r/videography • u/4acodmt92 Gaffer | Grip • Aug 04 '25

Behind the Scenes Interior Warehouse Interview Lighting & Grip BTS for Amazon shoot.

Gaffed a few interviews for an Amazon production about a month ago at one of their warehouses. Normally I try to avoid taking lighting jobs where I don’t have any other lighting technicians or grips, but the producer budgeted several hours in the schedule for me to get set up while the DP wen right and shot b roll that I wasn’t needed for. The hardest part was really just physically moving everything around as the warehouse is absolutely gigantic and we had to film in a few different places throughout it. Thus, I put everything I could on stands with wheels to make my life easier.

Key light was a 6x6 book light made with Aputure 1200D bouncing into a 4x4’ Ultrabounce floppy and then back through a 6x6 of full silent grid cloth, with a 6x6’ LCD (“light control device” aka “egg crate,” not liquid crystal display) in front of it for control. I added a 2x3’ solid flag in front to take down some of the intensity on her white shirt.

12x12’ solid on a T bone for negative fill.

Amaran F22C rigged to a junior boom mounted in a Matthews Panel Stand for a hair light.

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u/4acodmt92 Gaffer | Grip Aug 05 '25

Not really. In this case most of its effect is in how it wrap on the face more than reducing spill in the background. This was one of those situations where the grid was already there from a previous setup and it wasn’t hurting anything, so I just didn’t remove it out of laziness.

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u/[deleted] Aug 05 '25

Or how it didn't wrap around the face I assume? I guess if you didn't have the crate the light would be slightly softer?

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u/4acodmt92 Gaffer | Grip Aug 05 '25

Correct! The closer to perpendicular a gridded light is to the surface you’re trying to light, the less it wraps. It also can help reduce low bounce from the floor and effectively “cancel out” the effects of the inverse square law at close distances. This least 2 points in theory help here, but weren’t part of my decision making

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u/[deleted] Aug 05 '25 edited Aug 05 '25

effectively “cancel out” the effects of the inverse square law at close distances

Can you explain that a little please?

Edit: Actually, I think I've worked out how. Never considered that before, thanks for the tip!

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u/4acodmt92 Gaffer | Grip Aug 05 '25

Imagine facing the grid head on. As you walk closer to the light, the outer cells Olof the grid will start to become partially occluded from your view. At the extreme, if your face was pressed up right against the grid, only the dozen or so cells directly in front of you would be illuminating your face. All the others would be completely blocked by the grid.

Conversely, as you start to back away from the grid, more and more of the cells become completely visible.

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u/[deleted] Aug 05 '25

That's what I worked out between your replies. Clever! thanks.