Why You Need Powerful Lights for Filmmaking - Part 2 - Feat. Godox M600D

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In Part 2 of our "Why You Need Powerful Lights for Filmmaking" series, we take a look at few more situations where we can take advantage of a light that can compete with existing daylight, featuring the Godox KnowLED M600D. LED COB lights are becoming more powerful, at more affordable prices, and lower budget filmmakers can take advantage of this to achieve the vision they want for their images more efficiently and realistically.
I'm one of Samyang's UK brand ambassadors - which means I shoot most of my work with the Samyang VDSLR MK2 Cine lens kit. In this video we used:
Samyang 14mm t/3.1 VDSLR MK2
Samyang 24mm t/1.5 VDSLR MK2
Samyang 35mm t/1.5 VDSLR MK2
Camera:
Blackmagic Pocket Cinema Camera 6K Pro
Blackmagic Micro Cinema Camera (some BTS)
Lights:
store.godox.eu/en/led-lamps/5...
store.godox.eu/en/led-lamps/5...
Video Contents:
0:00 - This Isn't the Sun
1:28 - Controlling the "Sun"
3:55 - Lighting with Colour 5 Part Mini Course/Thank You Patrons!
4:21 - Augmenting Natural Light
7:57 - Support My Channel/Get Extended Videos

[@MayurMahapatraFilms]

Rob is my favourite teacher

[@HinryLau]

5:31 absolutely blow my mind!

[@RobEllisCinematographer]

We do a bit more in Part 4! :) Although I wouldn't recommend using lights like this at full power in such a tight space if you're recording audio haha!

[@GarethDix]

If Godox aren’t sponsoring your content… they really should be!

[@RobEllisCinematographer]

They sent me the fixture for this one yes! :) cheers Gareth!!

[@JamesBoss]

Who needs film school when Rob Ellis is around 😄

[@RobEllisCinematographer]

Haha thank you so much James!! 😃

[@rodroyo]

Thank you Rob for your contribution to the community. Very usefull.

[@RobEllisCinematographer]

Glad you found it useful Rodrigo - thank you! :)

[@BlueTorchWeddings]

Rob Ellis for Lighting President. These are some genius problem fixes. I was looking at the Forza 720 to add to my kit

[@impatrickt]

best lighting video i’ve ever seen

[@RobEllisCinematographer]

Wow thank you Patrick! I appreciate it!

[@Christo_glenn]

Rob, you're an absolute legend for making these insightful videos. Seriously man, I got so much from your content, and it had upped the quality of images I'm pulling out of my old a7III. I was going to upgrade my camera body, but instead decided to invest into lighting... made all the difference in the world, I'd say. Cheers.

[@RobEllisCinematographer]

Thank you so much! Glad to hear you're getting so much from my videos and I'm happy to know you're getting more out of your camera because of them. Absolutely, cameras help and they are all pretty amazing these days, but lighting is always going to the best way to get a good image! Cheers!

[@mamanagosto]

Such a to-the-point and no-nonsense lighting tutorial. Very insightful. Many thanks.

[@RobEllisCinematographer]

Happy to hear that and glad you got so much out of it! Thank you!! :)

[@AbdonPhirathon]

So much knowledge packed into less than 9 minutes. Thanks for sharing this.

[@RobEllisCinematographer]

Thank you Abdon, happy you got so much out of it! I appreciate it! :)

[@lionel.mukendi]

This was fantastic!

[@RobEllisCinematographer]

Thank you so much! 😄

[@AllThingsFilm1]

Excellent lighting breakdown. I can never see enough of these kind of videos. There is so much to learn, and be inspired by, from lighting breakdowns. Thank you.

[@RobEllisCinematographer]

Thank you so much! I agree, there's always something new to learn - even shooting these videos myself I'll constantly pick up new things!

[@GabeNicotera]

You're my hero Rob

[@RobEllisCinematographer]

Haha cheers Gabe! Hope you enjoyed the video :)

[@antonjamesolsson]

Thank you for this calm and to the point style! Much needed break from the cartoony fast paced videos in the camera/filmmaking space on KZbin.

[@RobEllisCinematographer]

Thanks Anton!! And this is actually a little quicker paced than my older videos haha! So I'm glad I'm hitting a good pace here!

