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Gender Differences: Creating Masculine & Feminine Lighting in Ren – The Girl with the Mark (Article)

Posted by on Feb 19, 2016 in Articles, Behind-the-Scenes, Featured, Lighting/Gaffing, Specific Projects, Tips | 0 comments

A few days into my tenure as DP on Kate Madison’s ambitious fantasy series, Ren, we filmed a shot/reverse for one of the opening scenes. The scene introduced us to the eponymous Ren (Sophie Skelton) and her friend Karn (Christopher Dane).

Kate described Ren to me as “pure innonence”, while Karn is an older, more worldly character with a difficult past. It seemed to me like classic femine and masculine lighting were called for. Classic feminine lighting is designed to create a soft, flawless, often shadowless face. Classic masculine lighting enhances jaw definition, embraces lines and skin texture and generally creates a rugged look.

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Digging Into YouTube: How Analytics Can Help Uncover Your Audience (Article/Tips)

Posted by on Sep 25, 2015 in Articles, Featured, Retrospectives, Tips | 0 comments

Earlier this year, I launched a YouTube channel that I host. As someone who always saw herself as a “behind the scenes” person, the idea of hosting a channel was the farthest thing from my mind. However, as no one else would step up to host the channel I conceived, I was forced to go through the labor which began with outright refusal to film myself, followed by a great deal of reluctance at the thought of filming myself and finally resignation to the idea of filming myself.

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No-Budget Gaffing: DIY Lighting Tricks for DPs (Tutorial/Article)

Posted by on Aug 21, 2015 in Articles, Featured, Lighting Tutorials, Lighting/Gaffing, Tips, Tutorials | 2 comments

Diving into the world of cinematography may seem challenging if you are on a budget. Behind-the-scenes videos of large productions often show cinematographers using very expensive equipment and a scroll through a film gear retailer’s website shows that professional items often come with a big price tag. However, with some creativity, you can light and capture your scenes on a shoestring budget. In this article, I’ll share a few low-cost lighting tools and techniques that I often use while shooting.

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Low Budget, High Fantasy: Top Ten Tips to Make a Quality Fantasy Series Without Breaking the Bank (Article/Tips)

Posted by on Jun 12, 2015 in Articles, Behind-the-Scenes, Featured, Tips | 3 comments

Kate Madison directs James Malpas (Baynon) on the set of Ren

Kate Madison directs James Malpas (Baynon) on the set of Ren

Many low budget filmmakers would shy away from making a medieval fantasy with swordfights, horses, and a village full of extras, but not Kate Madison. Here is a sneak peek at the show along with some top tips from Kate and her team on how to put a quality epic on the screen.

Kate Madison will be known to many in the indie film world as the maker of the hugely popular Lord of the Rings fan film, Born of Hope. Released in 2009, the movie has had over 30 million YouTube hits to date.

Kate’s latest project is an original fantasy-adventure web series called Ren, about a young woman marked by an ancient spirit and ousted from her village. The teaser trailer for season one will give you an idea of its ambitious scope.

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Lighting & Cinematography Basics: Where to Put Your Key Light (Tips/Tutorial)

Posted by on May 1, 2015 in Articles, Behind-the-Scenes, Featured, General, Tips, Tutorials | 0 comments

What angle the key light hits a character at is a KEY (groan) decision for a director of photography. The lighting featurette [I posted on my site a while back] looked at some of the options, but today I’d like to expand on those with some more up-to-date examples.

Imagine a clock face. You’re looking down on the scene and your talent is at the center with their eyeline to twelve o’clock.

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