How to build a BOOKLIGHT with ONE C-STAND.

[@joshwhitee]

I've heard I may have put the Grip Head on backwards... guess thats what happens when you try to rush a video to keep to the one a week schedule! I'll do better next time😅 #safetyfirst

[@photozen8398]

yes you did ….with knuckle….Righty tighty…Lefty loosy.

[@frame88multimedia]

Open toe shoes LOL but great video he he

[@redbassett]

If you try to build this, make sure to check your grip head ("knuckle") direction! As shown here the grip head is on the wrong side of the stand. The weight on the grip head should be trying to turn the handle in the direction of the tightening action, not away from it. Especially for this build, where way more stuff is being perched on the cantilevered frame of the ultrabounce, make sure gravity is tightening your grip heads, not loosening! Also, nothing against this technique if you are down to one stand, but consider it a last-resort. Adding a second stand to hold the diffusion spreader doesn't add much time to the setup, and while spring clamps are great for some things, they shouldn't be the first choice for keeping overhead equipment up. If you don't have a stand and choose to build this, just be extra careful that the spring clamps can't slide around but a second stand will reduce the chance that someone bumps this and a spring clamp snaps loose. A second stand will also provide more support for dressing the sides of the book light which you generally want to do. While this room in the example is extremely bright already, spill from the book light onto other surfaces or glare into the eyes of the subjects and crew are considered important to avoid, so again, unless this is a last-resort with no more gear available, expect to either clip up duvetyne on the ends (more weight, so defintiely a two-stand build) or to add more stands to support floppies to flag the sides.

[@mattierosen5427]

I came here to say the same thing. Big safety hazard the way it’s rigged.

[@thomasarballo764]

retweet. not enough "cinematographers" know about weight distribution and setting up a stand correctly/safely. @@mattierosen5427

[@darcybrown7369]

any links to where this is done as you describe ? thanks

[@thomasarballo764]

@@darcybrown7369 Great video. This is what you'll see on any professional set. Talks weight distribution, how to set it up, best practices. kzbin.info/www/bejne/fXjPkJpri9CkfLc

[@mattierosen5427]

@@darcybrown7369 The PDMokry video that this film references talked about the importance of keeping the weight over the largest leg and keeping the knuckles on the right side. If you search for “c-stand safety tips” or something like that, then you should find what you need. There are plenty.

[@PDMokry]

WOW! Thank you for the shout out in the video. I guess I did gloss over how big an impact my setup made for my viewers. Thank you so much for the kind words and support. Great video by the way!

[@joshwhitee]

yeah alot of people are as stoked or more stoked on this setup than me. now i feel like i should make a video dedicated to me putting a knuckle on correctly to ease everyone's anxiety over whether i'm going to drop some grip gear on a talents head haha. Thanks for sharing that rig though it's going to be super handy, also great call on using the table cloth as a flag to curb any spill... lots of concern over the spill in my video so hopefully people start going over to yours to see how its done fully legitimately haha. Thanks again!

[@dtc_media]

We also use this setup on our recent shoot and the shots were FIRE!!!!!!! Thank you Piotr!

[@PDMokry]

@@dtc_media That is awesome to hear! Just dropped a big booklight set up this week on the channel!

[@eotceotc]

@@joshwhitee Hi where did you get your frame? I couldn’t find the link in your description.

[@aaroncarter8845]

Your Camera Operator in this is super talented, quick reframes, good compositions, and always sharp!

[@AndreSjoberg]

That’s the most convoluted and genius use of *1* C-Stand I’ve ever seen, three thumbs up for this frankensteined booklight, loving it :)

[@joshwhitee]

It’s my favourite of all the franken rigs I’ve built so far!

[@NisahCheatham]

FrankenSTAINed - in this case

[@RobertJohnPhotography]

Love this. I use a kupo C-stand but with their 340 Roller Stand Base. I put a super clamp with a baby pin on the extended front leg to mount my light. Works great and able to roll it wherever I need it to be. I also throw black Duvetyn over the sides to keep light from spilling all over. In a big room like this wouldn't need it. One tip, reverse your grip head. You have the handle on wrong side. If that starts to fall it won't tighten. Should always be on right side so it tightens on itself.

[@joshwhitee]

Yup I’m gripping head dyslexic 😂

[@RobertJohnPhotography]

@@joshwhitee 😂. Definitely check out the Kupo 340 Roller Stand Base. Think you will like it. You can extend that front leg and probably could mount your Cardellini clamp to it. Like I said, I use a super clamp with baby pin. But being able to roll your book light around is very handy. And looks like you are using Impact turtle base c-stands and those pop right in.

