Behind the Scenes: HUD

January 29th, 2009

There have been a few questions about the lighting setup for the recent HUD Tutorial so I thought I would write a quick break down of our shoot. I didn't have any actual set photos so I recreated it with a graph, complete with 1 eyeball.

Basic Setup:
The camera is setup at eye level inside a dark room to ensure the background stays black. A diffused, low-power light sits underneath the cam looking towards the subject's face while another light points down from behind to illuminate small highlights. View Result

That's about it. Oh and don't forget to press record.

Andrew Kramer

POSTED:

16 years ago

64 Comments

Djordjevlasotince

16 years ago

Yeah Andrew,
here in Serbia you're very popular

. I work in this industry, if i can say, maybe 1-2 years. I'm 15 years old, and i love VIDEOCOPILOT so much, but not more that filmmaking

. I've got some projects in marketing, music videos, but in films not yet...
Like Predrag said, you are the best

. I've got problems with expressions, but... i think i will learn that... :S
I hope i will learn lot of things on your website, and maybe one day i will work on movies like our (serbian

)Predrag...

Best Regards !

anandk.s

16 years ago

Hai all most all tutorials i like

pls give me gudide to make green screen..

stijelja predrag

16 years ago

Hy Kramer
I work in vfx industry almost 5 years,and i almost 4 years spend like rotoscoping lead artist.
I am from Serbia,Belgrade
I work of cople of movies such as our movie "Charlson za Ognjenku" or "Tears for sale",and lot of cometials and mysic videos.
Becouse of you I jump in work nowe like a compositing artist,and I am so satisfide,becouse i do some problematic shots comlitly,and i use your tehnics and your philosofi to hendle it.
What is your talent,is next...
1_Humor (ALWAYS SMILE)
2_Patiens
3_Sistematic way to lern person just as need

I watch lot of tutorials from lot of "teacherss",but noweon is not like you.
You are THE BEST!!!
Take care
Best Regards from Stijelja Predrag

Christopher Oliver

16 years ago

Cool man I love the lighting you did. You ever have the chance i finally got an hd cam with my lighting and your film magic pro presets. Look what i did. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ItmM9vvIU64
hope you like

ccfilms

16 years ago

Thanks for the tip. This site has always been very helping filled with usefull information.

alucine

16 years ago

may I know which hd camera do you used here? looks great

wiseninja1

16 years ago

Hey Mr. Kramer i thought it would be really cool for valentines day to have a special after effects thing where you show us how to like make it look like somebody's heart is pounding out of their chest or maybe how to make their eyes turn into hearts?
its just an idea

Philllip

16 years ago

hey does anyone wanna tell me if these plug-in's/presets work in cs4? i seem to be having trouble getting them to show up.. under presets. and such

JAX5121

16 years ago

thnx Ill use that

Nathan

16 years ago

A quick tip. Use a hard 'point' light for the back light, and a soft fill light for the front one. This will give a better result.

GMims

16 years ago

My God!! That was a scary photo!! I won't be able to sleep tonight!!!

James

16 years ago

Lol...that is a cool wallpaper... hehe...

thx..Andrew,Sam, EVERYBODY!!!!

Phillip Williams

16 years ago

i don't know if you ever got a message from Guyana South America. but just to let you know that your work is respected among the few of us who are involved in Video Production in Guyana ...so keep up the good work.....i don't know if you read these hundreds of comment but i hope you do ...anyway you got my email so let me know

Patrick Mazzolo (Paddymazz)

16 years ago

I always forget to press record..

Always.

Farhan

16 years ago

Thanks Andrew. About how far was the light away from Sam's face?

KIKI

16 years ago

THENKS MR.KRAMER IM YOUR BIG FAN

Michael Colburn

16 years ago

Andrew, can you help me with XL2 settings?
Trying to keep this from looking grainy, with that light source...
Thanks
Michael

Devin White

16 years ago

SWEET!!!

Matt in MO.

16 years ago

Andrew... you deciphered something so complex into something so simple.

I nominate you for an Academy Award for best breakdown!

I also believe this may be my current favorite tutorial.

eric hinson

16 years ago

I love how you take the time to show us little things like this. That's what really sets you apart from the others. Thanks AK!

Reeltube

12 years ago

Totally agree Eric, great job AK

Daniel

16 years ago

I love to see lighting breakdowns. Great!

