Meet The Gaffer #45: Commercial Shoot Walkthrough

In this episode we go through a day of production step by step, pointing out the lighting and grip choices.
There are many ways of doing the same thing, but seeing how someone else approaches a given set up can be instructive.

[@jackohare9504]

Thank you so much Luke..... One 15:00 min Luke Seerveld video is worth 100 hours of looking around YT channels hoping to be taught useful information in the craft!

[@meetthegaffer]

Stop it Jack, I'm gonna get a swelled head:-) I'm glad you find these episodes of some use. Some day we'll be watching yours?

[@tkwonproductions]

Love seeing these breakdowns! As a prospective DP, I find this very helpful. Thank you!!!

[@meetthegaffer]

Timothy, you are most welcome. Thank you for responding.

[@xavpil2]

Priceless Luke! Thanks

[@MattBowie]

Luke, your are my hero. I would pay you to let me be on set and learn some of your skills. These videos are so informative. Keep up the good work. I love the easy chill vibe.

[@flourishfilmsireland9966]

This was great! Keep these coming! Invaluable to someone trying to learn how to light. One thing you might consider that would be great is showing a lighting plan for each scene? Just something simple to quickly help viewers get orientated with what you are showing them. I know personally I'd love that!

[@meetthegaffer]

FlourishFilms Ireland, Good suggestion!

[@SouthpawAutoworks]

There is so much going on, just outside of the frame. Very cool video. Thank you for putting this together.

[@alexander.starbuck]

Wow, Luke THANK YOU for making such an effort and sharing all your knowledge with us! I am binge watching your episodes and learning a ton 🤗❤

[@TheNakedLarry]

I am very happy that i came across this channel..Thank you for this information.

[@meetthegaffer]

Glad you found it!

[@stoc4341]

Love the Smartphone rig for her arm! Gonna have to remember that one. Thanks again, Luke!

[@305kubrick]

Thanks for the awesome, detailed breakdowns. The bts video REALLY helps alot. Keep 'em coming!

[@anookpatrikiou1826]

This series has been incredibly helpful! Thank you so much for all the effort, and if possible keep it up!

[@meetthegaffer]

Hi Anook, your encouragement is appreciated! I'm glad you find this series helpful.

[@mattwolcott3266]

Stumbled across your channel and subbed, this is absolute gold! Thank you!

[@meetthegaffer]

That was a nice looking promotional video for Wheels n Time!

[@mattwolcott3266]

Luke Seerveld Oh, wow thanks :) I am just a one man band, just now learning about lighting and how to work with a team. There’s so much more to it than I have understood. Huge thanks for giving me an inside peek to how the pros do it!

[@meetthegaffer]

I think you'll do just fine. The main difference between pro and amateur is speed. Take it slow and you'll be good to go:)

[@MASTERSHOTFILMS]

Great episode, Luke. Thanks for the thorough breakdown- I always learn a lot from your breakdowns- I've never used any Rosco scrim rolls - just ND rolls. I'm def gonna invest in a roll next time I visit my local Expendables house. Cheers! Tom

[@antoniorivera3256]

so good, you sir deserve more views!

[@frubo_ssg]

Thanks for sharing with us!

[@DBAgustin]

good stuff! hope to see more breakdowns like this in the future. thanks for sharing

[@kylec5569]

This shall be my covid power-watch now. Awesome channel

[@meetthegaffer]

Ha, ha! Thanks, Kyle. I’m sorry I don’t work on bigger jobs, but there’s something to glean from this level of work too:)

[@kylec5569]

Hah interviews are my bread and butter lately. Mostly event work(which means I'm doing nothing atm). How you break down and approach things is very simple and nuanced. I have a tendency to overthink lighting. Atalnta doesn't have a great deal of mid-level to high level crews. Its either cheap or super high end. Working on a remedy to that.

[@meetthegaffer]

Right on. This is the time to hatch those game changing ideas! Looking forward to hearing great things:)

[@EposVox]

Been watching through a lot of these breakdowns. Thanks for sharing everything.

[@jasonchua817]

This is great Luke! Thank you so much for this.

[@jasonapple6141]

This was really informative. Thanks for putting this together!

[@mikeyfl]

Thanks Luke--This was awesome and very helpful!

[@jibclimmer]

Loved this breakdown, thanks for sharing.

[@meetthegaffer]

Here's a link to the final: ispot.tv/a/wAaT

[@DavidBrazda1]

Thanks for those videos, Luke. It s so helpful. More videos like this one please!

[@meetthegaffer]

:)

[@johnthorne3401]

Very informative! Thank you so much for sharing your knowledge!

[@vhonnryan]

Beautiful stove

[@gabrielandrs]

I love this amazing breakdowns !!!

[@pinfilm4653]

Awesome stuff! Regards from Germany.

[@raildude270]

Glad I found your channel!

