News cameramen always have to compete against time. The item needs to be on the news bulletin usually the same evening and there is never enough time to set up things properly.

These kind of restrictions have however made news cameramen very resourceful and in a position to handle almost anything. A news cameraman these days has to be able to edit, do sound, create dolly movements, cook, fix a car, use a computer, set up a satellite phone and do anything else that is needed. Often there is someone else to do all of the above but ENG cameramen have to do the lighting, that much is expected from them.

But like with all jacks-of-the-trade everything inevitably suffers a bit. Experience and talent ensure that all of the above suffer as least as possible.

Lighting is one area that is often overlooked by news cameramen. Interviews and pieces to camera with the correspondent are usually lit but general shots are often done with available light.

There are some cameramen who believe that everything should be shot with available light as this is the true representation of the scene. But there are others who believe that good lighting adds to the mood of the scene and creates it's own message. This is based on personal preferences.

What follows is a tip sent in by John Paluzzi of Full Circle Productions in the US. John started working for WINK Television, the CBS affiliate in Fort Myers, Florida in 1993. He left in 1997 to work for Bush Entertainment, a local production company and he now has his own company, Full Circle Productions.

The reason I'm writing is because of the struggle I know many videographers, especially ones that shoot news, face when lighting. It mainly has to do with the amount of time they have to light. A story deadline or an antsy reporter can give a shooter a headache!

When trying to do 3-point lighting, I always struggled with the intensity of the light. If you had 3 or 4 light heads with either 500 or 1K bulbs, it was difficult to get the exact balance I wanted. I had either too much or too little light on the back and the background. I would have to scrim down or keep moving the light back and forward. The solution? A dimmer box. Made with parts from Home Depot for under $40, I made a dual-outlet dimmer box that can handle two 1K light heads. It's only a little larger than an A/B brick and now I can position the light stands where they work best for the shot and dim the lights to get a perfect balance. Not only does it look much better, but it saves a lot of time!

I can't stress enough how useful this tool can be. I gotten this much for so little since I purchased this!

Check out John's website