---
title: Horror Film Lighting on a Budget
description: Digital Videos will always need lighting, and Emory Reeves is the master when it comes to lighting for a small budget horror film.
image: https://blog.specshoward.edu/hs-fs/file-207962677-png/images/screen_shot_2013-06-26_at_1.41.08_pm.png
---

# Specs Howard School of Media Arts Blog

 Where you find insights into the Media Arts industries!

# Horror Film Lighting on a Budget

Posted by [Specs Intern](https://blog.specshoward.edu/blog/author/specs-intern) on Wed, Jun 26, 2013

- [Tweet](https://twitter.com/share)

**By Emory Reeves **Let me first start by setting the scene.... Imagine standing hunched over an entrance to a bedroom, exhausted and in shock from the terror that has just taken place. Behind you lies the blood thirsty serial killer you'’ve just defeated. And just when you think it is all over, the killer rises behind you without making a sound. While you'’re resting, trying to compose yourself, the killer is inching his way closer and closer to you. 

 The scene that I am describing is from the film [Halloween,](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Halloween_%281978_film%29) written and directed by [John Carpenter](https://blog.specshoward.edu/blog/bid/311547/www.theofficialjohncarpenter.com/%E2%80%8E). Carpenter completed this film in 22 days on a very low budget. Using most of his ![Halloween](https://blog.specshoward.edu/hs-fs/file-207962677-png/images/screen_shot_2013-06-26_at_1.41.08_pm.png)funds renting a Panavision camera, he didn'’t have the luxury of having a large crew. He had his actors and actresses act as the crew, setting up and tearing down lights when they weren’'t on screen.

You don’'t have to use expensive equipment, nor a large crew to make a horror film. In fact with horror films, the more gritty it is, the better it is. One thing we can agree on is that horror films never get old. Think about all of your classics; everything that you see is lit in a contrasting light, giving off that sense of doom that has you gripping your chair.

To get that reaction from the audience you [need to practice](http://specshoward.edu/programs/digital-media-arts). Using techniques like flickering the light or causing movement in a shadow can instill these emotions without the audience realizing you got them exactly where you want them.

I’'ve shot plenty of film using clamp-on work lights from Home Depot. I’ve also used your basic household tungsten lights as well. Keep in mind that since you’re not using professional lights, there will be some color correction work to do in post. 

Let me direct you to the very affordable “[China Ball](http://www.filmtools.com/chinlan.html)”. ![China Ball, Lighting on a budget](https://blog.specshoward.edu/hs-fs/file-207883366-png/images/screen_shot_2013-06-26_at_1.40.16_pm.png)

This is a simple paper lantern, usually shaped like a ball or a sphere, if you will. If you’'re wondering where to buy them, places like Amazon and Ebay have these lights in many different sizes. These lights give off a diffused omni-pattern that will provide light in all directions, which is perfect to use for a two person shot. Not to mention they’'re extremely cheap!

 

![Constructions Lights, SPecs Howard, Lighting on a budget](https://blog.specshoward.edu/hs-fs/file-207954867-png/images/screen_shot_2013-06-26_at_1.39.14_pm-resized-600.png)

Another inexpensive source of light (other than the sun) are the [hardware work lights](http://www.homedepot.com/p/Husky-5-ft-1720-Lumen-Led-Work-Light-with-Tripod-WL1720LT-H/203343390#.Ucsouj5ATKw). They come in a 500w and a 250w, you can easily find these lights at your local hardware store or online. These lights are often used on horror films, as they cast a harsh exposure, creating a fast falloff on your actor.

 So now I’'ve given you two examples of lights used on low budget films. One is a nice diffused light source and the other is a harsh light source. Since we are referring to horror films specifically, you can always use other sources of light. For example, in certain scenes you can use candles, flash lights, you can even throw in some night vision for effect.

 I want to close with this in mind. No matter if you're using professional lights or your basic household lights... lighting is lighting. Remember to be safe, wear gloves, test for shortages and have fun!

 

##### Emory Reeves was one of Specs Howard'’s very own graduates and has been in the industry for about 7 years now. Since graduating, he has had the pleasure of shooting for NBC, MTV, CBS, BBC, PBS, SPEED, Travel Channel, Discovery Channel and a number of other networks. He is obsessed with zombies and loves working in the film industry! He has worked on Transformers, Dark Knight, Semi Pro, & Grand Torino just to mention a few. He is now an instructor at Specs Howard School of Media Arts and has two of his own companies. One is a film production company and the other is a t-shirt company.

