Gaffer & Gear 160 - Removing Unwanted Shadows

[@INCONEXOS]

You are the teacher I always wanted but I never got, after two film schools. Thank you!

[@KallusGarnet]

This man is a blessing

[@aroundtheworld5901]

Oh, this sounds hard for every teacher at a film school.

[@tinderbox218]

You call this "back to basics", but this is the sort of detailed practical knowledge that's not really taught in school settings. The sort of stuff that usually has to be learned the hard way or over years of experience. This content is worth its weight in gold!

[@mribi]

Agreed!

[@tekkythai]

Andrew you're a champ. You should consider doing a lighting lesson masterclass. You have a way of talking and teaching that I think most students would digest easily

[@michaelwhitlock6301]

Seconded!

[@Pierluca72]

Without a shadow of a doubt, this is my favourite KZbin channel.

[@HDProsnet]

More brilliant stuff, Andrew. Even a twenty year veteran like me enjoys "going back to basics". Never thought to put a 12x inside. Now I know better! Thanks!

[@toddpeterson5904]

Cinefoil is amazing. Thank you for highlighting it. It's not cheap, but it's one of the best tools in my kit. It can be used for cutting, blocking, shaping, etc. Besides the black matte finish, what makes it especially nice is that it's semi-rigid, so you can craft it into many shapes that would be difficult or impossible with flags/cutters/floppies, etc.

[@freednighthawk]

This is the type of video I really came here for. Yeah, I love gear reviews, but I also like learning new tips and tricks, and I definitely learned a couple from this video.

[@kilikdudley]

Favorite KZbin channel this past month or so. Thank you!

[@jarrellpeak3705]

Every video is filled with knowledge. Thank you.

[@darkknightwithanidea1845]

Greater channel … great practical teaching methods all industry crew & up & coming DOPS should master. 👍🏻👍🏻🎥🖋

[@perhaar]

Thank you for sharing! You should do a "Back to basics" series with short tricks and tips like this one. They are really useful. Thanks again / Per

[@AwesomeShotStudios]

Great tips, Andrew. I especially appreciate you pointing out that burning out bulbs (led or halogen) is a strong possibility with black-wrap (when used incorrectly). Best practice is to leave a set the way you found it (or better, if possible). Burning out their bulbs doesn't make for a happy maintenance crew...or client.

[@kie844]

Hi there Andrew could you do a video on people wearing glasses and how to best avoid reflection, this is something I've really struggled with on set, thanks so much for your amazing videos and advice, kieran marklew

[@tomdchi12]

Fantastic! I appreciate these "basics" in addition to the new gear stuff. Great to know about this or that new light, but it helps to fill in knowledge about how to apply the gear well. Thanks!

[@gonzalogayoso5555]

very simple and very valuable. Please just keep up the excelent work.

[@henrytheturnip]

Consistently some of the best value content anywhere.

[@mikeGer87]

Awesome information, thank you so much! You‘re helping so much with your knowledge 🙏😊

[@FamilyofTech]

Best easy tutorial to follow along. Short and sweet. Would love to see more of this videos

[@RayValdezPhotography]

Love this video. I actually covered the light on the floor at a wedding venue by with my bag. i picked my bag up it was burning hot at the end of the night . If i saw this video i would have known better. I could have caused a fire.

[@parasinthephilippines]

Fantastic safety advice. Love your content.

[@RunaroundAtNight]

As always you're videos are great and very informative. You are a wonderful teacher. If I could make a suggestion, it would be very helpful if you could make playlist on your channel. For example one on grip equipment, one on reviews of lighting instruments, one on lighting, etc. Thanks.

[@aaronm9353]

I would second that suggestion. I discovered this channel through recommendations in comments on the Grip Tips channel and think there’s such a brilliant catalogue of content here, but it’s difficult to find a video covering a particular topic without scrolling through the entirety of your upload history as you only have a single playlist containing every single video on your channel.

[@alfonsocornejo844]

Another video, another masterclass. Thanks again, Master!!! Saludos desde Chile!!

