Certain LED panels can cause color casting in footage, they are prone to flickering, and the quality of light itself isn\u2019t as pleasing to the eye as tungsten or HMI lighting (in my opinion), until it is modified.<\/p>\n
With all that said, I really do think the benefits of shooting with LED panels outweigh the negatives.<\/strong> They are so light and portable and can effectively allow you to shoot well in nearly any situation. In years past, if you needed to capture a night scene in a really dark exterior environment (let\u2019s say a forest or a beach) you would have no choice but to rent a generator.<\/strong><\/p>\n On small sets, I really have never enjoyed working with generators as they are cumbersome to deal with, costly, and they can be very noisy \u2014 which of course is a problem for sound. LED panels, on the other hand, can be powered with a single V-Mount battery, which in turn solves the sound issue. Not to mention they stay cool when you\u2019re working with them,\u00a0making adjustments and teardown a breeze.<\/strong><\/p>\n So, for those of you that enjoy working with LED lighting, but still want the cinematic look \u2014 this post full of LED-based filmmaking tips<\/strong> is for you. Throughout the rest of the article, I\u2019m going to outline my top few tips for working with LED panels.<\/p>\n LED panels (like many other light sources) don\u2019t typically generate very pleasing results when used directly. In other words, if you were to simply flick on your LED panel and point it at your talent, the overall quality of the light probably isn\u2019t going to be what you\u2019re looking for.<\/strong> Many corporate videos, events, and other lower budget productions mistakenly shoot this way with LED panels, and their footage can look very cheap.<\/strong><\/p>\n Instead, be sure to always use a modifier to soften up the light. You might want to get a softbox system for your LED panels, or you can simply use some silks or bounce the light. Here’s Tom Antos<\/a> discussing affordable and easy-to-use soft boxes and the perks of working with them:<\/p>\n![\"Filmmaking](\"https:\/\/pbblogassets.s3.amazonaws.com\/uploads\/2015\/05\/LED.jpg\" "\\"Filmmaking")
<\/a><\/p>\n![\"Filmmaking](\"https:\/\/pbblogassets.s3.amazonaws.com\/uploads\/2015\/05\/LED9.jpg\" "\\"Filmmaking")
\nImage from Litepanels<\/a><\/em><\/p>\n1. Always use a modifier<\/h2>\n
![\"Filmmaking](\"https:\/\/pbblogassets.s3.amazonaws.com\/uploads\/2015\/05\/softbox.jpg\" "\\"Filmmaking")
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