One of the greatest challenges of creating video tutorials, I find, is lighting. I live in NYC, in a tall building, surrounded by many other tall buildings. Natural sunlight is rare, and even when it is direct, it’s still not bright enough.

As such, most of my videos appear to be grainy, dark, or full of shadows. I’ve tried to fix the problem by only filming during the day time, and then aiming a LED light directly at the project. Sometimes, it’s a hit. Other times, it’s a complete miss. And most often than not, it ends up being a miss. And frankly, it’s not always practical for me to film during the daytime anyway. I’m usually out and about. I’m also a night owl by nature, so working at night is very appealing to me.

So then I try to artificially adjust the lighting on Windows Movie Maker, but I just get horrible glares and overexposure. Oh, and it feels a little bit like “cheating,” too. 😛

Recently, I’ve been toying with the idea of purchasing a neon sign to place in the background. It will increase the back-lighting and provide a cool colour contrast, helping to create a clearer picture. I’ve seen you can get them from the Neon Mama website where they have dozens of designs – I might even get a custom one. Other people use them in their videos and they look SO cool, so I’ll give that a try. I also need a nice lighting set up (you know, those fancy soft boxes and stands). BUT:

• They’re expensive and I’ve already in put so much financially.

• They’re bulky (and NYC apartments aren’t too forgiving about room!). I also don’t know how I feel about the extra set-up and take-down time!

• They look a little intimidating and complicated. Although, they’re probably easier to use than I think. It’s all a learning curve, I suppose!

I’m thinking about getting the Interfit EZ-FLO Flourescent 2-Light Kit. It costs a little under $200, and the employee at BH Photo recommended it. I tend to trust the employees there. They’re all incredibly knowledgeable and helpful. But now I’m thinking: If I’m going to spend $200, then I might as well spend more to get something even BETTER. Can’t win, haha.

So, yeah, that’s just my rambling for today. I’m confident this issue will be resolved…some day! In the mean time, thanks for bearing with me! 🙂