 

 

 Topics: [Video](https://blog.specshoward.edu/blog/topic/video), [Digital Media Arts](https://blog.specshoward.edu/blog/topic/digital-media-arts), [Tutorials](https://blog.specshoward.edu/blog/topic/tutorials)

### Search Here

### Recent Posts

### Posts by Month

- [December 2020 (1)](https://blog.specshoward.edu/blog/archive/2020/12)
- [November 2020 (1)](https://blog.specshoward.edu/blog/archive/2020/11)
- [August 2020 (1)](https://blog.specshoward.edu/blog/archive/2020/08)
- [July 2020 (1)](https://blog.specshoward.edu/blog/archive/2020/07)
- [May 2020 (1)](https://blog.specshoward.edu/blog/archive/2020/05)
- [March 2020 (1)](https://blog.specshoward.edu/blog/archive/2020/03)
- [January 2020 (3)](https://blog.specshoward.edu/blog/archive/2020/01)
- [December 2019 (3)](https://blog.specshoward.edu/blog/archive/2019/12)
- [November 2019 (2)](https://blog.specshoward.edu/blog/archive/2019/11)
- [October 2019 (2)](https://blog.specshoward.edu/blog/archive/2019/10)
- [September 2019 (3)](https://blog.specshoward.edu/blog/archive/2019/09)
- [August 2019 (4)](https://blog.specshoward.edu/blog/archive/2019/08)
- [July 2019 (2)](https://blog.specshoward.edu/blog/archive/2019/07)
- [June 2019 (5)](https://blog.specshoward.edu/blog/archive/2019/06)
- [May 2019 (6)](https://blog.specshoward.edu/blog/archive/2019/05)
- [October 2018 (1)](https://blog.specshoward.edu/blog/archive/2018/10)
- [May 2018 (1)](https://blog.specshoward.edu/blog/archive/2018/05)
- [January 2018 (1)](https://blog.specshoward.edu/blog/archive/2018/01)
- [December 2017 (1)](https://blog.specshoward.edu/blog/archive/2017/12)
- [November 2017 (2)](https://blog.specshoward.edu/blog/archive/2017/11)
- [September 2017 (3)](https://blog.specshoward.edu/blog/archive/2017/09)
- [August 2017 (1)](https://blog.specshoward.edu/blog/archive/2017/08)
- [July 2017 (2)](https://blog.specshoward.edu/blog/archive/2017/07)
- [May 2017 (1)](https://blog.specshoward.edu/blog/archive/2017/05)
- [April 2017 (2)](https://blog.specshoward.edu/blog/archive/2017/04)
- [March 2017 (3)](https://blog.specshoward.edu/blog/archive/2017/03)
- [February 2017 (2)](https://blog.specshoward.edu/blog/archive/2017/02)
- [December 2016 (3)](https://blog.specshoward.edu/blog/archive/2016/12)
- [November 2016 (1)](https://blog.specshoward.edu/blog/archive/2016/11)
- [October 2016 (3)](https://blog.specshoward.edu/blog/archive/2016/10)
- [September 2016 (3)](https://blog.specshoward.edu/blog/archive/2016/09)
- [August 2016 (4)](https://blog.specshoward.edu/blog/archive/2016/08)
- [July 2016 (1)](https://blog.specshoward.edu/blog/archive/2016/07)
- [June 2016 (3)](https://blog.specshoward.edu/blog/archive/2016/06)
- [May 2016 (2)](https://blog.specshoward.edu/blog/archive/2016/05)
- [March 2016 (2)](https://blog.specshoward.edu/blog/archive/2016/03)
- [February 2016 (4)](https://blog.specshoward.edu/blog/archive/2016/02)
- [January 2016 (3)](https://blog.specshoward.edu/blog/archive/2016/01)
- [December 2015 (2)](https://blog.specshoward.edu/blog/archive/2015/12)
- [November 2015 (1)](https://blog.specshoward.edu/blog/archive/2015/11)
- [October 2015 (3)](https://blog.specshoward.edu/blog/archive/2015/10)
- [September 2015 (4)](https://blog.specshoward.edu/blog/archive/2015/09)
- [June 2015 (7)](https://blog.specshoward.edu/blog/archive/2015/06)
- [May 2015 (3)](https://blog.specshoward.edu/blog/archive/2015/05)
- [April 2015 (7)](https://blog.specshoward.edu/blog/archive/2015/04)
- [March 2015 (6)](https://blog.specshoward.edu/blog/archive/2015/03)
- [February 2015 (13)](https://blog.specshoward.edu/blog/archive/2015/02)
- [January 2015 (6)](https://blog.specshoward.edu/blog/archive/2015/01)
- [December 2014 (6)](https://blog.specshoward.edu/blog/archive/2014/12)
- [November 2014 (7)](https://blog.specshoward.edu/blog/archive/2014/11)
- [October 2014 (7)](https://blog.specshoward.edu/blog/archive/2014/10)
- [September 2014 (2)](https://blog.specshoward.edu/blog/archive/2014/09)
- [August 2014 (3)](https://blog.specshoward.edu/blog/archive/2014/08)
- [July 2014 (3)](https://blog.specshoward.edu/blog/archive/2014/07)
- [June 2014 (2)](https://blog.specshoward.edu/blog/archive/2014/06)
- [May 2014 (2)](https://blog.specshoward.edu/blog/archive/2014/05)
- [April 2014 (1)](https://blog.specshoward.edu/blog/archive/2014/04)
- [March 2014 (5)](https://blog.specshoward.edu/blog/archive/2014/03)
- [February 2014 (2)](https://blog.specshoward.edu/blog/archive/2014/02)
- [January 2014 (2)](https://blog.specshoward.edu/blog/archive/2014/01)
- [December 2013 (2)](https://blog.specshoward.edu/blog/archive/2013/12)
- [November 2013 (1)](https://blog.specshoward.edu/blog/archive/2013/11)
- [October 2013 (2)](https://blog.specshoward.edu/blog/archive/2013/10)
- [September 2013 (5)](https://blog.specshoward.edu/blog/archive/2013/09)
- [August 2013 (3)](https://blog.specshoward.edu/blog/archive/2013/08)
- [July 2013 (2)](https://blog.specshoward.edu/blog/archive/2013/07)
- [June 2013 (4)](https://blog.specshoward.edu/blog/archive/2013/06)
- [May 2013 (5)](https://blog.specshoward.edu/blog/archive/2013/05)
- [April 2013 (4)](https://blog.specshoward.edu/blog/archive/2013/04)
- [March 2013 (2)](https://blog.specshoward.edu/blog/archive/2013/03)
- [February 2013 (2)](https://blog.specshoward.edu/blog/archive/2013/02)
- [January 2013 (1)](https://blog.specshoward.edu/blog/archive/2013/01)
- [December 2012 (2)](https://blog.specshoward.edu/blog/archive/2012/12)
- [November 2012 (2)](https://blog.specshoward.edu/blog/archive/2012/11)
- [October 2012 (4)](https://blog.specshoward.edu/blog/archive/2012/10)
- [August 2012 (2)](https://blog.specshoward.edu/blog/archive/2012/08)
- [July 2012 (1)](https://blog.specshoward.edu/blog/archive/2012/07)

