AS A STUDENT CINEMATOGRAPHER, expenses are always going to be at the forefront of creating a film.

Designing the ideal lighting map tends to be out of reach for most students. In the practical world of student cinematography, all the money is allocated to film stock or production design. However, with restrictions, there is an opportunity to exercise creative options.

I had the task, as Director of Photography on my graduation short film, of not only creating the lighting and camera set-ups, but also trying to achieve the aesthetics of the director’s vision… all on a shoestring budget.

Assembling my budget lighting kit began with a visit to my local Bunning’s Warehouse where I bought some PVC pipe, a $4 pack of clamps in various sizes, and $2 shower curtains. If I’d needed more light dispersal, I could have used a bed sheet.

A few aisles over in Bunnings, I found some great options to light a veranda, or any outdoor scene — some $20 mirrors. These I later used to break up flat backgrounds. The mirrors were gaffered with a design to create a natural effect, as though the sunlight had passed through the foliage of a tree.

The mirrors could be placed 20 metres from the set, due to their intensity. That meant no interference with any of the equipment on set.

For those occasions requiring neutral density filters, Spotlight stores carry a type of black mesh that, when gaffered to a window, reduces light by about one stop. The outstanding attribute of this mesh is that, although it’s visible to the naked eye, it is invisible to the camera.

My budget lighting kit, at the end of the day, cost less than $200. The materials that provided me with a number of reflectors and mirrors certainly did the job, perhaps not, in all situations, the most user-friendly. However, despite budgetary retraints, they allowed me to get the results I was aiming for and definitely achieved production values much higher than their costs.

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