Cinematography Breakdown: How to Shoot A Commercial on a Cyc Wall
Have you ever wondered how you’re supposed to light a white cyc wall for a commercial? I know when I was first getting started with filmmaking, I didn’t fully understand what all I need to do make my footage look better and with a lot of diverse experiences over the years I was able to bring all my knowledge into this Smile Direct Club spot that I got to be the cinematographer for.
In this video, I’ll share with you my super super simple lighting plan, camera setup and movements, and how to shoot an iPhone screen for green screen replacement.
Before we get into it, let me share with you how this gig came about. Also, if we’ve never met before, hi my name is Mika and I’m one of the 14 million videographers out there. I say videographer but I really mean cinematographer. I specialize in commercials, branded content and music videos. Thanks for checking out this blog/video. I hope it’ll get you one step closer to where you’re heading.
Gig
This opportunity came from a connection I had with a producer that also brought me onto my first big name gig which was Squarespace. I had such a great time on that shoot and enjoyed working with him. And 4 years later, this person reached again. It feels really good when a previous connection reaches out again and you get to work together again. Remember that you’re always planting a seed that will come back around. Even 4 years later!
Lighting
The approach for this commercial was to light it bright and clean(WOW that’s so creative Mika). High key meaning low contrast. So what’s always challenging with shooting on white cyc walls is that you need to light the whole scene without casting any crazy shadows that take away from the depth that cyc walls naturally provide. But you do want your subject to have some contrast and shape as well. So we started with the top light setup to just bring an even, soft light from the top, and Barrett Depies(gaffer) used a 1200d with a soft box with full diff and shot that through a 12x12 quarter stop for a softer fall.
Remember light for the wide setup, then work your way in.
For the key light we had a Nova 600c through 6x quarter grid silk. And then did 1x1 litepanel for fill, LS300x for hair light and another Nova with a softbox to fill in the cyc wall.
For the green screen inserts, we put 4x4 neg above to get rid of all the reflections from the overhead lighting rig. You want to watch out for the spill from the green screen, so make sure your phone screen isn’t too bright(use your exposure assist to make sure you’re exposed properly for VFX team).
Camera & Movement
We shot on an Alexa Mini with DZO Vespid lenses, mostly stayed on the 16mm, 35mm, and 50mm because I had to keep verticals in mind. With filtration, I had 1/8 pearlescent and .3 ND in case the directors wanted more light in the shot. Instead of re-adjusting all the lights, you save a ton of time by just taking the ND off.
We used the Cineped for a few of the slow pushes, but I’d say I did most of the shots with the easy rig and used sticks for the green screen replacement.