[@Bo_Hazem]

The Light King is back! Can't get enough of your videos, so enlighten us.🌟

[@RobEllisCinematographer]

Thank you so much Bo, great to hear from you! :)

[@ReviewBru]

Always look forward to your videos Rob. I learn a lot and your explanations are clear and to the point. thank you for doing this

[@RobEllisCinematographer]

I'm super happy to hear that! Thank you so much for watching :)

[@superinfinityfilms]

love the mirror light.

[@RobEllisCinematographer]

Mirrors are super handy! 😄

[@PARISONFIRE]

Just wow. This is such a great help man, cant thank you enough. Subbed and liked.

[@davadh]

Great breakdown on this. Nice tip on working with the maximum strength of the light.

[@RobEllisCinematographer]

Thanks David, happy you enjoyed it!

[@alesterleong249]

Love the narration and music style

[@RobEllisCinematographer]

Thank you Alester! :)

[@flochfitness]

Wish I could go back and time and study these videos before I even considered cameras or lenses. Even so, i am Glad I came across your channel 🙏🏻🙏🏻

[@RobEllisCinematographer]

Never too late to learn things or even just brush up on things you already know - I do both of those things even when I make these videos! Thank you so much Sean!! :)

[@fromlaylaylay]

We love your work so much over here in Nigeria

[@RobEllisCinematographer]

Thank you so much Henry, I appreciate it! It's always awesome to know people from all over the World are enjoying my videos! 😄

[@902MediaUK]

Another great breakdown, thank you for these, always great content 🙏🏿🙏🏿🙏🏿

[@RobEllisCinematographer]

Glad you enjoyed it - thank you so much, it's always appreciated! :)

[@rumigeiger]

I really appreciate your insight, thank you 👍. Subscribed.

[@leochow6477]

Such a great video. Thanks for your sharing🙌

[@RobEllisCinematographer]

Thank you so much Leo, glad you enjoyed it!! 🙌

[@DrubleTV]

No no no WE appreciate you. thank you for you're wonderful and simple explanations. love you're content

[@RobEllisCinematographer]

Well I appreciate the appreciation 😁 super happy to hear you're enjoying the content and finding it all clear - thank you!

[@AndresArosemena]

WOW That is one very powerful light. Still outside of my budget for now but I added it to my wishlist. Who knows, maybe in the future!

[@RobEllisCinematographer]

It's definitely worth it! :)

[@gabydiaz4882]

Thank you, you are the best, straight to the point, educate us to create amazing light , for an indie or solo project man or woman, we can make amazing things with our talent, imagination and small crew, everything that you post look amazing, professional and easy, just buy the right equipment, thank you so much for your time to put together this videos. greetings from Tj México, than you !

[@RobEllisCinematographer]

Thank you so much Gaby! Absolutely, things are easier than ever to make these days with a small crew and a lower budget! Super happy to hear you're enjoying my videos so much, I appreciate it! Greetings from the UK! :)

[@pierrezapata90]

Amazing how with such powerful sunlight coming through you can still almost match it with the 750 W fresnel light. This look on 100% plus fill is borderline high key- a little bit different than your regular style but clearly still and incredible lighting setup. Looks like it could be a shot in an ad for a laptop or something.

[@RobEllisCinematographer]

Haha yeah a little bit brighter than my usual, just thought I'd put it in as an example of higher output for key, lower output for fill, but still getting a lighter look! Thank you!

[@songseakleng]

This is amazing thank you

[@RobEllisCinematographer]

Thank you so much! Glad you enjoyed it!

[@songseakleng]

I really love it. Can't wait to see more of this!!!

[@stevenfries7032]

Rob, The last lesson of you in the living room exposing for the windows using ND. You should do a course of the exact opposite using ND film or some sort of low opacity to lower the stops of light that come through the window. exposing for the subject with limited light output but still maintaining details in the window. I have seen other people do this when their budget is limited on lighting.

[@RobEllisCinematographer]

Yes ND gels on windows can definitely help in this regard and can be more cost effective than using powerful lights - this is something I wanted to add in to the video - but I am god awful at cutting and sticking gels to windows so I decided against it haha I'm not a very good gaffer! Perhaps I'll put this idea on the list! :)

[@f0t0b0y]

Great stuff as always. I went with Nanlite's Forza 720. I've just had such an amazing experience with there customer service in the past and it was one of the reasons I'm sticking with them.