[@cobymarcum1442]

Awesome 👍 Thank you Andrew.

[@films_by_aw]

Brilliant Advice mate, thanks for sharing.

[@PurposedLensPhotoMedia]

Now THIS is the part of KZbin I love! 👌 Thanks for taking the time to put this video together and explain light shaping techniques! 👍

[@vladbobe26]

More back to basics, thank you so much, Andrew!

[@JacoxNovak]

I was always scared of the fire hazard, so I never taped the spot lights. Great tip, keep 'em coming!

[@lachlanstamp4203]

Thanks again Andrew. Great advice (: Happy end of Melbourne lockdown! Let the productions begin!

[@bernardopinho9179]

Love your work! Thank you for doing this, and please do keep it up!

[@GiancarloBiondi]

Thanks Andrew, this "back to basics" is very helpful!

[@retlwiz]

This is great stuff. I kinda knew most of it but there were some new tips in there too. Looking forward to more of these types of video.

[@JoelRiveraMD]

Would love more tutorials like this one instead of gear reviews all the time. You do great in both by the way,

[@scottsparrow4982]

Fantastic content, as always.

[@FrazzoNews]

Thank you for the free lesson! Great tips.

[@uja1096]

Hi. You should also teach us difficult shots and how they were lit. Also maybe do a bite size series on beautiful shots in movies and how you'd light them or were most probably lit. Thanks

[@javebjorkman]

Need more basics because damn I learned so much in that amount of time

[@OlimpiuVuia]

Great content. Thanks for sharing.

[@Martin_Poole]

Great advice from a top pro….

[@productionresource3333]

Great explanation!

[@jetamorsolovideos]

As always awesome content

[@urniurl]

Great stuff. What method would you use to attach the cinefoil to the ceiling? Gaffer may be too destructive, removing paint or plaster, maybe drawing pins or thumb tacks?

[@conrad2nr]

Taking notes 👌🏾

[@AlexanderCornel]

Awesome tips 👍

[@jannisnewiadomsky]

Love Back to basics !!!

[@GilbertTV]

instant sub.. thanks for sharing your knowledge

[@jlkb18]

This was great!

[@joequick19881]

Thanks for the great content as always! Will you be getting in the new Pavotube 30x's to review?

[@gaffergear]

Should be next episode

[@joequick19881]

@@gaffergear Awesome!

[@prottentogo]

I work as a freelance magazine photographer and I always look out for things in the film world that I can include to my workflow, although being on my own most of the time. This topic is a little tricky, because I don't have either much time nor a static set. Do you have an idea for this kind of situation? Maybe in general working alone and under time pressure is a nice topic for another video. What I've come up with so far for with blocking lights is that I could use something like a Manfrotto Nano stand with a small ball head on top on which I could jerry rig a telescopic pointer with some black wrap taped at the end. Definitely looks sketchy but could work in rooms with sort of regular height.

[@brettcrow183]

Just get a parabolic reflector holder, a small or medium parabolic/fold up 5-in-1 reflector, any medium duty light stand. Turn it to the black side, hoist it above your talent's head. The closer the better as it will have more coverage. Sandbag the stand. Probably the lightest and reasonably secure, safe, and professional looking solution. Alternatively, a 72" fold up, two stands with a couple of super clamps on the studs of the stands, clamp it, bag the stands.

[@prottentogo]

@@brettcrow183 A parabolic reflector holder is a nice solution, but it's weight would require a sandbag, which I usually don't take with me on fast moving indoor shoots. It all just adds up too much, I've been there many times.

[@brettcrow183]

@@prottentogo Yep, just depends on the gig. Get you a cheap fold up cart! Lifesaver.

[@108u9]

Hey Andrew, how might you work with clients who are reluctant to allow the covering of the fixtures with a flag or cinefoil? For a mix of reasons. Perhaps they might say they don’t want a big fussy setup and/or stand by that they don’t see a difference doing so. Have you encountered something like this?

