I too have been "enlightened" by VIC-N- VASST.
the Nano light tip as well as all the great lighting secrets and styles make this a must have for anyone like me thats just getting to learning the lighting basics .
Heck I even took one of those Y-sockets and am using it in my Starlight QL for some of my shots in the yachts where I need a soft light close up but not 500 watts of heat.
works great!!

Dito. I highly recommend Vic’s Light It Right DVD. I recently purchased my first lighting kit and I read a lot of information on the Internet about lighting, but when I lit my first shot it was just too bright. No definition and completely a wash of light. I got Vic’s Light it Right DVD and at one point, he shows a shot (reluctantly) using an umbrella and it looks exactly like my shot. Then he says, “This is what NOT to do. Umbrella’s give you no control; get rid of ‘em”. I just laughed out loud, “that’s me”.

I knew at that point I was going to learn a lot from Vic and I did. He shows you how to light in the studio, light a product shot, light a podium speaker in a large room, light an executive on location, light a board room using Chinese Lanterns, build your own softbox using Nano-Lights (which he uses on almost every shot on the DVD), etc. What Vic can do with two lights and a bounce card is just truly amazing. The difference for me was seeing it and not just reading about it. Watching Vic paint the scene with light was worth it for me.

Vic also shares a lot of his personal experience in this DVD and shows several variations on a theme and talks you through his thinking process as to why he places the lights in the positions he does and shows alternate positions and explains why he might or might not use those depending on the “look” he is going for. I don’t think anyone would be disappointed by this DVD. It is just packed with tips and techniques and Vic is a fun guy that draws you in and makes you feel like he’s passing down “insider secrets”. I certainly learned a lot. Thanks again Vic for sharing your knowledge with us. I agree with Ray, You ROCK! ;-)

~jr

Hey Johnny - I agree...Vic's DVD was very information. I've been a still shooter for over 15 years and I have used umbrellas extensively during that time. I can tell you that you actually "can" control an umbrella but.....it's not as controllable as one might get with a smaller light source.

Most people using an umbrella tend to just "blast" the light directly into the subject and of course this will work....but the lighting is very flat and this technique doesn't offer much control. If you are looking for good modeling (highlights -vs- shadows) using an umbrella, simply "feather" the umbrella and use the edges of the light....instead of blasting the light straight into your subject. By feather I mean......after the light is setup, rotate the umbrella to the left and to the right of your subject and only let the "edges" of the light hit your subject. If you feather the light in front of your subject..most of the light will pass in front of your subject which you can elect to reflect back into the shadow side by placing a reflector in that area. If you feather the light to the rear of the subject (which is my favorite technique when using an umbrella), most of the light will go behind your subject lighting up the background and leaving the shadow side of your subject very dark and moody. Either way you choose to light with an umbrella is up to you but you do have options with umbrellas!

Here's an example

I want to second the previous user's comments about Vic's video (a #1 best-seller at NAB).

I was fortunate enough to get an early preview copy of “Light it Right” and I was VERY, VERY impressed. I fired it up after dinner and couldn't stop. Right off the bat you can tell this is not your normal training video. You get to hear directly from Vic Milt, the professional’s professional. Usually you wouldn’t be able to get even five minutes with someone as well-known and busy as Vic, let alone have him as a personal tutor showing you every single trick of the trade (he covers a LOT of ground, but you get to “see” how everything is done, so you remember).

Vic has won clio’s, a Telly, several Addy’s and has produced almost 1,000 commercials (including some of the world’s most recognized brand like Irish Spring, Columbia coffee, Time Books and Burger King)--when he stands in front of you and “shows you” how to properly light anything (from light placement to changes in lighting angle, to lighting an executive or setting up a product shot), he reeks of credibility. I especially like being able to see the changes as they occur. Vic’s instruction is full of “ah ha’s, so that’s how it’s supposed to be done.”

It covers high-end professional equipment (Vic takes you on a field trip of a major picture lighting service center so you can see what the big boys use) but also covers guerilla lighting—showing exactly how to create similar lighting on a beginner’s budget. In fact, he even shows how to construct a home made lighting panel from Home Depot parts (worth the cost of the video in savings alone). Vic also shows you how to maximize the use of lighting that exists on site.

I highly recommend this video to the advanced and beginning videographer. It’s as informative as it is fun to watch.

First of all, just so people don't think I'm being a stick in the mud, I thought Vics DVD was very informative. There are a lot of tips in there. And although some of the Americanisms in the presentation came across as a bit cheesy for this Brit, I would like to second Victor's recommendation that people get involved in community videos. He's totally correct. If you find yourself not having a crew or able to get people together for a production easily, community videos are a great way to try stuff out. I'm not talking information videos here. Many of them will be projects with disadvantaged people who want to be involved in making a fictional story. I've made stuff up to and including a horror movie with the local Youth In Action group. So good on Vic for pointing this aspect out.

Now onto my gripe with the DVD. I found the actual editing quality to be a bit lackluster at times. There were many problems with the sound. Whole wideshot sequences, and the odd closeup where the sound was completely out of synch. Quite afew jumpy editing points and the use of totally different microphones within the same paragraph as they had obviously had to re-record areas.

Now onto my gripe with the DVD. I found the actual editing quality to be a bit lackluster at times. There were many problems with the sound. Whole wideshot sequences, and the odd closeup where the sound was completely out of synch. Quite afew jumpy editing points and the use of totally different microphones within the same paragraph as they had obviously had to re-record areas.

I noticed that as well. Also, the chromakey work was lackluster.

But that being said, I found the content of the disc to be so absorbing and helpful, and Vic's presentation of his tips to be so conversational & without ego that I couldn't help but to really enjoy this DVD. His line about getting away with passable lighting-- something to the effect of "You could get away with this shot.... You HAVE gotten away with this shot"-- is so true that it's frightening!

I learned a ton from this DVD & strongly urge everyone that I work with to watch it. It's a shining example of content triumphing over technical shortcomings.

David.

> Whole wideshot sequences, and the odd closeup where the sound was completely out of synch.

I don’t think they were out of synch as mush as a voice over where Vic changed the words that we has saying. It was very wide and Vic was dimly lit and you should have been focusing on the lights he was placing and not watching his lips move (but I noticed it too). Sometimes we use colloquial expressions when we talk that have to be remove to make sense to a larger (international) audience and there is no avoiding this. You can't afford to re-shoot a scene like that because the setup and matching would be too hard. Those are long continuous shots that are basically streams of consciousness and continuity is always a problem when editing these. Most likely he didn’t realize it until post.

I guess if it was a multi-million dollar film they would have re-assembled the crew and re-shot the scene but for a training DVD, the content is much more important than the occasional voice-over mismatch. BTW, You see this all the time in Hollywood movies that have been “edited for TV” and changed from an R rating to G. They don’t re-shoot their scenes for TV.

Ya' gotta admit... the lighting was perfect. ;-)

~jr