DIY – Create An Overhead Lighting Rig

on Jun 15th 2012 with 42 comments
Tutorial Details
  • Requirements: Download PDF
  • Difficulty: Intermediate
  • Run Time: 3:05 min

The first DIY created by the guys over at Pixel Mobb went over so well that we asked them to create some more helpful DIY QuickTips for us. Seeing a light stand in the shot is the leading cause of premature insanity amongst video editors… ok, I made that up, but do everybody a favor and watch this to keep it from coming true! Today you’ll learn how to create a rig for lighting a shot overhead without seeing any stands or cords.

Republished Tutorial

Every few weeks, we revisit some of our reader's favorite posts from throughout the history of the site. This tutorial was first published in February of 2010.

QuickTip

Download QuickTip .flv

File size 36MB

 
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Pixel Mobb is a small team of creatives who love to push limits, work crazy hours, and passionately discuss ideas. Become a fan on Facebook or follow us on twitter. Peter J. Normandia is a director/editor, and Mitch Martinez is a DP, and owner of Stamphill.com.  

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  • CoollerF

    nice)

  • Sébastien Lavoie

    Simply awesome, good job

  • Hristijan

    awesome!Cant wait the dolly tip,looks great!

  • http://www.liberatocreative.com Maurizio Liberato

    Great job guys! keep up the good work! :)

  • http://www.uproarmultimedia.com Gregory Gunther

    Sweet quick DIY tut! Looking forward to the next one on the dolly rig.

    • http://www.stamphill.com Mitch

      the dolly rules.

      if anyone wants to check out some of the camera moves I’ve accomplished recently with the same dolly we’ll be talking about in the next tut, here’s a link:

      http://www.stamphill.com/illinois.mov

      cheers!

  • kris

    good job guys… keep ‘em comin!
    I’ll definitely have to check out the circular dolly rig… i’ve been wanting to do that for awhile.

  • http://www.visualfxtuts.com Topher Welsh

    this is killer… I wonder if you could provide a shopping list though? Might make i easier for when we go to the store to get this stuff… don’t have to pull up the video on our non-Flash-using-iPhones… :P haha

    • http://pixelmobb.com Peter Normandia
      Author

      there is an attached PDF to download. It should help.

    • http://pixelmobb.com Peter Normandia
      Author

      Check out the downloadable PDF at the top. It’s got all the stuff you need.

  • TKNY

    Well done and informative. What type of camera/lenses did you use for this shoot?

    • http://pixelmobb.com Peter Normandia

      Standard lens on an Panasonic HVX200, 720p, 23.976. Nothing special. I did slightly CC the ‘cool shot’ though.

  • Sarakiya Komzin

    Awesome again!

    Thanks…

    And I was wondering about the dolly- Glad to hear it will be in the next one!

  • Antônio Caldas

    Very very good! Thank you so much.
    Greetings from Brasil.

  • Tia L. Bradford

    Really looking forward to more tips guys. Great job.

  • Ronnie

    Very cool. Must build one. Thank you.

  • Ashish

    simply cool….keep them coming

  • Veli

    Great tips!

  • http://scarpitta.net/index.html antonio

    Well done guys! This is very helpful. Any ideas on how to build a green screen?

    A.

    • http://pixelmobb.com Pete
      Author

      Build one? Kind of. We plan to do a tutorial on getting and lighting a green screen the right way in the future.

    • http://www.stamphill.com Mitch

      to save costs, you can sew your own green screen material from a fabric store. the biggest issue you’ll find is that most fabric you’ll find is only a yard wide. with green screening you want the background to be as seamless and shadowless as possible. for that reason, your best bet is usually to buy rather than sew – but you can make it work 100% d.i.y.

      you could also rig something else yourself for a backdrop stand; again, remember to try to get it as wrinklefree as possible. when lighting the green screen – waves, wrinkles, and seems can cause shadows that make your post-production job harder.

      otherwise, get yourself some solid green fabric and give it a try.

      cheers!

    • Brett Perry

      If you want a permanent green screen on a dedicated wall, you make sure the wall is as smooth as possible – use spackle and sand it. You can get a recipe for the color on the internet that you can get at Home Depot. Make sure you get a flat finish paint.
      If you need a quicky small, light weight screen, try getting an 4′ x 8′ piece of brown board (masonite) about an eigth of an inch thick. Prime it twice and use the green paint again. Attach a piece of lath to the back with a hinge ala picture frame style. These work good for interviews.
      You can buy a professional kit for not too much money. I got a 11′ x 21′ muslin greenscreen with three tripod suports for around 250 dollars. It was well worth the investment. Hope this info helps.
      Brett

  • seth

    great tip guys. you rick!

  • bla

    so… how do you install it? anyone thought of that? how can you make it stay up if not with stands?

    • http://www.stamphill.com Mitch

      it hangs from overhead:

      we installed a cable wire hanging system with 1/16″ galvanized wire that will hold 96″ lbs per instance (ours had two and would have supported up to 192lbs max). I think the unit actually weighed about 10lbs tops – so the cabling was more than suffice.

