You really can’t take advantage of that idea without using a light diffuser. The control it gives you doesn’t just make your footage look better — it allows you to turn any light source into something that adds depth, interest, or emotion to a shot. And that’s exactly the sort of trick a visual storyteller wants to have on any video shoot.

Im nächsten Schritt wurde durch die Arbeitsgruppe eine Studie in Auftrag gegeben, die anhand von Länderfallstudien zu Mali und Niger analysiert, wie friedenspolitisch kohärent deutsches Regierungshandeln ist, sowohl in Bezug auf die in den Leitlinien festgeschriebenen Handlungsprinzipien als auch hinsichtlich der genutzten Instrumente und Mechanismen zur ressortübergreifenden Koordination. Eine weitere vergleichende Fallstudie zu voraussichtlich zwei weiteren afrikanischen Konfliktregionen ist in Planung.

In einem ersten Schritt hat die Arbeitsgruppe eine Studie veröffentlicht, die afrikabezogene Leitlinien und Strategiepapiere der Bundesregierung und verschiedener Ressorts hinsichtlich ihrer friedenspolitischen Kohärenz analysierte.

One answer for all of these questions is “diffused lighting.” Regardless of your lighting situation, light diffusion gives you a way to get the most out of the lighting on a set.

Auf Basis der Ergebnisse der Länderfallstudien will sich die Arbeitsgruppe perspektivisch mit der Frage auseinandersetzen, welche Rückschlüsse aus etwaigen Leerstellen und Inkohärenzen gezogen werden und wie diese gezielt bearbeitet werden können. In diesem Zusammenhang will die Arbeitsgruppe die Idee einer Friedensverträglichkeitsprüfung untersuchen und weiterentwickeln.

Diffuse lightCeiling

On one hand, it’s difficult to control because so many moving parts are involved — natural light, reflective material, the Kelvin scale, etc. On the other hand, how you light a shot can make all the difference in post-production and eventually the final product.

For the purpose of this article, however, we’re going to look at some of the most popular DIY lighting solutions that help you diffuse light without spending any of your budget on new equipment. (But you may end up needing to spend a few dollars on something.)

Want to know how to deal with direct sunlight? How to add extra light sources but not cast harsh shadows? Or how to get the most out of your kit with a bounce light?

Diffuse lightin computer graphics

And if you want to find similar tips, tricks, and solutions to level up your filmmaking, here are some other articles from Soundstripe:

That’s not to say it’s the only obstacle, or even the most annoying. But it is ever present. We could easily lay out a half-dozen reasons why lighting is the nemesis of filmmakers.

Motivated lighting is a fancy name for any light source that is out-of-frame and also enhances, spreads, or somehow affects the practical light in the scene.

The most obvious place to start is with a dedicated softbox lighting kit. You could also go for an umbrella diffuser — they work great but aren’t quite as adaptable as soft boxes.

But obviously you won’t always have access to an agreeable cloud. Your most realistic option is to find a good lighting kit, something that includes at least one type of diffuser.

Diffused lighting interior design

And while you’ve probably seen (or maybe even used) a bedsheet as a light diffuser, you can also use a shower liner. The frosted plastic holds its shape better than a sheet, but you’ll want to make sure you don’t get a clear one because that plastic surface could reflect light.

Diffuse lightbulb

Die Arbeitsgruppe beschäftigt sich damit, ob und wie sich das deutsche Regierungshandeln in konkreten Krisenkontexten am friedenspolitischen Leitbild orientiert und wie kohärent dieses Handeln wirkt. Inwieweit finden die zentralen Handlungsprinzipien Eingang in die tägliche Arbeit? Wie wird der ressortgemeinsame Ansatz in Konfliktkontexten umgesetzt? Welche Herausforderungen stellen sich im Kontext von Krisenprävention und Friedensförderung durch die notwendige Koordination mit anderen internationalen Gebern? Welche Herausforderungen ergeben sich zwischen den strategischen Ansprüchen an die eigene Arbeit und tagesaktuellen Ereignissen, auf die in Krisen reagiert werden muss?

Then again, those options deal with video production on a set. But if you’re shooting outdoors or in a space with natural lighting, a softbox or an umbrella might not be enough for that job. Or maybe you can’t afford a new lighting kit, but you still want to create diffused light on your next project. What options do you have?

