and a good editor to recognise that the move-in works with the moment in the story, and not try to cover it up.

[@ngzonghee]

"Dealt" documentary's interview lighting is top notch!

[@MarciBognar]

My fav documentary nowdays is the Dan Brown interviews from Masterclass

[@XavierPil]

This wasn’t really what you’d expect “on location”. But interesting. Personally I’d like to see more indie filmmakers rather than big DPs. Most of us watching this don’t have half the resources those guys have. Keep the good work. Love your channel

[@BoringPictures]

Hands down, "James Dean - The First American Teenager" for the best on-location interviews. This documentary showcases some of the best interviews/lighting, plus the iconic footage of the one and only James Dean, plus a lot of stuff I never knew about him (Which is rare bc I read a Lot about him). But if I win the contest, I would make a video review on KZbin for the prize and call it, "Aperture AL-MW - My First American Lighting" xD (Since all the lights I bought, from overseas, busted in the back of my car yesterday otw to set-up for a photoshoot that my client later canceled anyways... lol)

[@TimKretschmer]

I recently watched The Dawn Wall on Netflix. Great documetary with breathtaking footage! They needed to be really flexible with the camera, so I think it was pretty hard to get good lighting for interviews, but in my opinon they made a great job using natural light.

[@GUAYABAFELIZ]

I LOVE these cinematic 101 videos! One question, what would you recommend when the lighting source comes from fluorescent lights, like in an office space?

[@henrich4807]

Wild w country evry day of the week

[@Stromboli15]

The 4 part series on Punk rock produced by Iggy Pop. Great interviews.

[@sergiomartinez5946]

How do you know if you won the light?

[@redumbrella4218]

It would be very helpful if we would know the lighting contrast between all the lights. Thanks

[@SonicSinema]

The Defient Ones was the first documentary that actually blew me away with their cinematics. Even with the interviews

[@jetBlues0000]

I gotta win that light " Leaving Neverland" has some pretty good lighting with their interviews. I loved this tutorial, thx guys; I'll also follow you on the other platforms.

[@REVIEWSONTHERUN]

Interesting.✌️

[@ekphotography]

Nice one, keep them coming. Masterclass interviews are pretty nice examples.

[@BarefootMediaTV]

i loved the netflix documentary Hellier, the interview shots looked so real/natural but so creepy!

[@theoblivionproject9189]

The disappereance of madeleine Mccane had some awesome cinematic interviews!

[@marloncantillano7641]

The documentary I like how they use great cinematic lighting was Leaving Neverland and I liked how they use existing lightings plus a combination of two different temperatures. I think that help the viewers connect with the two main characters of the story.

[@RallyAddict]

I like the lighting on the latest Netflix F1 documentary (Drive to Survive). Almost every time a classic very simple one light setup with lots of shadows on the other side of the face. But what was interesting for me, that sometimes on a B cam they intentionally left the light in the frame as an element of the shot. First time seeing something like that. If it wasn't a Netflix production it would definitely look like a production mistake ;-).

[@mrsilveri]

I haven't watched a documentary in a while but I did just watch The Creative Brain on Netflix and some of those interviews had some interesting lighting.

[@sbozinovic]

Very nice video, but whats with the "cinematic"? As opposed to what? Tv? Home video?

[@RohitBhaybhang]

David Yarrow’s interview on YouPic. It’s black n white but the lighting is amazing.

[@QippysChannel]

Amazing light setup..I've always wanted to know who lights the Masterclass interview ads that I keep on watching online, now I know 👍

[@micahjamesfilms]

Spitfire documentary has amazing naturalistic interview lighting.