In the past, lighting a film required the use of big, expensive studio lights, but nowadays, indie filmmakers can get away with using cheap LED kits that are powerful, accurate, and small enough to fit in your pocket. In this video, Caleb Pike of DSLR Video Shooter demonstrates how you can use these budget LEDs, along with inexpensive stands and modifiers, to achieve professional and cinematic looks for less than $100. Check out the video below:


This setup may not be adequate for lighting scenes in larger areas, but come on, for 100 bucks these lights can really do a lot. Using an LED bulb inside a softbox as a key, a portable LED panel for a fill/backlight/kicker, and a couple of cheap stands, Pike demonstrates several lighting setups that you can use for interviews, talking head segments, or even tighter shots for a feature film.

Here's the gear Pike uses in the video. (Links are in the video's description.)

  • ESSDI LED light panel ($35)
  • Neewer 24"x24" softbox ($22)
  • Bonlux 40W LED bulb ($19)
  • Light stands ($25)

Granted, in order to keep costs low, there are a few things you'll have to sacrifice. The fact that you'll have to plug in the LED bulb isn't ideal and those stands look a little like Bambi legs, but, again, you're getting quite a lot in return for a starter kit, namely an inexpensive portable LED panel that is dimmable, battery-powered, and has a pretty impressive output for the price. 

What are some other pieces of lighting gear that you'd include in an inexpensive starter light kit? Let us know down below.

Source: DSLR Video Shooter