[@darcybrown7369]

any images to show your setup? thanks

[@RobertJohnPhotography]

@@darcybrown7369 I just set it up with the bounce, super clamp, Forza 500 head & grip arm. I took 2 pictures for you. It doesn't have diffusion or power supply hooked up. Just did this so you can see. What is your email and I'll send you pic's.

[@energyuniverse6044]

I've been trying to setup a light in my room for a fighting scene, but I don't have much lights but in your video I just learned a trick thanks ❤

[@kidcoma1340]

I really like this setup, and the Cardellini solution is genius, the only thing I am missing is at least a bottom cutter to make it look more natural.

[@Vincentecreativeservices]

I saw that video too the other day and was blown away. Great set up but that one c stand book light was some next level genius.

[@ooakproductions]

Great video!!!!! Very helpful and I’m excited because I have all the stuff to do this (scrim Jim, floppy, etc) On your ‘I should have exposed for the outside’ thing. Don’t apologize. It looks fantastic with the white window….almost like a big practical. If there is something outside the window that actually makes sense that you are trying to Show (cityscape, etc) then sure. But if it’s just the ugly side of a next door building…..I say rock the look you ended up with.

[@SeanieDHC]

Looks Great! The Fresnel attachment could be useful for more output too instead of using a 600d

[@JesseDriftwood]

Thank you for letting me steal this. Also, definitely building my own.

[@joshwhitee]

Anything to let you climb to the next tier of the kingdom.

[@softboxcorporate]

Super Technique. Thank you for sharing. Also, please note that the light coming from the window might not always be consistent as the day progresses or weather changes (depending where you live) - also if the "client" or crew are late for arrival and the shoot starts late, then light from the window would have changed and you might need a second light later for more fill.

[@joshwhitee]

Thanks for the heads up, I know this all too well, our studio light changes constantly, but this was more about showing the booklight build as a useful tool rather than a perfectly lit shot since yes… the light changed a loooot while filming. Glad you enjoyed the vid!

[@workofdavidross]

Now THATS a book light!

[@mattdillman463]

Cool Set Up. Book Lights are cool, but for documentary or really any interview where I'm lighting one person I think a 600x in a 5 ft octabank with 2 layers of diffusion is faster, easier, has more control, and achieves a similar enough softness. These set ups are fun, and to each their own. Thanks for sharing!

[@misterbusiness3964]

Does that kit travel well on planes?

[@attentionearned]

my octa is about five feet long collapsed so not going to fit in most bags @@misterbusiness3964

[@khoinguyen5043]

very impressed that the head didn't loosen

[@RuXTaR]

I've done that before. Lots of spill light in small spaces, so, just like stated in the video it's a technique for large spaces unless you really don't mind light going everywhere

[@WizardOfCheese]

this is genius indeed, thankyou for sharing!

[@chroniclevisuals2717]

I just saw that video this week! It was gold.

[@joshuadanielproductions]

Great video. You can use the Savage C stand instead of using a super clamp and baby pin.

[@TCJOHNSTONE]

This is great Josh. Super simple and great edit.. T.

[@roopetamminen6199]

Great lightweight setup! Will definetely give this a try and maybe also add a fill bouncecard to the shadowed side for people that have strong facial contours. Using part of a butterfly frame is a great idea that I had’nt thought of and will save a good amount of space in the car and get a much better wrap than putting a 48” diffusion in front of the source bounce.

[@frankiegoes9939]

JOSH! if safety is important to you, please follow the #1 rule of working with a c-stand: ALWAYS USE AND SET THE NUCKLE SO THAT WHATEVER YOUR HANGING ON IT HAS IT'S WEIGHT RIGHT CLOCKWISE SIDE OF THE KNUCKLE SCREW. The way you just set it on your video here is wrong because the weight of the floppy is hanging on the "unscrew" side of the knuckle.... if the weight makes it unscrew and it gives, it will fall on your guest or crew or whoever is in under it... In other words, use weight to tighten the knuckle, not loosen it.

[@joshwhitee]

lol, see pinned comment

[@floripilsl2671]

Thanks for the share and demo. Chance to add an A/B in future ones? Do appreciate your showing us this

[@joshwhitee]

Absolutely! I shot that very quickly, (literally in about 15 mins) and didn’t expect the algorithm to take off like it did. I want to do more lighting setups so expect more!

[@deonvnzl]

05:58 - you have locked that griphead incorrectly - if that were to come loose it would fall over. great info otherwise, thanks for sharing.

