How Do You Light from Above? | 3 Ways to Rig Overhead

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In this episode of 4MFS, we’re lighting a women’s poker night scene with a little bit of intrigue. Seems simple? Not when you have a 360 degree Steadicam move and you have to light without any stands on the ground. For this setup, Valentina explores all the different ways you can rig overhead.

For our setting, we chose a soundstage to have the most lighting opportunities. Valentina knew that she needed a location with a grid and wooden beams overhead, which is why we didn’t choose to shoot on-location. It’s good to location scout and be prepared with the right grip essentials. We made sure to rent multiple c-clamps and cardellinis along with the cribbing to safely rig overhead as a result.

Because the scene has a underground mafia den look, Valentina thought that warm tungsten lighting would be the way to go. Along with warm lightbulbs in the lamps, we decided to use LS 60ds gelled with amber to create cones of light on the wall. Then, we rigged LS 300xs and LS 300dIIs above the set walls to give each of the characters their own backlight. But what about the main light? That would be accomplished by the Nova P300c, which would be hoisted up by a menace arm on a hi-roller combo stand. Make sure that you have plenty of sandbags and ratchet straps when you’re rigging menace arms. The Nova was accompanied by a Honeycrates Space Boxx to transform it into a soft lantern that provided a pleasant light for all the characters. And of course, what’s an underground mafia den without some smoke in the air? For that, we used a Master FX Mystic Hazer to give us some diffused atmosphere.

We shot with the ARRI Alexa with vintage Nikon lenses. Valentina wanted to use 1/2 Glimmer Glass to soften the image even more, and give the highlights just a bit more bloom. The Steadicam movement was a big factor in the overall mood of the scene. Steadicam operator Zachary Stanke taught us all the key terminology when it comes to communicating with other operators.

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0:00 - Intro
0:34 - Story/Concept
1:14 - Camera/Steadicam
3:23 - Production Design
4:05 - Lighting
6:04 - Menace Arm Rig
7:35 - Overhead Rigging
10:22 - Sidus Link Breakdown
12:34 - Final Result
13:10 - Outro

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Host/DP: Valentina Vee
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Producer: Moses Israel Guerrero
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Director: Tue Duong
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Episode Cinematographer: Jucel Andrin
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