Blog
Articles on filmmaking technique, production planning, and industry knowledge.
Showing 5 of 5 posts
How to Balance Mixed Lighting on Set Without a Color Meter
A practical guide to resolving mixed-light conflicts using gels, white balance, and visual reference. Covers daylight, tungsten, fluorescent, HMI, and LED sources with mired shift calculations and gel selection for each scenario.
Kelvin vs. Mired: Why Gels Are Rated in Mireds and What That Means When You're Matching Sources
A Full CTO gel is rated at +131 mireds, not at a Kelvin shift. That is not arbitrary. The mired scale is perceptually uniform in a way that the Kelvin scale is not - meaning equal mired shifts look equal to the eye throughout the color temperature range. Here is the math behind gel selection and why Kelvin alone gives you the wrong gel.
Night Exterior Lighting for Indie Films: The Exposure Math Before You Show Up to the Location
Night exterior lighting fails most often in the prep stage, not on the night. The exposure math tells you how much lift you need above ambient, which translates directly to light output, generator size, and power runs. This post covers the calculation workflow so you arrive at the location with the right equipment rather than improvising in the dark.
Day for Night: The Exposure Math and the In-Camera Technique
Explains the exposure strategy for day-for-night shooting, the stop-loss calculation, sky blocking techniques, and how modern color grading has changed the technique. Includes worked examples from different solar conditions.
Lighting for Indie Film: Calculating Power, Avoiding Blown Circuits, and Rigging Smart
The electrical planning process for shooting on a practical location without a generator: how to calculate total wattage, read a circuit breaker panel, distribute loads, and plan a lighting setup within the location's capacity.