[@joshwhitee]

You are correct, I’m grip head dyslexic

[@andreapperley]

Genus, love this. "inside of this floppy looks like someone threw a coffee at it" hilarious

[@ruffprophetproductions]

I don’t mind losing the highlights in the windows, thanks for explaining the setup further!!

[@PhilipCutting]

What a beautifully shabby-chic warehouse! So much style! So much space! Has it been deliberately designed like that? Is it the result of neglect? So many questions from here, in fully plastered and painted UK! 🤣

[@joshwhitee]

kzbin.info/www/bejne/r4O2lnZrdt1-Z7s that will answer most of your questions!

[@CleanSlateFarm]

I think you just solved my lighting problem! Thanks

[@MichaelDHead]

Savage Universal has a c-stand with a Grip Arm already built in the place where you put the cardellini clamp.

[@1001Hobbies]

If the windows are your key light, have you tried just using a large bounce to fill in on the shadow side?

[@eliucornielle5290]

This was brilliant, thanks for Sharing Josh!

[@joshwhitee]

Glad it helped! 🤙🏼

[@SummersSnaps]

Super to see, thanks for sharing. So... I'm new to this, but I wonder how much of a difference book lighting would be compared to shooting with a 7ft umbrella (or two?). I've seen some nice results with a 7ft shoot-through + diffuser as well. I would have thought the results would be somewhat similar?

[@spencertorok]

implementing this immediately- thanks for sharing josh!

[@stephenbrouillette4541]

Awesome. And Netflix docs sometimes just let the windows blow out.

[@onegreenev]

Maybe use carbon fiber or fiberglass tubing for the final cross for the scrim to keep the weight down. I like the idea. Now to get a constant light for use with such a setup. It will be quite handy for video work for sure and maybe even photography as well.

[@cinematools]

Doubt that I will ever build one but looks great. Thank you for the video!

[@SQUAWWW]

Dope set up!

[@ckhicks]

Rock on man, nice work!

[@krizzlec]

With aputure I like plugging cables in before mounting anything. Particularly the power cable that is underneath the ballast. Always annoying to get down low and feel around to get the plug in.

[@jtp1138]

Great build! I knew many would land on you with both feet for not rigging gobo head righty tighty rule. Still great demo!

[@JADURCA]

Great! What about the power percent of the light? Maybe 85% or more?

[@Jiujitswho]

Love this, but I’d love to see the difference between just a regular soft box

[@davidp158]

Thanks for this demonstration. That’s a cool way to set up a book light that I will have to try. I have a similar Cartelinni clamp that is the Kupo brand with the threaded shaft. Mine is prone to binding when clamped down and a real pain to remove. Does that ever happen with yours? If so, do you have a trick to get is loose?

[@TK-lu5mp]

Hey.. This is amazing...! so inspired..!

[@joshwhitee]

Glad you think so! It wasn’t the best example but hopefully got the point across!

[@DesmondSimon]

This is great! Definitely going to try this when I get home. Thanks man.

[@joshwhitee]

It’s so handy, definitely tape the leg though. Tried moving the c stand once and the carti slipped.

[@jonaswinkler_dp]

Absolutely love this style of video

[@NicolasPetit]

Cool video ma,n, thank you :) Would be interesting to compare this setup to a classic softbox

[@joshwhitee]

Hoping to do that at some point considering how popular this video was!

[@pedroborba2933]

really nice set!

[@MattSpaugh]

I've done this for years using white PVC as my bounce material and facing the light straight up into it - guess I should've made a video about it. The issue - and Mokry has this too - is spill. You''ll see him basically build a giant softbox with neg all around the edges. In smaller spaces it makes this really difficult to control.

[@outbackatl]

7" narrow silver or white umbrella with a diffusion sock over it. get the sock that has the hole in the center. Now shine your light into the umbrella and then it comes back through the sock as a book light. A grip head, cardellini and a c stand.

[@mariosanmiguel6947]

Rad!! Thanks for sharing Brother!!

[@iPhone-Cinematograhy]

Helpful, thanks for posting.

[@ZenoWatson]

Fantastic tip Josh thank you!

[@TylerLeeKenyon]

Savage makes a c-stand that has a small riser built into the shortest leg. This would simplify the setup by negating the need for the cardellini clamp! Plus their products are built to last 👌

[@longwelsh]

A longer grip arm and a bit of counterweight could be nice? Maybe some extra ballast for peace of mind? Great video.

[@michael29913]

Awesome stuff 🙌🙌

[@perlenbetov]

Thank you for sharing your knowledge!

