We had a special guest speaker at our May Event. Owner of Carrillo Digital and veteran cinematographer, Ruben Carrillo gave us an introductory workshop on the basics of lighting. He talked about some of the basic kit items he always has on set including his two large AadynTech LED light fixtures. Many of the LED lights we’re familiar with are primarily used as fill or “kicker” lights for adding accents and highlights, while the AadynTech Jab series lights are high power, low wattage lights with a similar output of a 2k HMI. LED lights are often criticized for their inaccurate color rendering, low power output and harsh shadows, so these lights were a huge surprise to most of us.
Once the general composition of a shot is decided upon and a camera is set in place, the first thing Ruben does is turn off all the lights. Often room lights vary in color and it’s rare that they will match the color of your light kit, so it’s best to start with them off build your scene with your own lights first and add practicals (such as lamps) as necessary. This is where owning lights that are consistent in color temperature is really helpful.
When lighting your scene, it’s easy to go over board, adding too many lights and achieving an even exposure throughout your entire frame, but it’s actually the lack of light and deepening of shadows that helps you create dramatic moods and dynamic emotions. Ruben demonstrated how he uses flags to cut light and diffusion to reduce light in order to shape his set and tell his stories.
Noah Tom of AAF Hawaii also dropped by to share a little about AdMonth. Advertising agencies and production companies around Honolulu were hosting events, workshops and tours to help bring the industry closer together. Noah also brought some shirts and hats to give away which were a big hit as well.
Huge Mahalo to everyone who made this happen:
Ruben Carrillo: Carrillo Digital
Melissa Kim: The Box Jelly
Noah Tom: AAF Hawaii
Justin Iyoki: Hiborn Digital Behind the scenes photos
Kaia Consulting: Registration and event prep
