Filming Q&A 6: Do we actually need lights?

Lights. Yes we need them.

And these days LED lights don’t break the budget.

But we’ve learned to be minimal and careful of overkill as the presenter can end up looking washed out if we throw everything we have at them – especially if the background is lighter. We’ve also learned at our peril to cover windows in rooms with plenty of sunlight because passing clouds will dramatically affect the continuity. If you are filming outdoors changes in light caused by passing clouds will look fine and natural during a take, the issue lies in keeping continuity between takes which will present a challenge in the editing phase.