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To light 7 people simultaneously and have it look good from every angle is a herculean feat! Especially when you compare it to the round table from 3 years ago, where it looks flat and lifeless. WHY IS THAT? Let me explain...
CLEARLY the key (main) light here is above our table, and slightly frontal. That's obvious if you look at the shadow on the table.
This means that every person around the table has the key light coming in from the front of their face. Maximum flattering. The key light 3 years ago was overwhelmingly camera-side frontal, so it was creating unsightly shadows on the other side of everyone's face.
I would like to know what light that is (or array of lights) because it's gotta be SUPER POWERFUL as it is diffused to high heaven with something THICK (maybe unbleached muslin? maybe even two layers of unbleached mus?) Look how buttery soft the shadows under the chins are!
Compare how soft that shadow on Zendaya's neck is with this one from 3 years ago on Jennifer Hudson's neck!
Also let's not forget to mention THE EYE LIGHTS and how whoever lit this probably tried to get this key light AS CLOSE TO THE TABLE AS POSSIBLE so that it would still be reflected in everyone's eyes, making them 
sparkle which helps with being able to convey emotions.
sparkle which helps with being able to convey emotions.
ALSO look at how many practicals are in the background! They made SURE that behind every closeup there was a bokeh ball of some kind, giving movement to the parallax of the cameras. I might cry y'all. This is so well thought-out.
Another reason why this looks so good while the one from 3 years ago doesn't is color/lighting contrast between subject and background, distance between subject and background, and - to be quite honest - more money for production design.
UPDATE! The cinematographer of this Round Table series is Ted Newsome and the Key Light was none other than the Aputure 300x!
Guess who was the cinematographer for the product commercial for the 300x? ME!
How the [round] tables have turned...
Here you can see it inside a lantern, with the skirt on (to prevent spill on the walls). They DID add more diffusion, as I predicted. But I've never seen it like this (hanging off in strips - yellow). They also put some sort neg (duvetyne?) INSIDE the lantern (red).
Gleaning more from Ted's Instagram, they shot on Sony FX9 cameras with G-MASTER PRIMES! YES! These are PHOTO LENSES - but what's clutch about them is their AUTOFOCUS! Which means the production didn't need to hire separate focus-pullers. This saves on budget.
Looks like they also had some tubes (likely Nanlite PavoTubes, from Ted's IG tags) for hair lights and ...
they had more tubes around the operators. Particularly interested in what looks like a piece of foam wrapped around the light on the left here, for added diffusion.
I'm so sorry for the long thread, I just get so hype sometimes. LOOK AT THE TIMECODE SLATE! It is just hanging there from the overhead rig. IT MAKES SO MUCH SENSE because the operators could just tilt up if they had to cut and re-roll mid-shot and not break the conversation flow.
What creates that creamy, dreamy look where everything is softened, including the hair flyaways not looking crunchy? All the cameras had Hollywood Black Magic filters from Schneider. "HBM" tag on the matteboxes. I made a video about this: youtu.be/lZzJKgjLEIE
Last observation ... for now. They probably batch-shot all these round tables over the course of just a few days and the location had giant windows, so they covered them up to stay consistent. But looks like the fabric wasn't the most opaque because some light did come through!
Ah yes
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Valentina Vee
@valentinavee
Oh I know!
First let’s talk about the lights. They’ve got an array of 5 circular trusses. These contain moving beam lights (yellow), moving wash lights (green), followspots on the 3rd/4th rings (purple), and some sort of multi-diode panels or tubes on the outer ring (red). 
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Love this thread. I'd love to see more of your breakdown in lighting (especially for ones which are not movies/tv shows) cos they made it seem so effortless and natural but so much attention to detail goes on behind the scenes! 
Here are 44 videos of me doing that:
YAY!Christmas Seasons finally here 
This song is one of my favorites! WDYT? #Christmas #WhiteChristmas #singing #cover #christmasmusic #christmassongs
Christmas Seasons finally here This song is one of my favorites! WDYT? #Christmas #WhiteChristmas #singing #cover #christmasmusic #christmassongs![](data:image/svg+xml,<svg xmlns="http://www.w3.org/2000/svg" width="675" height="1200"><rect fill-opacity="0"/></svg>)
Bruh, I have no clue about lighting, but I’m just gonna follow you cuz your threads are so contagious!
