Colorado Gaffer

Harness the power of by getting comfortable with the effects tab. 💥

I’ll be honest, this part intimidated me at first.

If you come from apps like Astera or Sidus Link, a lot of effects are already built for you (which is awesome.) You just tweak the parameters and go. Blackout is different. You build from the ground up.

That learning curve can feel steeper, but the payoff is way more flexibility and creative control. Once you understand the basics, it starts to click.

It helps to think of effects like building blocks. Parameters changing over time, following a pattern, spread across multiple fixtures.

For this moody pulsing nightclub look, we:
- selected the fixtures,
- built a dark base look with saturated color,
- used intensity as the effect parameter to make the lights breathe,
- set a slow-to-medium speed for a rhythmic pulse,
and spread the phase so the fixtures weren’t moving in perfect unison. That phase offset is what gives it life.

The most important part is refining by eye. Work with your DP and adjust until it feels rich and moody, not chaotic or distracting. Unless chaotic is the goal. 🤪
Then save it so you can bring it back instantly on cue.

For a deeper dive, check out the Blackout YouTube channel. Lots of great info there!

This setup used a handful of .lighting Infinibar PB12s in the ceiling for pulsing color washes, a LiteMat Spectrum 4 through 6x 1/2 grid as the key to keep skin tones looking good, and two .global Forza 60Cs with lekos. One for the disco ball, the other handheld for lens flares and wipes across talent. Add a few small party lights in the background. and, of course, plenty of haze. 💨

Production
Director .sean
Producer
DP
AC .mov
2AC
Key G
Best G
Best E
PA
Sound

Lighting cues are expected knowledge now. Sometimes simple, sometimes layered.

If you’re gaffing without a programmer, you need to know how to build them quickly and repeatedly. With , added complexity doesn’t mean added difficulty.

This shot called for a mid-take transition from cool/low to warm/bright. The trick is separating the looks first. I saved the cool and warm setups as independent “looks” in Blackout, then assigned a timed fade between them. That keeps the move consistent and makes resets between takes instant.

Using 16-bit profiles is important. Smoother dimming, cleaner color travel, no stepping during the fade.

While it is possible to do this stuff on the fly, everyone will be a lot less stressed if given prior notice :) Thankfully that was the case this time. No surprises! 🙏

20x12x8’ tent over the windows (thank you grip department). An .lighting XT52 and 1200x into CRLS-100 diff 2 and 3 for light through the windows. We used LiteMat Spectrum 4 and 8 with Snapgrids inside to wrap the key and fill some shadows.

It probably sounds harder than it is. If I can do it, so can you 🤠

Production
Director .sean
Producer
DP
AC .mov
2AC
Key G
Best G
Best E
Swing
PA
Sound

How do you know where you should place the fill light?

What if I told you it doesn’t have to be on the opposite side of the key?

My favorite thing lately has been putting the fill above or behind the camera. This accomplishes a couple things that really make an image sing.

✅ It maintains the shape on the subject’s face with the ability to dial in the contrast ratio by increasing or decreasing intensity. This is especially helpful when two people are being interviewed at the same time.

✅ It creates big beautiful catch lights in the subject’s eyes. I often find I’m dancing between wanting shape on the face and wanting more eye light. If you walk the key further up stage, you get more shape, but lose the eye light. When you wrap it around, you get eye light but lose the shape. Having a big fill behind the camera solves this problem.

For this setup we pushed an .lighting 1200x through a frame of 250 and 8x8 magic cloth with a 50º control grid. 8’ wag flag bottomer to slow the light on the couch, and a single net to balance exposure on the subject closer to the light. Vortex 8 into ultrabounce behind the camera for fill. We utilized the existing moving wash lights in the ceiling for edge and accents in the background. Somehow managed to set off a smoke detector as well! 👍(’s signature move)

Production
Director
EP
Associate Producer .syler
DP
AC .mandrew
KG
Sound

Three-point lighting never goes out of style.

Key. Fill. Edge. 🤌

It’s Lighting 101. So foundational you stop thinking about it. Every setup, big or small, is built on this triangle:

• Key = shape
• Fill = contrast
• Edge = separation + depth

The concept is simple. The craft is in the balance so it feels natural and scaling it to the space. That just takes practice.