[@RobEllisCinematographer]

Thank you! :) both are great options and it's always been pleasant working with them both as companies! There is a Part 3 of this series coming soon with a certain 720B :)

[@MoeZoubi]

Wow, your so skilled man. I really appreciate the info, Keep making more!

[@RobEllisCinematographer]

Thank you so much Moe, I will do! 😄

[@photoskazkiru7582]

Rob, ur videos are the best on the YT.. thank u very much. With best wishes from Russia

[@RobEllisCinematographer]

Thank you so so much, I truly appreciate it :) best wishes from the UK!

[@DANAMIONLINE]

I’m impressed by your ability to create these lighting setups solo. What’s your thoughts on renting vs buying these powerful styles of lights especially if you desire to practice on personal projects?

[@RobEllisCinematographer]

Thanks Danami! I would recommend buying - you can grab this light in particular for around $1500, which is pretty great considering the flexibility you get from this kind of power output - plus since it's LED you get much more light for much less power draw, when compared to an older style tungsten or daylight bulb. And if you own it you have more time to practice with it on personal projects. I think it's definitely worth it! Also you've then already got a great light to hand if you need to use it for a job, etc. Hope this helps! :)

[@DANAMIONLINE]

@@RobEllisCinematographer Thank you for satisfying my desire to purchase more gear. 😂 Whenever I purchase this, it will round out my existing kit (Godox VL200 with Spotlight Attachment, Falcon Eyes 18TD Flex Panel Light, and some Neweer 60w panels).

[@RobEllisCinematographer]

@@DANAMIONLINE haha I apologise! ;) absolutely, that sounds like a great selection of fixtures so with something like the M600D added in you've got a good amount of flexibility for multiple situations!

[@trinimedia19]

Awesome

[@RobEllisCinematographer]

Thanks so much! :)

[@MichalKuzminski]

Thank you Rob, I hope to get to this lvl:) You have new Patron

[@RobEllisCinematographer]

Thank you so much Michal - and a huge thank you for your support! I appreciate it! :) hope you're well!

[@filmmakingshorts8272]

Amezing Bro

[@RobEllisCinematographer]

Thank you so much! :)

[@hafiz9317]

Nice….always it was.. 👌

[@RobEllisCinematographer]

Thank you so much Hafiz! :)

[@BaxTechYT]

Zelda mug = instant like!

[@RobEllisCinematographer]

Haha I love this!

[@cinemaipswich4636]

The most obvious lighting dilemma, is the color of actors eyes. Good close-ups with good lighting gives true color to eyes. Matching color with different lighting is a skill-set a good cinema director needs.

[@istian_]

It’s like I’m listening to a crime story by the tone of your voice. But great stuff

[@RobEllisCinematographer]

Haha I love it! Thank you so much!

[@allenpayne9182]

Fantastic video. Thanks for all the work.

[@RobEllisCinematographer]

And thank you for watching Allen! I appreciate it! :)

[@pixeleonstudios]

Glad to be here first.

[@RobEllisCinematographer]

Glad to see you! :)

[@WahidFayumzadah]

Man, these video's are great. I've got a question. The strongest video light I have is 150w. On a sunny day, in a room with windows, it's often not enough to compete with the sun. Do you think that 300w would be enough? Or should I just buy a 600w light? And if you had to buy a 300 or 600w light, which brand would you go for? I can't really decide between apurture, godox or nanlite. In the 600w range, the prices don't seem to differ too much. Aputure has the best app I guess, sidus link. And... a 600w bi colored light or not, so many questions haha.

[@SolToddcamera]

Hey Rob, just came across this vid- really excellently explained and demonstrated! Just a quick question: can these large powerful lights (such as 740W) be used via UK plug sockets or would it have to be through mains how it would be with Arri Tungsten lights etc? Im looking at getting some stronger lights but trying to figure out which one to get (either this or the nanlite 1200b). I already own a couple of Sirui a100b lights but which of these big-boy lights would you recommend? Thanks!

[@almarzuk620]

You are a legnd ❤

[@RobEllisCinematographer]

Cheers Al!! ❤ Happy you enjoyed the video!