J.K. Bennett

16 years ago

Hey I was wondering if you would be able to show or explain how to create and how to apply a matte painting i have some sort of idea but still having trouble, i'm using AE CS3 and Photoshop CS2

the boom

16 years ago

sexiness Sam

shawn

16 years ago

Thanks for the Tut and for this bonus feature. Hope your weekend is fantastic!

Blessings!

sonnyboo

16 years ago

Great quickie tip on lighting

Costa

16 years ago

I was wondering where is a good place i could buy good lights for something like this

illd

16 years ago

The hardest thing for me in shooting video is setting the light correct. Although I think there is no "the correct way" It just has to look good - just like the hud shoot.

Thanks VCP for explaining there secrets

Jeremy

16 years ago

Thanks AK you rock

Marvin

16 years ago

Since you're busting in these HUD's you should go and see what you can do when it comes to batman, when he uses his Sonar (The dark knight). Also Great Tut man!

highdefw

16 years ago

Good tips.. Looking forward to see what results people come up with

bwoogie

16 years ago

So what color was the background really?

Maor Hazan

16 years ago

Wow, man that's cool, thank you for the great tutorials!

Peter C

16 years ago

Omg.. sam as wallpaper!

Vladimir(Balakovo-Russia)

16 years ago

Forgive for bad knowledge of English language.

diilman

16 years ago

Thanx Man!
Keep up!

Prodat TV

16 years ago

Well Well Well

You never sleep, or what??

I can't learn the last tuto yet, and now you give us an other one. Are you a RoboKramer or something like that.

Thank You, You Rules, and your crew too.

Alex

elad

16 years ago

hi Andrew...
which video camera are you using ?
and which camera should i buy for a low budget film based on scenes from 3ds max ... and people on a green screen...

thanks...

Diego G.

16 years ago

Damn it, I forgot to press record, haha, you rock, you are a genius AK!

Rafael Guerra

16 years ago

very nice picture, one picture talks for million words.

Scott

16 years ago

What are the wattages and distances?

Sandy

16 years ago

Thank You Andrew, thnx for everything!

Kael

16 years ago

Nice quick-tip, Andrew. It's so weird, I know somebody that looks eerily similar to Sam. I'll have to see if I can get a picture of him to you so we can reunite these long lost brothers.

Davidaw

16 years ago

Very nice.
THanky

Josh

16 years ago

Interesting setup, very simple too!

mohamed ez eldein

16 years ago

thanx androw

Jerry

16 years ago

Thanks Andrew....and now I have a new Sam poster to hang on my wall....cool....

I like the lighting setup also because it creates those great-looking white spots in the center of Sam's eyes. That alone gives the shot some depth and spark. It also makes him more "sinister-looking". Great job.

tommie12P (Thorsten Miess)

16 years ago

"Dont forget to press record" -

nice work

Infaas

16 years ago

Why so serious Sammy...

David W.

16 years ago

The finished picture of Sam would make a nice background to freak somebody out with.

Just kidding Sam, you're a great guy for allowing Andrew to make fun of you. (Wish my brother would let me film him for tutorials)

jorberg

16 years ago

VERY helpful! Thanks AK! I would be interested to hear more about your lighting techniques...did you learn mostly by doing or are you a fan of any tutorials?

Filmaker92

16 years ago

Thanks for the tip

Andre Prior

16 years ago

Thank you Andrew! My questions are gone

lukasz

16 years ago

Thanks for the info.
Now I know what I was doing wrong.
Those damn record buttons!

Matt

16 years ago

Sweet.. thanks alot!

Filipe Monteiro

16 years ago

Funny, I was really going to ask this yesterday...

Thanks a lot

Sascha

16 years ago

Awesome! That was exactly what i thaught after watching the tutorial! "How did he light the scene?"

dan

16 years ago

Thanks man keep the content coming!!

ITV Teacher

16 years ago

I like the visuals. I got on this am and thought nah, we just got a tute yesterday.....but nooooo....AK comes through with a little tidbit. Hope you and yours are well.

Richard cave

16 years ago

something that is bothering me is that the head should be locked off, and the suggesstion of the head moving should be done with the HUD or am I missing the point?

Kami

16 years ago

Oh snap! that be my new wallpaper right there!

Some Guy

16 years ago

Thanks for the answer. I thought it would be something like this setup. You've got a great result. Have you filmed it with the RED? The quality is amazing for a low-light shot.

DDVP

16 years ago

thank you andrew you are the best!

sahil

16 years ago

guess wt?? i actualy 4gt to press the record button... thnx fr helpn me out....lol

sahil

16 years ago

thnxs mr kramer ...u rock

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