Our lighting plan changed day-of thanks to 58mph gusts 🌬️ (no exterior diffusion).

216 on the windows, .lighting XT52 BajaBlastin™️ for key with a 2x3 soft sider to diffuse the door, 400X into an ultrabounce for fill, and a LiteMat Spectrum 2L + Snapgrid for edge.

Great space, great texture, easy to make it sing.

Production
Producer
Producer
Director
Director DP
AC
Stills
KG @/jpmontoulieu
Art
Picture Car
PA
PA
Talent

bazile

Tripping breakers isn’t ‘one of those things’. It’s incompetence 💀

If your set goes dark every time someone plugs in a laptop, you didn’t plan power. You guessed. The electric department exists to power the entire set, not just the lights.

On set, the electric department isn’t just powering fixtures, we’re planning for everything: video village, charging stations, wardrobe steamers, crafty, art department, and the surprise plug-ins that show up at call time. Smart power planning keeps the set safe, efficient, and rolling without tripping breakers or blowing timelines.

On this shoot, we worked closely with the art department because nearly every prop needed power (Christmas lights, inflatable Santa, and snow machine!) House power was already stretched with vanities and crafty indoors, so the generator handled the rest with room to spare.

Lighting was simple: .lighting XT52 with the narrow cone extended, baja blasting through opal from the backyard. This thing is a ripper for day exteriors! CRLS 100 Diff 3 for edge, plus a 12x solid for negative fill.

Christmas in August!… at 95º 🥵🎄

Production
Director
AD MJ Black
DP
AC
2AC
BBE
KG
BBG
Art Director .janelle
Art Assist
Art Assist
HMU
Wardrobe
Sound Joe Bramer
PA
PA .syler
PA

Big lights get all the hype, but this tiny CRMX bulb might be the real MVP.

I’ve been using the LunaBulbs on several projects now, and here’s what stood out.

If you wanted a wirelessly controlled practical in the past, you were basically stuck with incandescent bulbs on a single channel dimmer. Beautiful tungsten quality, sure, but locked into one color.

The LunaBulbs changed that game completely.
With a 1,750K–20,000K CCT range and full RGBMA color, you can dial in any look instantly. No more gelling practicals. Astera’s Titan LED Engine keeps everything consistent and gives you gorgeous low-end dimming.
But what really sells me is the design.

They look like a standard household bulb. No bulky bases, no awkward buttons. And the outer diffusion shell pops off so they can fit into even the tiniest lamps. That versatility is gold on set.

For this scene we began by tenting the windows outside to control the ambient for the nighttime look. Then we pushed two 1K full color fresnels through the windows. Two 60W full color fresnels bounced into 4x ultra for a soft key on the talent’s face. Titan Tubes in the ceilings for edge and fill in the room, a third around the corner for a hit on the wall. A couple RGB puck lights filled in dead pockets.

The LunaBulbs were the heroes in all the practicals - creating warm pools of light that added depth and tonal contrast. Being able to dial in the values from the ipad saved us valuable setup time. These units pack full fledged professional LED features into a traditional bulb form. Giving you natural skintones, wireless DMX, flicker free dimming, a huge CCT range, full color, and they integrate seamlessly with the set design.

Production .co
EP
LP
Director
AD Tom Farnsworth
DP
AC @​​yang.mandrew
2AC
KG
BBG
BBE
Swing
Prod. Design
Art Assist
Art Assist
Art Assist
Wardrobe
HMU
Sound

Let’s talk about illuminance. That’s just a fancy word for how bright light is on a surface. Understanding it helps us determine what fixtures we’ll need for a given exposure.

Imagine you’re shining a light on a wall. If you move the light closer, the spot gets brighter. If you move it farther away, the spot gets dimmer. That brightness on the wall is called illuminance.

The basic equation is E= I/D2
E = illuminance (how bright the surface is)
I = light intensity (how strong the source is)
D = distance (the distance between the light and the surface, squared because light doesn’t spread in a straight line)

There’s an excellent video by Cinematography Database called “The Exposure Formula Explained” describing this equation in detail if you care to learn more.