Diffusedlightphotography

Even with nothing but the image above, you can see a pretty big difference. Diffused light is a more natural, healthy look, and — in a weird way — can actually help you balance your color temperature if you use the same light diffuser (or DIY material) on different lights.

That wasn’t exactly a textbook definition, but it gets across enough of the basics that you should have an idea of why diffused light matters. Now, we get to the fun part — what it looks like in practice, and what you need to start improving the quality of your lighting gear.

The fun thing about using a diffuser is that you can pair it with a reflective material to bounce light, which gives you control over the direction of the light, the intensity of the light, and the level of detail that the light reveals.

Diffused light can actually get you the best of both worlds. It’s the process of using a diffuser (which could be a DIY piece or something you bought in a lighting kit) to reduce harsh shadows or the glare of a light source you can’t get rid of on the set.

Diffuse lightvs directlight

Diffuse lightexample

A pillowcase is an ingenious and inexpensive way to make a DIY softbox, catching and diffusing all of the light from a source. It works for a stand light, a lamp across the room, or — if you tape it up — even to help soften the light from a small window.

Light will bounce off most solid objects, which is why any good lighting kit comes with reflectors. But a light diffuser does the opposite — it blocks or reflects part of the light, but still allows enough to properly light a subject or scene.

You can get soft lighting. Think of it as getting the benefits of a directional light, but also enjoying the aesthetics of indirect lighting.

Diffused lighting living room

Using a DIY technique can help you create diffused light on the cheap. More importantly, it can also help you address some of the many light-related problems that filmmakers have to solve.

Every filmmaker has their own ideas for DIY solutions. And chances are that as you spend more time creating content, you’ll discover a few unique techniques we might not have heard of.

There have never been more tutorials about DIY filmmaking, so in a way you have as many options as you can think of…so long as your diffuser is the right material. You could use a bedsheet, or a thin set of curtains, or even a lampshade.

Let’s pretend you’re filming outdoors, and the noonday sun is creating harsh shadows on your subject. Setting up a sheet overhead doesn’t really make sense, but waiting for a passing cloud would provide a natural diffuser that creates even light distribution.

Other options include a white trash bag, a thin T-shirt, or even parchment paper. The different thickness and texture of each item means the quality of your diffused lighting could be hard to predict. But if you’ve already got these things around your house, it’s a cheap way to experiment and see if any of them work with the light sources you want to work with.

Die Leitlinien „Krisen verhindern, Konflikte bewältigen, Frieden fördern“ bilden die Grundlage für das friedenspolitische Engagement der Bundesregierung. Diese formulieren den Anspruch, die Kohärenz und Vernetzung der Politiken der Bundesregierung zu stärken sowie kurz- und langfristige Ansätze besser zu verzahnen. Um den Ausbruch von Krisen zu verhindern, akute Konflikte zu bewältigen und langfristig Frieden zu fördern, sind kohärente politische Strategien nötig. Abgestimmtes und koordiniertes Vorgehen der gesamten Bundesregierung und ein Zusammenwirken der außenorientierten Politikfelder in Bezug auf das übergeordnete Ziel der Förderung nachhaltigen Friedens ist besonders in der Arbeit mit und in fragilen Staaten und in Konfliktkontexten von Bedeutung. Gleichzeitig bedarf es nicht nur eines abgestimmten Vorgehens deutscher Akteure, sondern auch einer Koordination im europäischen und internationalen Rahmen sowie der Ausrichtung des deutschen Engagements an lokalen Bedarfen.

When you are lighting a shoot, the quality of the light can be just as influential as the color temperature or the placement. And the better the quality — whether from proximity, brightness, etc. — the more detail you’ll get out of the subject you’re trying to light.

Either one offers a relatively affordable option to diffuse light in your video projects. (And if you already have some lighting equipment, you could look for an individual piece — it just won’t be as good of a bargain as if you bought a bundle.)

It’s worth investigating any tool or learning any trick to improve the quality of your lighting. And because diffusing light is an easy, cheap, and efficient way to adjust lighting, it’s something that every filmmaker should at least be aware of.