[@denizakyurek3987]

Nanlite Forza 500 or Godox M600D??

[@rathuone3001]

Excellent Tutorial 👏 God Bless! On a budget how much wattage do you recommend to work as a key light in day light?

[@RobEllisCinematographer]

Thank you so much! That's quite a difficult one to answer, as it's totally dependant on the situation you're working in! For example, you can see in the last setup in this video, although it's a very specific situation as we were balancing for the bright daylight we had out the window, we would not have been able to get that amount of light on our subject from the bounce with anything below the output this 700-ish watts this lights puts out. Whereas if we were shooting a close up we might be able to bring in a 200 watt light because we could take everything closer in to our subject. But then that also changes things like shadow fall off so we might need a bigger bounce/diffusion source. Then we might need more space. Then we might need a wider shot. Then we might need more output! So it's actually quite a difficult question to answer!! It's always good to have a light that packs some punch, as it means flexibility in situations where you need to balance with uncontrollable sources like daylight. Whereas if you're lighting entirely without any natural sources, you can totally go for lower budget and lower wattage. But also it might be a dark day and you're able to balance with a lower wattage light. Like I said, difficult question to answer and I have blabbed on haha, but hopefully that gives you enough to think about there! :)

[@rathuone3001]

@@RobEllisCinematographer thanks a lot for replying brother 🙏 May God Bless You!

[@SoloTraceur]

I use a Godox VL300 (300 watt) works OK. Especially with the Nanlite fresnel lens which is compatible.

[@rathuone3001]

@@SoloTraceur Thank you for replying brother 🙏💐 God Bless!

[@nightdonutstudio]

Is bicolor very useful in your experience?

[@RobEllisCinematographer]

Absolutely, it's much quicker than using gels, especially if you're shooting into a softbox! But you don't always need it and often a daylight fixture has a higher output - and generally when lighting, we are lighting for daylight a fair amount of the time. It's all a balance really :)

[@T1Media.ireland]

Does this light output 740w? I thought it was 600w?

[@RobEllisCinematographer]

Yeah the naming is a little confusing - a few of the newer COB lights are named similarly, with a lower number than the wattage produced!

[@nuttyjake7629]

Do you have any tips for using lights like this in the rain? Or is it just better not to do that?

[@SoloTraceur]

I shot a feature recently with a Godox VL300, as a sun light, outside in the rain. I rigged an umbrella over it as low to the light as possible with a skirt of black trash bags around the umbrella protecting it from the back and sides. The control box and power supply were all bagged up too and the whole thing was sandbagged like crazy with an assistant outside with it under shelter holding the stand. It was very windy. It wasn't ideal but it worked.

[@RobEllisCinematographer]

SoloTraceur just answered that for you! It's possible, there's just not a super tidy way to do it, you just need to be a little creative and careful - just be careful you don't cover any vents/fans so the lights don't overheat!

[@nuttyjake7629]

@@SoloTraceur Thank you so much for your replies guys! In my cases I can't really get an assistant for my work so, I ended up buying the 600D pro which is waterproof but the price difference is definitely noticable.

[@SoloTraceur]

@@nuttyjake7629 Cool, good luck with it and I look forward to seeing the results!

[@bluefilmsltd]

Good video but these power lights re situational, imho. Not sure if they are worth the investment. A 300w LED will take care of at least 90% of your filmmaking needs. Even a 150w LED is strong for most work.

[@RobEllisCinematographer]

Once you start competing with brighter ambient or lighting larger areas you'll find that you are likely to need more power - especially for wider shots! We demonstrated in this video how a 300 watt fixture wouldn't have been enough for our needs in that scenario, save NDing the windows. More output means more flexibility for many situations, even when it comes to balancing contrast ratios and making sure you've got a clean image. I've got part 3 coming up - maybe more comparisons with lower powered lights in the scenarios demonstrated would be useful?

[@brysimm404]

"Bleached muslin material"... or just use a bedsheet.

[@RobEllisCinematographer]

However you like your light to look/what material you have access to! :)

[@brysimm404]

@@RobEllisCinematographer Exactly :)

[@agustinmunozrocha]

I don't deserve this content.

[@RobEllisCinematographer]

You do! 😄 thank you so much!