[@gaffergear]

I care about it as much as the director or the producer. If they don't care, then I don't care. That approach has kept my sanity over the years. Sometimes it is just easier not to smack your head against a wall! In all honesty, with Australian corporate budgets, a gaffer on set is a luxury. I'm hired because they want to go to the effort. If they can't see the value in it, then there is no point in pushing. It will just get you more off side with them.

[@floduroc]

@@gaffergear 100% agree with you. Even you feel frustration inside, better to not showing it off and definitely no need to fight for peoples who don't care. As weird as it is, they will not appreciate that attitude and it might actually affects their ego. I love that job but I am so tired of all these egocentric people in this industry. Thank you so much Andrew, this is by far one of the most valuable channel I found on the internet to get clear and smart reviews of equipment and tips overall. Hopefully, you will keep doing that for a while :) Hi from a French guy in Lao PDR.

[@offcenterconcepthaus]

Really good.

[@michaelwhitlock6301]

I think I might need way more back to basics episodes!

[@mutantfilmrental]

Any video on how to remove unwanted reflections from reflective superficies?

[@gaffergear]

Episode 58 may possibly help!

[@videographiya]

Thank you for another lesson! Question: In all setups that you have showcased in this video was the camera temperature balanced in accordance to your lights and did the house lights have any significant impact that could be a concern (green spill etc.) on the picture?

[@gaffergear]

Camera is set to the room lights, I then match the base on my lights to those. I may go Warner or cooler for a look, such as on hair lights, but everything has a matching base hue such as any green tints.

[@videographiya]

@@gaffergear Thank you, for the explanation!

when you tune your lights to the ambient lights or location lights do you make it with a colormeter or app or simply by eye?

[@gaffergear]

By eye, and usually after seeing the tallent in place.

[@hzubovi1]

Is there anywhere we can look at the results you got?

[@DavidKfilmmaker]

I know this is an old video but it just popped up and had a question. Do you worry about the quality of lights that are on location that you can’t control?

[@gaffergear]

@@DavidKfilmmaker no point worrying about something I can't fix, but having said that, let's say it's a low colour render, where possible I would get a colour match to it and try to use my lights to get a better colour render on people's faces for close ups for example. Sometimes all we can do is try and make something look "less shit"

[@victorfox9348]

Throwing fire!

[@Praxiszooms]

very helpful

[@jacoporodolfi4806]

👏👏👏👏

Great!

[@sammorganmoore]

nice vid.. you are giving away too much stuff! 'turn off the lights' - often you cannot turn off office lighting as it is 'eco' and on a timer. this should not be a suprise or crisis. I its happened to me twice in the last 6 months. when hitting lights that are fixed on one should of course proceed as outlined in this vid with black wrap and 'cutters'. Further questions.. what tape will hold black wrap, but not ruin the paint? Have you any experience with the scissor clamps that slip into the tiled office ceiling?

[@gaffergear]

Don't use gaffer tape, I use a paper tape, paper tape comes off clean. In that situation, with automatic lights, if I want all the lights off, I cover the infrared sensor that activates the lights. I also have an episode on scissors clamps

[@sammorganmoore]

@@gaffergear good notes :)

[@meloD30]

What about overpowering the unwanted lights to cancel out their effect? Or are you usually wanting to include the house lights in your setup? Thanks for sharing your experience with us. I especially love seeing the setups you use and BTS breakdowns (I know it's difficult to get permission to do those).

[@brettcrow183]

I would say this is methodology when you still need the ambient light in a scene to light it, and expose for the background. Otherwise you'd need to bring out numerous fixtures to get a balanced exposure without house lights. Or your talent would look like they're in a cave if you're trying to overpower the house lights. You need to balance the exposure tones in the scene or it will look very 'lit'.

[@meloD30]

@@brettcrow183 That makes sense, thanks

[@EmptyLose]

I use the technique I've learned from this episode all the time: kzbin.info/www/bejne/h3asloKEnt2Woqc

[@almagama1471]

Stop lighting Kengurh