The good news? You don’t need to be a math whiz to calculate exposures when the DP asks for something like “T8, 600 FPS, at 400 ISO - through magic cloth”

I used .io for the first time on this shoot and was super impressed. It gave me accurate exposure readings on the tech scout using photometric data from 150+ fixtures and 350+ modifiers. Saved a ton of time and guesswork, and we rolled into the shoot confident in our plan.

We used two .lighting XT26 through magic cloth in an 8x soft box overhead, two 1000Cs for an edge, a 2x1 panel for an edge on the opposite side, and a CRLS 50 Diff 2 for some fill.

And it’s as easy as that!

Prod. SMAC Productions
Dir.
EP
PM Russ Taylor
PC Kari White
1AD Lou Tocchet
2AD Kevin Jackson
DP
1AC
2AC Phillip Walters
DIT Tim Hardy
Gaffer
BBE
SLT
SLT .aesthetic
Key G
BBG
Grip
Dolly G .d.m_photography
Prod. Design Pam Chavez
Art Dir Linda Kriebel
P Master Justin Morse
P Assist Pierre Beauchamp
Art Coord. Jessica Jones
Art Assist Jean Beauchamp
Art PA Julian Chaves
Food
VTR Doug Birdsell

When you’re lighting a commercial with high-profile talent, preparation and professionalism are everything.

The difference between a smooth day and chaos often comes down to how well your department anticipates needs before they’re voiced.

Here’s how to make sure everything runs seamlessly before the cameras roll

💡Scout and Prelight

Lock in your lighting plan early. Prelight whenever possible. VIP talent time is expensive, and delays can ripple across the entire production. The moment they walk in, lighting should be dialed.

Minimize down time by lighting multiple sets at once so talent can walk in and start rolling. I like to save looks in so the changes are made with the press of a button.

🤫Keep the Set Quiet and Calm

The lighting team sets the tone. Move with purpose but stay composed. Keep the chatter about weekend plans or whatever at the truck. A quiet set helps everyone focus and a calm G&E crew builds trust.

🍂Anticipate Changes

Be ready for a “bonus shot” or impromptu close-up. Keep extra modifiers, stands, and lights ready to go nearby. Efficiency under pressure makes you the unsung hero.

At the end of the day, great lighting is about more than exposure. It’s about trust, timing, and tact. When your department runs quietly and efficiently, everyone on set feels it.

We lit this shot with two Skypanel S360s inside a 12x softbox overhead, four S60s for back edge. And two Vortex 8s on either side for that jawline definition. And it’s as easy as that.

Prod. SMAC Productions
Dir.
EP
PM Russ Taylor
PC
1AD Lou Tocchet
2AD Kevin Jackson
DP
1AC
2AC Phillip Walters
DIT Tim Hardy
Gaffer
BBE
SLT
SLT .aesthetic
Key G
BBG
Grip
Dolly G .d.m_photography
Prod. Design Pam Chavez
Art Dir Linda Kriebel
P Master Justin Morse
P Assist Pierre Beauchamp
Art Coord. Jessica Jones
Art Assist Jean Beauchamp
Art PA Julian Chaves
Food
Mixer Lincoln Terhark
Boom Op Jeff Knudsen
VTR Doug Birdsell
Tele-p Theresa Newton

Working with a great cinematographer is truly watching an artist paint with light.

It’s an old cliché but an accurate description. Establishing the composition and broad strokes for exposure get you about 90% of the way there. The mastery becomes apparent in the final 10% when the finishing details are added. Refining the values, shaping the shadows, and adding light to areas in need of some love.

We keyed The Sheriff™️ with a LiteMat Spectrum 8 and Snapgrid. A Vortex 8 through 8x ½ grid wrapped soft light and gave talent some nice big catchlights in the eyes. 8x wag flag bottomer slowed counter, and another 8x wag flag topper slowed the wall behind talent.

The .lighting XT52 bounced into a CRLS-100 diff 3 for edge and ambience in the room behind. Another Vortex 8 bounced into ultra gave a highlight on the stainless steel appliances. A 1000C at 8000K with 19° Spotlight max bounced into three more CRLS for cool accents on the counter top and highlight on the blender. A 1200X with 19°Spotlight max bounced into a fourth CRLS for some texture down low on the wall behind talent. A couple MC Pros on the shelf cut out the shadows.

