Fluorescent Lighting for Film and TV

Fluorescent Lighting for Film and TV

Often as a member of the camera department you’ll be asked to shoot on a location set which has a lot of fluorescent lighting all ready in place. This is common on locations such as car dealerships, factories, airports, supermarkets and hospitals. The big problem with having fluorescent lighting is that it has a green cast and that since it comes from a pulsating source it may also pulsate when filmed.

Color correction can be done with an appropriate filter. It is still good to measure the scenes average color temperature with a color meter when deciding which filter to use. The filter you choose is dependent on the exact type of fluorescent you’re using. Besides causing a greenish cast over the scene, the picture may also be deficient in reds. If you had several Directors of Photography view such a scene, you’ll probably get as many different filter recommendations as are the number of photographers and many might be of opposite points of view. It’s best to view various manufacturers recommendations or the recommendations by your American Cinematographers Manual and test them until you get the desired look. Besides camera filters, you may want to add filters to your tungsten instruments and/or to the fluorescent instruments. You might want to add a filter to your tungsten instruments to make it compatible with your fluorescents. Besides your tungsten instruments, you may want to filter any sunlight entering an interior so it matches your overall fluorescent lit scene. Sometimes this may be very time consuming if you have lots of windows. Many Director of Photography prefer to light close-ups in these scenes with enough tungsten generated 3200 degree light so as to overwhelm the florescent lighting which is dominant in the wide shot.

In documentaries and occasionally in dramatic features, the decision may be made to completely light the scene in fluorescent light and simply use a camera filter for basic overall correction. This is fast and efficient and most of the color correction work is then left to the color timers at the lab. In this situation, it’s best to use a camera mounted fluorescent instrument to light the faces for close-ups. They may also be placed on light stands or at eye level. This way eye shadows are also omitted. Be aware that you will also loose a lot of shadow detail on the face when you do this. My experience when shooting 16mm, DV, and HDTV is to use fluorescent soft light kits for the close-ups so as to help eliminate contrast. This helps give the DV and HDTV cameras more of a film look.

The other major problem created by fluorescent light is the flicker you often get as a result of fluorescent being a pulsating source. If it’s frequency of its power supply isn’t compatible with the camera speed, then the light will fluctuate on the filmed image. Also, if it’s not compatible with the shutter angle of the camera, the same thing will occur. The best combinations of frequency, film speed and shutter opening are as follows for film cameras:

50 kHz.—25fps with any shutter opening
50 kHz —24fps with a shutter opening of 170—175 degree opening
60 kHz--24fps with a shutter angle of 144 or 180 degrees.

Don’t use fluorescent sources for creating slow motion effects by shooting at 48fps or higher. You will not be able to get rid of the pulsation of the light -- at least that’s my unfortunate experience.

Fluorescent lighting is a common source of light on locations. In documentary, you encounter it constantly. Student films frequently are plagued with poor handling of fluorescent light. If you take into consideration its properties, you can work with it and integrate it into the look of your scene. If you're working on tape, you’ll immediately see it’s effect on your scene if you have a broadcast and calibrated monitor on location. When shooting on tape, it’s always good to make a camera report noting that fluorescent light was used to alert the editor of the need to correct color.