[@meetthegaffer]

Welcome, Kyle!

[@cinemepic]

This is really really interesting thanks for sharing your knowledge :D Great content keep it up ;)

[@chrisniswonger]

Thank you so much for sharing!

[@samcocum]

Hi Luke, love the work, thanks again for this highly informative video! A quick question, when outside, why did you bounce light up into her face (ex. 14:25) instead of down, for level? Personally, I feel like it makes the shot feel less naturalistic because we are, conscious or not, more accustomed to light falling from above a subject. Could you please explain why the light was bounced up into the talent? And, as I'm less familiar with high key commercial cinematography, could you please explain if this is a common way to add level to the talent's face (I usually bounce down from above to help get shape on the jawline) to get the desired 'commercial' look? Sam

[@sydneylawson455]

wow so helpful I learned so much!

[@Sigsgaard123]

more walkthroughs please.. and more details about lighting. Dont care much about kid actors or other people on set. Care about how lighting was done.. :) Love your channel btw. Greetings from danish gaffer..

[@meetthegaffer]

Hi Mikkel, yeah, sorry, I could have edited it down a bit more:-)

[@ZWAmundson]

SO Valuable.

[@pegeary]

Yeah, Brahna!

[@ProfessaJ]

phone rig is clever

[@jorgequinterohmp]

Loved this format of breakdowns! Thanks a lot for putting this together. My one question is, what strength of roscoe scrim did you use on the window. Do you have more then one strength in your kit? Thanks!

[@meetthegaffer]

Hi Jorge, I just used Rosco black/black scrim #3421. You can get black/silver too, and there are probably more combinations available as well.

[@PhilippeMaurice]

thank you sir !

[@AName805]

Great video, very informative. always love your stuff, but I must say the music in the beginning and end of the video is waaay too loud!, please could you lower the volume next time?. again great stuff keep it coming!

[@meetthegaffer]

Co Lev, thank you for the feedback. I'll try to do a better job with the audio! I'm kind of a hack when it comes to editing.

[@meetthegaffer]

Conrad, Thank you!

[@Safehousestudios]

Yep very nice oven. At same time you said it I thought it. lolol

[@meetthegaffer]

Safehouse Studios... ha, ha!

[@carlwarrenphoto]

hello. Mr Seerveld was wondering if there would be a glossary of lighting terms somewhere? , but I'm more interested in what does scratch light mean?

[@meetthegaffer]

Ha, ha! Alan Steinheimer’s book (now in a 2nd edition) and Harry Box’s book are great resources. A scratch is between a side light and a back light that scratches a person’s cheek. Sort of like an edge or a liner😉 Hope that helps.

[@carlwarrenphoto]

@@meetthegaffer Thank you I enjoy these video you do it helps with my own photography work

[@bkdsn]

Great Walkthrough. Do you have a link of the final commercial? I would love to see the final result.

[@meetthegaffer]

Hi Bart, I will post it when it comes out.

[@visualsmugglers]

Hello, love your videos, studying them religiously, just a quick question, what is the detention of a scratch light?

[@meetthegaffer]

For me, a scratch is a light that scratches the check from behind and to the side. It gives definition and depth to the face, but is not always needed or motivated.

[@visualsmugglers]

@@meetthegaffer Thank you so much for getting back to me so quick and explaining that! :) Appreciate it.

[@ajfny]

Was the M18 going into the ultrabounc in kitchen cut down at all? Maybe ND or scrims like the one outside?

[@meetthegaffer]

There may have been wire in there, but not more than a double, I don’t think.

[@gaffergarage]

Hey Luke ! Ever got your hands on the digital sputniks ? If you did, care to make a video about them ? Kind regards from Belgium.

[@meetthegaffer]

Hi Ken, I have a DP friend who has two on order, so I hope to get my hands on them soon:-)

[@spitefullymy]

I have a grip question: At 11:43 I see you guys leaning the Hi-rollers to allow the 12x12 black to rest on the ground. Is there a name for that technique and is it quite common? Also, I just see sandbags holding balancing it out, are there ropes too? Obviously I see two more guys holding it too, was it a quick impromptu thing to do it this way or is it more stable this way in windy conditions?

[@meetthegaffer]

Hi David, I've always heard it called "stage-bracing". Yes it's a more stable way to secure a bounce in windy conditions because you are triangulating with the ground as apposed to just ropes in space. These outdoor shots were relatively quick and there was not a lot to tie off to, so having extra PAs for ballast was a bonus:)

[@spitefullymy]

Thanks for the reply and link to the final! Definitely learned something new from this!

[@ErikNaso]

Great breakdown Luke. Thanks for sharing. I need to look into the ultra bounce. I generally use a Mathews expendable soft bounce board, but the larger Ultra bounce looks like a big soft bounce source. How big is yours and what's a good size for general use like single person with cowboy framing.

