Video lighting.

[icestac]

Check this out on RBW, seems like a pretty good deal.

http://www.rebreatherworld.com/video...eo-lights.html

Cheers,
Jeff

[HeloDriver]

Thanks Jeff for the heads up. Somebody bought the set today.

[betti154]

I don't have experience with go pros in a cave, but have seen results from a wreck. Light beam angle will be just as important as intensity if you want a decent image to be captured. The go pro (like my dslr with fisheye lens) is stupidly wide and difficult to adequately light.

I'll be over in Florida from oz in October and am hoping to grab some nice video. For reference I'm packing 2 * 5000 lumen heads (140 degrees) for off camera and another two of the same for on. I figure/hope that should be enough light, but wouldn't be surprised if a dark cave like ginni needs more (particularly in big open rooms). You can't go much more on camera though as it flares out, so a good model/lighting guy is just as important as the amount of light in my view.

If you have a mr11 10w hid light, a quick solution is to change to led (suggest 3*Cree xmls) with no optic and you get a serious video light. Someone linked to my blog above' which has details.

Regards, ds
http://damiensiviero.com

[gschaut]

My suggestion would be- A partner to hold a light. Or two lights.

No matter how powerful the video light, any light source near the camera will produce only a "flat" light that will not show
any depth or detail on the cave structure.

Have a partner holding the light several feet away from the camera, with the light source at least 45 degrees off the camera's center axis. This will give the cave depth, contrast, and give the rocks a good 3-D appearance.

You can have a second (or third) light on the camera itself, but having off-axis lighting will bring out the depth and scale of the image.

Google/Wikipedia the term "three point lighting". For shooting a cave (as opposed to a human subject), you will not be using a back light. BUT... you should be thinking Key light, Fill Light and Backfill Light.

[Greenwood_60]

Kinda like what they are doing here http://vimeo.com/9565244

[gschaut]

If you freeze frame that video at 3:14, you will see the on-camera light (or photographer's hand held light) providing key light on the foreground, and the diver on the left. The diver on the left is providing side-fill light to the foreground (but should be holding the light a bit farther away- the light is too small in intense to provide a good image). And the diver on the right is providing back-fill light to give you an idea of the scale of the chamber.

http://blogs.telegraph.co.uk/culture...amascaves2.jpg

Check this image Wes Skiles did in the Bahamas. Note the way every light beam is providing key light to one area of the wall, and overlapping the next beam to provide side-fill to a different area, generating a beautiful image bringing out the contours of the rock walls.

Still or video, the principals of lighting remain the same.

[billyf]

thats funny

the diver on the left has a 200w HMI mounted on a scooter and the one on the right has a 100w HMI and the camera operator well she had dual 50w HID video lights

200w HMI Silent Submersion Death Ray
100w HMI Light Monkey
50w HID Dual Light Monkey Video Lights

[Greenwood_60]

Ok... so what is the difference between HMI and what we are calling HID? According to Wikipedia: HMI is a metal-halide, metal-halide falls under HID, and HID dive lights are mecury-halide. Is it considered HMI because it is actually branded HMI (as in the Osram branded lamps)? The H in HMI is for Hydrargyrum; Latin for mercury (Hg). So is that also a mecury-halide?

[BecKave]

Kinda like what they are doing here http://vimeo.com/9565244

Thanks for posting my video as an example =) A few min of this video was used in a story that was just nominated for an Emmy actually =)

Lighting is KEY and one of the most important things when shooting underwater video or stills. Its also challenging especially in caves. Just getting enough light to light something like Eagles Nest is difficult. Then making sure the people assisting you have a clear idea of what you want them to do. That's why we typically work with the same people, so they get an idea of our shooting style and I get used to to them. Most of this video is the RAW stuff I shot. You'll notice things come together nicely in sections and then fall apart in others, that's typical. Its hard to communicate how to position lights when your already in the water. The idea for this was Brett in the Lead lighting the wall with the 200HMI, then Billy to light Brett with the 100HMI and my on camera dual 50's to give a little fill in the foreground. I had a safety diver behind me as well (he got the best show) We really needed more lights. More off camera lights would have been key. I plan to go back at some point and try this again with 5-6 150HID's. We've used that many a few times this year in the Bahamas caves and Dominican Republic and its worked out BEAUTIFULLY! Especially hiding them behind formations for some unique shots.

Here are some shots using the same configuration (2-200HMI's and dual 50's) http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=U6jOZiGRF9A

PS: Lighting is also really important for open water diving. They really help bring colors back out or if your shooting a diver give them color. Even in shallow water if I'm shooting stills of lets say dolphins I bring strobes for some fill light. Lighting really allows you to be creative. Its what will make your video or stills stand out from others.

[Brian Kakuk]

Charles,
As most have already stated, it is about the lighting, but having the right camera for the job is also an issue here. Having enough helmet mounted light to fill the cover angle of a gopro is going to be tough and you'll end up with a good neck strain putting two 35W HID's with video reflectors on your head...and back scatter will be an issue that close to the camera.

We use gopros for a couple of cool applications other than outright cave videos:
1. As witness cams for research work so the scientists can see exactly what we saw during excavations and collections..we just aim the camera more toward where our hands are so our work can be seen. This can be done with a single broad beam primary light which I use every day.
2. I also use them to verify survey work...shoot the slate as I write the station, then do a pan with my head to fill in my "memory" about passage dimensions and configuration.
3. We use them as "B" roll for real edgy exploration footage for documentary work. It looks cool to go back and forth from the explorers perspective, back to an overall shot done with a proper video system. I think here it is more about using the proper video camera for the job than trying to adapt it to a wide angle film camera. They work perfectly for our applications. Safe diving,
Brian