Finally, negative fill on the ceiling and a 12x20 solid ensured a rich contrast ratio.

This was a fun promo for “One Battle After Another” swipe to watch the full piece.

Many thanks to this wonderful Colorado crew!

Production
Director
EP Sean Owolo
PM .kent
PC
1st AD Joe Gray
DP
A Cam Op
A Cam 1st AC
B Cam Op
B Cam 1st AC .mandrew
2nd AC Ben Frank
Teleprompter Michelle Teti
DIT
Gaffer
BBE
Key Grip
BBG
Swing
Prod. Designer
Art Assist
HMU
Sript Sup.
Sound
VTR Doug Birdsell
Crafty
PA .a.nation.llc
PA .cover
PA

A little back light and some atmosphere can really transform a space. 💨🤌

Haze is something that can elevate an image and add depth. Highlights bloom, shadows are lifted, and if you’re lucky, you might even get some rays of light (but not with a pola filter in front of the lens!)

Sometimes haze is a bold stylistic choice. A dense fog for drama that makes it look like Willie Nelson is camped out in the corner. Other times it’s just a subtle touch to feel more dimension in a room. Either way, I love what it brings to a frame. Without it, things can feel flat - little less “cinematic”.

Anyone who tells you water-based haze won’t set off a smoke detector is full of it. (don’t ask me how I know that) Always ask the location manager before you pump skunk. Never put your hazer directly on the floor; it might leak. Use a rug or some scrap duve. In a home, remove the smoke detectors. If it’s a school or hotel, you’ll need to connect with facilities to temporarily shut them off while you’re filming. Make sure they tell you when they turn the system back on. (again, don’t ask me how I know)

I get that haze usually falls outside the grip or electric departments, but in smaller markets like Denver, the person who owns the hazer usually runs it. I control mine via DMX from my iPad, so keeping an eye on levels is no big deal.

For the portrait, we lit with an .lighting 1000c with a OctaPlus6, bead board under the key to lift shadows. LM Spectrum 4 with Snapgrid for edge, and 8x solid for negative fill.

The action shots on the court were lit with two Vortex 8s on a balcony from behind and two Infinibar PB12s doubled up to wrap some light on the product in front. Of course the DF50 was the MVP, filling up a gym with a deep even haze.

Production .tv
EP
CD .jpeg
DP
AC
OP
Stills
Digi-T
BTS .exposures
KG
G&E Switch
Sound Jeff Knudsen
HMU
PA

Fake looking sunlight can ruin a great shot.
Here’s how to fix it.

Pushing your light directly through a window might seem like the move…

But if it’s too close?
👎 The falloff looks fake
👎 The shadows keystone
👎 The whole scene screams “lit”

So what if you can’t throw an 18K 40 feet outside?

Here’s my favorite fix:
CRLS reflectors by

They let you bounce hard light while keeping directionality and softening falloff - meaning:

👍 More natural edges
👍 Realistic shadow shape
👍 Light that actually feels like sun

Each reflector surface (Diffusion 1–4) gives you control over spread and softness:

D1: Mirror-sharp
D2–D4: Increasingly soft and organic

It’s like getting the control of a fresnel, the softness of a bounce, and the falloff of real daylight — all in a compact setup.

If you don’t have access to CRLS, you can use a traditional shiny board and diffuse it with Hampshire frost (253) or Opal frost (410) to achieve a similar result but less cool result.

⚙️ Our setup:
☀️ .lighting XT26 into CRLS 50 Diff 2 for our “sun” with the Snapbridge for some hard / soft combo (the quality of light is unmatched)
💧 1000C bounced into a kiddie pool of mirrors for water texture (thanks to JP for the jiggles)
🐶 LiteMat Spectrum 8 wrapped soft light on our pup
💡 LiteMat 4 indoors as an edge
☁️ 1000C for ambient window bounce
📊Infinibar for fill
➕ .global Forza 60C for wall lift

Production
EP
Producer
Coordinator
Director
AD Jeff Lewis
DP
AC
2AC
KG
Swing
Art
Art Assist
Wardrobe
HMU