[@dathofilms]

Or just get an umbrella with white reflection inside, super lightweight and huge 180cm. Produces book light, does not need a Cstand and can be setup in 2 minutes.

[@dathofilms]

Also, better control to position light direction and you will not have side spills.

[@TasteofTaboo]

and with an silver reflection inside and outside a white diffisuion it gets even more light out. But 180cm umbrella might be to wide for a lot of LED COBs or the shaft might be to short. You can put it in a extra stand but then you are missing one layer of diffusion

[@dathofilms]

@@TasteofTaboo The one I use fits perfectly on my Nanlite 300 LED. it super nice and soft for wide shots.

[@sganzerla]

Unfortunately, as @TasteofTaboo said, there is too much area for the COB light to hit, in a 7' Umbrella. I have the same experience as his with my 300C. The parabolic ones (silver) were designed with the intent of having a bare bulb light illuminating it, so it can create a 'direction' for the light. Without this, and no COB is a exposed bare bulb, this design is somewhat compromised (in the silver material).

[@VIDDTHEDESIGNER]

thanks for sharing might use this in the studio

[@SyabilNg]

Love what you do Josh. Only one thing for future videos, please make sure your audio levels are normalized properly. Currently the content loudness is -14.2dB and coming from other KZbin videos, it's wayyyy too soft.

[@joshwhitee]

Ahhh thanks for the heads up… need to make a preset but haven’t had much time to figure out audio in resolve since switching over! Thanks for checking out the vid!

[@PeterDiBussolo]

Great video Josh

[@WaltervanDusen]

Great job for paying it forward with the shoutout to my buddy Piotr 🎥🥳😬 New Subscriber 🎉

[@SamMcGhee]

Reducing the footprint. I’m Al about this. This is a good program.

[@binershock]

Looks good - why is the light to the right of the camera, versus on the left side where the strongest shadows are?

[@joshwhitee]

If you have a window in frame, your key light should generally be on the same side as the window helping to just wrap that light around a bit more. Had I spent more time on this I would have added a second fill light or bounce card to bring the levels up on the shadow side of my face….. if I was going for a less contrast look. But you generally want to film from the shadow side to add more depth to the frame.

[@binershock]

@@joshwhitee thanks. Had no idea. TIL

[@grooveecard]

This is AWE-SOME. Thx, man!

[@IvarsDayLab]

Hi. I have rolled through the results of your lighting setup and I can't really understand it. My experience in lightning is small so I definitely not trying to prove something, I just want to understand. Why to use so complex setup to achieve so little? Couldn't you just set a diffusion panel and put a light on the other side like it's done on a movie production ? Couldn't it be achieved with big octabox like 150cm or 200cm with additional layer of diffusion fabric and some 300w light, would it give you same results?

[@joshwhitee]

You definitely could do that. What I’m trying to do is get as big of a source as possible in a tighter space where a traditional book light is too big. Most people have been confused because I’m obviously demonstrating in a huge warehouse. But you can achieve a similar result with a parabolic umbrella if your light fixture has a rod support. Just one tool that can be used to keep in the back of your head!

[@julesselmes]

I would have placed it to the left of the camera, being the ‘shadow’ side. What am I missing?

[@joshwhitee]

no you want to put your key on the side of the "natural" light source. you're just trying to wrap it around a little further. It's not a hard and fast rule but the shadow side should normally be closest to the lens. Hope that helps!

[@hiveschool]

Are you able to share how you managed to capture your audio without loads of echo in that big open space?

[@joshwhitee]

DJI mics are pretty great with a little AI noise reduction!

[@MezcalBuzz]

How do you think this would compared to a really large parabolic soft box?

[@timspisar]

Love it man. Thanks for the tips 🙌

[@joshwhitee]

Yo any time!

[@icyjaam]

Great video that was

[@MikeKarschti]

Beauty sandals!

[@stephanefiore4585]

Yes work well but it will work better with a medium roller ( avenger ) and a floppy ultrabounce . Thank you to share 👍

[@joshwhitee]

Agreed, unfortunately my local rental house didn’t have the ultra bounce in at that time

[@Spinflight]

This is great. But as great as a book light is, I still prefer a large soft box with a grid. The grid really helps to knock down the highlights on the face. Especially when I shoot lighter skin.

[@drew_hewitt]

Undeniably convenient. However, I wonder if this will stress out the floppy, having the weight bending the far end of the frame.

[@harpenfluit]

I don't think it will cause any stress, since the floppy doesn't have any hinges; it's merely a passive system.

[@AaronArao]

Great content!

[@cinema-q]

Why didn't we see the footage from the fx6 with this set up after exposing for the window?

