At some point, we will all end up shooting in a boring conference room. It’s not always easy to get a good shot when the space isn’t made for it. So, these tips from Epic Light Media might just be the trick.
What I love about this video is that it talks about the very basics, which I think can be really helpful for photo and video people starting out. I feel that a less experienced crew won’t feel confident in moving the room around to suit them: turning the house lights off, removing or pulling in furniture, and putting up “filming in progress” signs outside. These are obvious needs, but when you’ve only got 30 minutes to shoot a board member between meetings, experience is needed.
There are also a few things that could have been added to this video that I’m sure our readers will point out. For example, Scissor Clips can be really helpful for attaching things to an office’s sectional ceiling. Just make sure to have safety cables or at least reusable zip ties.
I also find that having a flexible LED can be really handy in non-studio spaces. Offices will often have low ceilings. That can make it pretty hard to get a nice jawline on your subject if they’re standing up, since you can’t get a softbox up high enough. I use scissor clips, good tape that won’t leave a mark, and zip ties to affix a 2x2 LED panel onto the ceiling. Then, I boom a spare C-Stand and press it up against the panel, just as an extra precaution. Usually, this looks best with at least some diffusion paper thrown into the mix. It's not a good key light, but it can really help recover jawlines when the key is too low down.
Have you got any other office tips? Feel free to share in the comments.
> At some point, we will all end up shooting in a boring conference room
No, that's not happening.
Odd in a video about lighting to allow so much reflection off his glasses. I guess none of the people they were setting up for were wearing them. I'm stealing the fake bricks idea, though.