A Creative DIY Guide to Digital Video Lighting on (Almost) No Budget

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Introduction

Discovering Light

I lived a large portion of my life working as a lighting professional; manipulating,

controlling, coercing, and painting with light. It started in high school,

working in the theater and lighting for plays, choir concerts, band concerts,

dance recitals, assemblies, and corporate functions. I did many things backstage,

but the lighting was one of the jobs I became good at. I branched out from

there, lighting theatrical performances in Community Theater. A little later,

I started working as an electrician in professional theater and moved up to

master electrician and, eventually, to the lighting designer. All of this was while

I was living in Arizona. When I made a move to Los Angeles to work in

movies, I started where I thought I could transition most naturally from stage

to screen: as an electrician. I worked my way up the ladder, making a brief

stop at the best boy, and then as a gaffer and, eventually, I became a cinematographer.

Up until the point where I officially “hung up my meter” in 2005—

Although I continue to shoot on the side—lighting had been a critical

component of my life for nearly 20 years. I studied it; I lived it. My life was

creating a light, crafting light, and painting with light.

Seeing the Light

I used to drive my wife a little crazy (well, truth be told—a lot crazy) because
I was always thinking about lighting. We would be sitting in a restaurant and
having a conversation, and suddenly I would get quiet. After a moment she
would cock her head slightly and glare at me, “You’re looking at the lighting
again, aren’t you?”
And I was.

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