      I actually haven’t seen this tutorial fully edited yet, but I know what we did in the process of making it…

      so you can drill out for and attach the eyelet hooks – run your cabling to the length of your choosing and then put up some general plant hanging hooks or similar to hang the unit from the ceiling.

      if pictures of these aren’t in the tutorial, check the pdf that pete put together for download with supplemental information and material lists. if for some reason it’s not there, let pete know and I’m sure he can take a picture so you and others can see.

      it’s a lot of info to cram into a 3 minute tut – so there will always be something that you may want to ask for extra info about after the dust settles.

      cheers!

      • bla

        thanks, but what if you’re shooting outdoors or dont have a ceiling you can drill holes in? thats what i meant in first place

      • http://www.stamphill.com Mitch

        For ceilings, there’s a lot that can be done without putting holes anywhere.

        If you’re near a door or window frame, some small utility clamps with rubber ends can be an easy fixing method. You can even use some heavy duty suction cups (like they use for camera rigs on cars) if your ceiling surface works.

        Ideally, if you have the ability to choose your location with your desired shots in mind – that’s usually best. Note – the major drilling is with the lighting unit; the u-hooks for securing to ceilings or other areas make a very, very small hole. Pete can show you a picture…

        For dealing with the outside, I guess that’s a very specific situation…

        So if you’re needing the lighting fixture for an outside shoot, that would mean that it’s nighttime and dark outside.

        Where are your actors located? Are they in a street? Is there anything around you can rig or hang the fixture from? A tree would be very handy for this, but there’s other stuff less rural that would work too. Find your location and look around to see what you can hang things from. The great thing is that this unit is lightweight.

        Another issue you’ll have with using this outside at night is the question of your power supply… Are you bringing/renting a generator? Are you near a building in which you can power your lights?

        With proper planning of your shots, using this rig to help you accomplish what you’re trying to do should be pretty easy.

        cheers!

  • Brett Perry

    Good lighting rig tutorial. I would suggest that maybe by adding some extra switches (maybe dimmers) you could make the same rig even more customizable. Have a dimmer switch for the two lights sets at either end and one for the middle light. While it would add to the cost, it would also provide more flexibility. Another possibility would be to construct the longer piece of wood with two pieces that were slotted. Using wingnuts to hold them together. You could loosen the wing nuts and spread the lights at the end further apart as needed. You would have to leave some extra wire to alow for the expansion to it’s full width. Attaching metal light hoods could also give you a passable cameo light design if required. Can’t wait for the dolly tutorial. I’ve seen a few based on PVC piping and skateboard wheels. Thanks for the tips guys and keep ‘em coming!

    • http://www.stamphill.com Mitch

      those are all very good suggestions, brett.

      we kept it as simple as possible for any beginners and to keep it from becoming a multi-part tutorial. we’re happy to show people how to do much more – but for a three minute tutorial, there was no extra time available for adding dimmers and extra switches to this quick and dirty lighting unit.

      fear not! we’ll definitely be building some units with switches and dimmers in the near future for you…

      cheers!

  • Loudigi

    DIY! That’s exactly what we need more of

  • Elie Romano

    nice tuts! you guys are really helpin’ out! can’t wait for the dolly tip too! Thanks

  • arn75

    nice but

    cant wait for the next one :D

  • http://www.thinkingpixel.com C. Grady

    Outstanding! My only complaint is that you guys hadn’t submitted such fine works much sooner. Anyone new to this arena is doing themselves a disservice by not checking out your tutorials.

  • Leah Jewer

    Best tutorial yet!!!

  • Steve Meyer

    Hey, LOL. Sry, my english is not so well. But there is no plus and minus for this… OMG, mega LOL.

    You can put the cable in any direction you want.

    • http://www.stamphill.com Mitch

      no problem, steve.

      I’m not an electrician by trade so I always try to be a little extra careful rather than not be careful enough… I will always urge people to be as cautious and careful as possible.

      cheers!

  • http://sazkove-kancelaree.cz sazkove kancelare

    great thanks.Help a lot

    • http://www.stamphill.com Mitch

      no problem. good luck with the project.

  • Danny

    Do you think it is possible to make an overhead light that is just as functional out of led lights? If so, i think that would be a great DIY tutorial… Thinking that I might just try it. I’ll let you all know if it comes out okay…

  • Calvin

    Alternatively you could pick up a monfrotto polecat for $95 which is rated to take conventional lighting fixtures and works by adding pressure points to opposite walls. A little more expensive but allows for greater flexibility and quicker set ups plus your local theatre of lighting / rigging center should have one for rental for a pittance.

  • http://www.zebravideo.ca corporate video toronto

    Great tutorial , always was thinking to use this kind of light . Unfortunately never had time to do it.
    I use just lights with clamps if i need to do this kind of lightning. From my experience if the light is too high you will get crappy shadows under the eyes.

  • http://www.jurdan.org francis

    Nice tips, but i’m interesting to see to the traveling used to make the shoot ;-)