[@meetthegaffer]

Hi Erik, I know it seems like it should be really straight forward, but the size of your bounce is dependent on how big you want your source to be. Sometimes, if we don't have room for an 8x8, we'll use a 6x6 or two 4x4 floppies or just one 4x4 floppy. On a stage you might use a 12x12 or larger because you have a larger area that you want the light to fall beyond your subject. Other considerations are whether you are competing with other sources in the background, like windows, or if you want to have a smaller key that doesn't spill onto the background. If you are using minimal crew and need to keep your footprint on the smaller side you can create a perfectly pleasing soft source with one ultra flop:-) Mine are not even 4x4, but 42"x42". 8x8 is the size I like the best for the size shoots I'm on, so I usually have more flavors in 8x8. Hope that helps?

[@ErikNaso]

It does! Thanks for the info. I ordered a 6x6 to try out for outdoors fill. Looking forward to yet another way to make talent look great outside. Great channel and thanks again.

[@thomasallen3552]

Excellent breakdown. What type of monitor was set up for the client?

[@meetthegaffer]

Hi Thomas, I'm not sure what brand/model it was, but it's usually a 17 inch or larger monitor by TV Logic, Flanders Scientific, Sony, Panasonic, or SmallHD.

[@thomasallen3552]

Will do

[@kobifelton1418]

Here is the final spot: www.ispot.tv/ad/wAaT/ever-com-perfect-shot#

[@kurtlang5543]

Luke, do you have the exact name and model of that Roscoe black scrim on the back window? I'd like to buy some. Do you know how big the sheets come in?

[@meetthegaffer]

Rosco Cinegel 3421 Black Scrim SKU:R3421 It’s under $10 for a sheet and $180 or less for a 4ft X 25ft roll. They have many kinds: black on black, black and silver, and also a version that applies right to the window. Best to go through a knowledgeable Expendables store rather than direct.

[@ulrichmors574]

Hey Luke, I see you (and others) using ultrabounce floppys - looks like there is no reseller for this in Europe - or is it selfmade?

[@meetthegaffer]

These are not self made. LA Rag House and The Rag Place will make ‘em up for you. Not sure about resellers in Europe:(

[@rgesualdo]

Thank you so much for the breakdowns, love your channel, one question what profile on gh4 love the skintones

[@meetthegaffer]

Hi rgesualdo, I just use Natural with no changes... 4K/24p

[@joe4tan]

Just did my first Corporate style shoot yesterday as G&E. Do you usually take direction on lighting from the DP or are u using your creative freedom?

[@meetthegaffer]

Hi Joseph, It totally depends whether you are working with a lighting-cameraperson or someone whose strengths lie somewhere else:-) I prefer to collaborate with the DP, but sometimes it's just up to me, which is fine too. Politically it's wise to to assume there is a hierarchy and you aren't at the top... but have a plan ready so you can step in as needed. It's a dance. Not sure if that helps.

[@joe4tan]

That does help! Thanks Luke, your series is amazing. :) I also have a video request: can you do a video on lights that use circuits higher than 20amps like 2.5kw HMIs and above? I would like to get your take on choosing a generator for different types of jobs. It's all good if it's too involved just thought I throw it out there :)

[@meetthegaffer]

Hi Joseph, I'll see if I can get to that down the road here...

[@TylerAdamsMedia]

"nice stove" hahah

[@meetthegaffer]

:)

[@xavpil2]

Hey Luke do you host workshop for non beginners/advanced?

[@meetthegaffer]

I have done workshops at businesses, but what do you have in mind? Were you thinking of something locally in the Bay Area?

[@raredreamfootage]

What do you mean by "double break"?

[@meetthegaffer]

A double break just means we have two layers of diffusion. For instance, sometimes we put up an 8x8 of 1/2 grid, but we feel it’s not soft enough, so instead of swapping out the 1/2 for a Full, we might slip a smaller frame of diffusion between the light unit and the 8x. We call that a double break b/c we have used two layers to “break up” the light.

[@parkerbadger7008]

"M18 coming through as a scratch." What does the term "scratch" mean?

[@meetthegaffer]

Like cheek light that comes from “3/4 back” which is between a direct back light and a side light, and is usually just above the subject head height, but not has high as a back light. It sort of scratches the cheek/side of the face with light. Does that make sense?

[@parkerbadger7008]

@@meetthegaffer Makes perfect sense. Graduating film school on Friday, but I've just never heard that term before. Thank you! I've learned a lot from your content. Please keep putting stuff out!

[@meetthegaffer]

You got it! Thank you for asking and all the best in you career:)

[@johnrogers711]

and what was the pie?

[@meetthegaffer]

John, Pear was last week and Rhubarb-Strawberry this week:-)

[@GarethNgFilms]

third

[@OTLmedia]

first

[@meetthegaffer]

?