I’m out here wanting to binge-read them like it’s Netflix 
I’m OBSESSED with this thread!!
All the smart tricks make such a huge quality impact on the end result and on the whole team!
The set change is a major component in this as well. BRAVO TEAM
I unironically love when experts data dump like this. It helps others appreciate a craft they knew little about.
Thanks for the breakdown. I’ve shot a few table interviews and round tables over the past year and use a similar setup. ie. aputure 300d in lantern softbox boomed over the top in the centre. Works even better when the table is a light colour and it works as a bounce too.
I want to see breakdowns like this from you. I need to up the production for my family home videos.
YAY!Christmas Seasons finally here This song is one of my favorites! WDYT? #Christmas #WhiteChristmas #singing #cover #christmasmusic #christmassongs
Christmas Seasons finally here This song is one of my favorites! WDYT? #Christmas #WhiteChristmas #singing #cover #christmasmusic #christmassongs
Great thread! It looks fantastic, compared to the previous one it’s so drastically better
Who knew lighting could be so kiss-worthy? 
Valentina Vee's got the magic touch this year!
Valentina Vee's got the magic touch this year! 
I was debating getting one of those lantern Bowen mount attachments. I only have 2 100Xs, 2 TC4s, and a small podcast studio. But I want to try to replicate this look because it looks fantastic.
Great thread. Nice to see people excited by quality work & explaining it simply to others. Only people who are good at what they do can break it down simply for others who aren't from the same field.
Super thread! So they didn’t use some lighting for the under chin? Like lighting from below?
This randomly showed up on my feed, and I just want to say I really enjoyed your thorough breakdown and explanation on a topic I know nothing about.
![](data:image/svg+xml,<svg xmlns="http://www.w3.org/2000/svg" width="73" height="73"><rect fill-opacity="0"/></svg>)
I'm Moa Tsukino!Japanese girl!
I like playing the bass guitar
Thanks for the likes
Please follow me
Thanks for the likes
Please follow me
Feeling like this is the perfect anthem for Autumn! 
Nat King Cole songs always hit the mark - I love singing them! WDYT? Should I do the whole thing?
#autumnleaves #NatKingCole #FallVibes #JazzClassics #coversong #music #Singing #SmoothJazz
Nat King Cole songs always hit the mark - I love singing them! WDYT? Should I do the whole thing?
#autumnleaves #NatKingCole #FallVibes #JazzClassics #coversong #music #Singing #SmoothJazz
Whoever you are, you created pure magic meet me under the perfect lighting for that kiss.
Billions of people around the world are living in darkness. This holiday season, will you choose to #ShareTheLight?
Valentina Vee praises the lighting at this year's THR round table, calling it a "herculean feat" for lighting 7 people well. She compares it to a less impressive setup from 3 years ago.
Seriously, the lighting this year is immaculate! Whoever’s behind it deserves all the awards—and apparently, a kiss too!
The lighting at THR's round table was phenomenal! Kudos to the lighting team.
Absolutely love how geeked you are about this stuff. Keep being awesome!
I'm Moa Tsukino!Japanese girl!
I like playing the bass guitar
Thanks for the likes
Please follow me
Thanks for the likes
Please follow me
Loving this thread! What impressed me was how the setup complimented the alternating very pale to brown women with ease. Tilda Zöe Angelina Zendaya.
Anddd they sure are great actresses cause with that big and many lights i could keep my eyes that engaging
I think its also interesting that the background is warm while the table is lit cool. It gives another degree of separation but also gives a cozy environment feel. I love it.
such a detailed and well thought out thread. 
I never would have expected the key to be a simple 300x with a lantern attachment!
I never would have expected the key to be a simple 300x with a lantern attachment!
this is one of those things that we take for granted because we are unfamiliar with it (and unaware of efforts taken too). thanks for thread!
This is such a cool thread! This was so cool to see I don't even have a clue about any of it but I can appreciate when people are good at their jobs!
Coming to the end of the thread and I couldn't agree more. I like to think the production designer did an honest job as he/she sufficiently impacted the show in many ways!