[See all](https://blog.specshoward.edu/blog/bid/311547/Horror-Film-Lighting-on-a-Budget#)

### Subscribe Here!

### Follow Us

[![Share on facebook](https://7528309.fs1.hubspotusercontent-na1.net/hub/7528309/hubfs/raw_assets/public/mV0_d-web-default-modules_hubspot/img/facebook-color.png?width=24&name=facebook-color.png) ](http://www.facebook.com/share.php?u=https%3A%2F%2Fblog.specshoward.edu%2Fblog%2Fbid%2F311547%2FHorror-Film-Lighting-on-a-Budget%3Futm_medium%3Dsocial%26utm_source%3Dfacebook) [![Share on linkedin](https://7528302.fs1.hubspotusercontent-na1.net/hub/7528302/hubfs/raw_assets/public/mV0_d-web-default-modules_hubspot/img/linkedin-color.png?width=24&name=linkedin-color.png) ](http://www.linkedin.com/shareArticle?mini=true&url=https%3A%2F%2Fblog.specshoward.edu%2Fblog%2Fbid%2F311547%2FHorror-Film-Lighting-on-a-Budget%3Futm_medium%3Dsocial%26utm_source%3Dlinkedin) [![Share on twitter](https://7528304.fs1.hubspotusercontent-na1.net/hub/7528304/hubfs/raw_assets/public/mV0_d-web-default-modules_hubspot/img/twitter-color.png?width=24&name=twitter-color.png) ](https://twitter.com/intent/tweet?original_referer=https%3A%2F%2Fblog.specshoward.edu%2Fblog%2Fbid%2F311547%2FHorror-Film-Lighting-on-a-Budget%3Futm_medium%3Dsocial%26utm_source%3Dtwitter&url=https%3A%2F%2Fblog.specshoward.edu%2Fblog%2Fbid%2F311547%2FHorror-Film-Lighting-on-a-Budget%3Futm_medium%3Dsocial%26utm_source%3Dtwitter&source=tweetbutton&text=)

[**Click here for Consumer Information**](http://www.specshoward.edu/consumerinfo)