One of the most important factors for producing high quality video streams is light. I have seen crappy analog cameras produce stellar results because of perfect lighting conditions. Proper lighting may seem simplistic but it is not as obvious as you would think.

Fact is that the human eye needs a lot less light than the electronic eye (the CCD) in your video capture device and not realizing this trips up a lot of the folks shooting their own amateur videos. I see it all the time in the videos SobeGirl renders for other websites. It is a difficult issue for most newbies to over come because after all your eye is telling you its OK.

The only thing I can say is that the more videos you shoot the more you begin understand how to interpret what your eye is telling you on the fly. Furthermore, Many experienced filmmakers don't adequately understand the difference between lighting for traditional 35mm film and lighting for digital video.

In this article, we are going to take a look at what you should and should not when lighting your video shoots for web streaming. I will show you why one of the most critical issue in creating high quality video streams is understanding how differently the camera and your eye perceive light. The human eye can discern a vastly greater range of contrasts than can the tape in your video capture device and keeping this in mind will go along way in making your video streams look better

As much as my Sony amazes me it is nothing compared to the human eye. The eye is a wonderfully designed optical device that works in all kinds of lighting situations. The eye can discern detail over a dynamic range, or contrast ratio, that approaches 800:1. This means that even in high-contrast lighting situations, make out the shadows and highlights without a problem.

Of course, this ratio varies from individual to individual and changes as you age. To put this in a real-world perspective, you can look at a bare 75-watt bulb in a room where areas are in deep shadow. Though the bulb will glare, you can make out the 75-watt label on the lighted bulb and can see some objects and details in the room's shadowed areas. The ratio between the light bulb and the darkest area of the room that you can see determines the contrast ratio of what you perceive. The ratio between the lightest and darkest perceived content determines the dynamic range of the instrument, whether it's your eye or your miniDV tape.

To demonstrate the superiority of the eye as an optical instrument over a video capture device try the following. Placing a bare 75-watt bulb in your scene next time you shoot a video. Scenes that your eye finds acceptable just don't work when recorded to videotape. This is because the tape has a much more restricted dynamic range than your eye. Ignoring the limited dynamic range of tape during a shoot will yield undesirable results in the rendered video.

Fill it in and knock it down

You can move the contrast range of your recording up and down the range of available illumination by changing the exposure times but you can't expand it. It's because of the limited dynamic range of film that analog and digital filmmakers must learn careful lighting techniques to knock down the highlights and throw fill light into the dark areas.

Knock down and fill techniques artificially restrict a movies contrast ratio to better fit in the dynamic range of a given film stock. This is much like what an audio compressor does. It limits the dynamic range of a signal by lifting the bottom and dropping the peaks-except with images, we do it with softboxes, fresnels, jells and reflectors.

Among all capture devices video has the most restricted dynamic range than lets say 35mm film. Although this range has expanded a lot in recent years, even the best cameras can only handle a contrast ratio of about 30:1. Advances in chip technology and digital signal processing are pushing this up rapidly toward 40:1. But remember that this ratio will decrease if postproduction goes through a few generation losses.

Video's restricted range

Video's more restricted dynamic range causes many film gaffers and DPs to trip up when shooting video. They light for film, take careful measurements with light meters, and set up a shot that will look wonderful on film-but lousy on video. They forget, or don't know, that video needs more lighting compression than film, and to get good video lighting, you must control strong highlights and reflections and throw some fill into dark shadowed areas

More Color Than Crayolas

With color perception, the incredible flexibility of the human eye again puts video cameras to shame. Not only does the eye perceive more light levels, the combination of the eye and the brain can compensate for the simultaneous presence of a number of different color temperatures

You should generally balance the camera to the dominant light source and color-correct the other lights to the dominant source. To correct the other lights, you'll need some color-correction gels. Of course, special color-balanced fluorescent tubes are available as well. They run cool, emit balanced light but cost a fortune.

Some video shooters are often a little scared of color, and the blandness of the even white lighting shows up in their work. Don't be afraid of using subtle color tints-or even bold colors-in your lighting. The point is to use colors intentionally rather than accidentally.

Control begets creativity

The critical issues to create a fine video picture are contrast, color, and exposure. Controlling all three of these is essential if you want your video image to look good and behave well during post-production and web streaming. Contrast is controlled primarily outside the camera through careful lighting of your subject. Knock down hotspots and highlights; use adequate fill to illuminate shadowed areas and provide detail. Outside, especially on a clear sunny day, reflectors will help you get a proper picture.

A little knowledgeable attention to color and lighting details during production will save you great agonies in post-production and will give you a reputation for fine videography. Now that you have a basic foundation, it's up to you to add the subtle touches that will transform well exposed and legal movies into the truly creative and artistic.