[@joshwhitee]

Honestly, I didn’t have time… I’ll try and work the shot in another video. I think I whipped that whole video together in 2HRS between shoots 😅

[@fostervf16]

Can I get details on that vice grip? Is it the 6 inch from B&H?

[@joshwhitee]

Impact end jaw available on Amazon. 6”

[@princejbc2003]

Beginner here 👋. It looks like your book light is on the same side as the window. Would you have another fill light on the opposite side of the window?

[@joshwhitee]

depends on the look you're going for! i didn't do a great job of making this a good looking source, because the video was more just about the potential the rig has but if you want to wrap your source more you could potentially use a fill/bounce.

[@Runge100]

Great video, but I don't understand why you use a crossbar for the diffuser, why not just clamp a Chimera panelframe diffuser directly on the floppy ? Is it because you need the diffuser to be wider than the floppy ?

[@joshwhitee]

Hey! yeah I was trying to maximize the surface area to the full 8ft of my magic cloth. The larger the surface area the light can hit the softer the light!

[@OuterEastLLC]

Great idea. I bet with a combo stand you could light an entire street.

[@CMOOREDESIGN]

where do you buy the one foot cardellini clamp ?

[@joshwhitee]

link in description!

[@theseventh2609]

Cool man 😊

[@Households1234]

Why the baseball cap backwards?

[@Owlbot]

"Safety First!" *Wears Slides* 😂

[@joshwhitee]

#safetyslides

[@pty_foto]

Thanks 🙏

[@midnorthmedia8136]

Any Canadians find a store to buy the 48" by 48" ultrabounce? One American online store had it in stock but the shipping was going to cost $447... more than the actual item.

[@joshwhitee]

Hey I know sourceshop can order them in, but I don’t know the cost going through them for one. Great people though!

[@uwetrenkner9716]

Thanks for giving credits

[@SarveshPonnusamy-p7e]

what is the diffusion material used in it?

[@joshwhitee]

12x12 silent full grid

[@carlclippedit]

Can you please put an actual list of everything you used to make this, I’m new to lighting so I want to build your exact setup, minus the light and c stand

[@joshwhitee]

48” floppy muslin, 1ft impact vice clamp, cross-bar, 8x8 silent grid

[@cacine]

Respectfully. This set up is NOT a book light. It IS bounce fill through diffusion. A proper book light utilizes (2) 4x8 pieces of foam core or bead boards placed in a “V” orientation with a lighting instrument focused to “hit” the “V” and bounce light back onto the the subject or set. This creates a beautiful diffused quality to the light in order to create a soft key source or fill. To further soften the quality of the light you can place a large diffusion frame in front of the “V” with the light instrument between the “V” and the diffusion frame. The purpose of using the book light is to create as soft of a source as possible. It is used mainly in larger spaces because the light will “spill” over a large area. In your set up you have placed the “bounce fill” to the key side of the lens (windows are your key) so in essence you are “boosting” your key source window light. The set up in NOT a fill light. A proper fill light always comes opposite of key of which in your example would be to the left of camera. If I were to use your “bounce fill” rig I would place it to the left of camera to achieve a proper fill angle of attack. However in this set up a simple bounce light into a 4x4 foam core or ultra bounce would achieve the required fill in about 5 minutes. Carry on. 🤙🏻

[@ekphotography]

Awesome but you actually put the grip head on wrong, it should tighten towards the fall of the floppy, the way you put it it can losen and fall.

[@alloriginaltone]

I would like to see this in an area without so much natural light. It's hard to see what's happening. I love the concept though. Would also like to just see the results of just the light bouncing off the floppy. Maybe not quite as soft....but maybe a simpler setup that gets the job done without the really gangly diffusion panel.

[@joshwhitee]

Definitely a ton of options and no not the best example. I shot this video super quick one day not expecting it to blow up like it did haha. But both options work great depending on the size of your space. My preferred setup for this style of interview will always be a quick and dirty t-bar with the fabric clamped to it. Then a second c stand for the light. It’s just fun to experiment!

[@AkrilFarb]

Great setup for shooting a 15 second TikTok video 😀

[@nakleh]

cool idea, but it would be cooler if you actually showed the entire finished product more than once at 7:46

[@markrobinson8254]

busted who?. yeah wheres' your badge? good video

[@mtcreate9944]

it's awesome

[@carrollman12]

lol! I was about to comment that a 600d sized light is what you need for a book light with a daytime window and then as im typing it you put a text in the video.

[@andrewfehrsen]

Lighting and video are great. Audio levels not so much