Litepanels Croma LEDs Shine Light on Human Trafficking Doc Life is Love

(Van Nuys, California) When Cinequest Picture the Possibilities line-producer
Marcela Villegas Castanon was putting the support package together for the company’s
Life Is Love documentary, she chose Litepanels® Croma™ LEDs as their
main lighting. The project, which is an inspirational documentary on young women
who have been freed from the world of human trafficking and have been transformed
through the work of Somaly Mam, in Cambodia, takes the audience through their
past and present, to show the possibilities of their future.

"Our DPs have used Litepanels LEDs before and they told me these lights
would be what we needed as we entered dim and small areas (brothels, small houses)
for specific interviews," says Castanon. "So we chose four on-camera
LED Croma Litepanels, one for each of our DP’s Canon C300 cameras, because
they are portable (no outside power), and powerful, they wouldn’t take
much room, and took little time to set up. Their durability and adjustable color
temperature was also a plus as we were shooting both inside and outside."

Throughout the documentary there were three distinct situations where Litepanels
provided the perfect lighting support. "We had two difficult scenes inside
brothels, where we interviewed clients who partake in the industry and another
with the women who work within the brothels," she explains. "The
rooms were small, dimly lit and bland in color. The Cromas allowed for some
depth and color for the interviews and for the rooms themselves. And when we
were filming the clients outside, they were the perfect fill light to eliminate
shadows on the men’s faces."

The second situation where Litepanels Cromas were a plus was when the small
company filmed at a health clinic. "We were shadowing one of the survivors
who now volunteers her services in assisting women with medical advice,"
Castanon explains. "We had very limited time for set up, hence the on-camera
Litepanels were easily accessible and quick to attach onto the camera. They
provided just the right amount of light for the dim and small clinic room."

The camera team often used the Litepanels as backlight or fill light during
sit-down interviews. "The locations, at times, were too compact to insert
c-stands and larger lights," she explains. "So, these Cromas were
very convenient to place behind the subjects, acting as backlight. We also conducted
interviews outside, in which many cases there were trees that cast shadows.
The Cromas were perfect to brighten and fill the interviews."

Life is Love is slated for completion February 2013, in time to premiere at
the Cannes Film Festival. The project will also be submitted to Toronto, Sundance,
and be showcased at the company’s own Cinequest Film Festival in 2014.
The company has also struck a worldwide distribution deal for various other
festivals, in an effort to raise awareness of this issue. The film will also
be used by the Somaly Mam Foundation to boost their fundraising.

Cinequest Picture the Possibilities is set do to another awareness project,
involving a youth empowerment program the company conducted in Mexico City and
New York late in 2012. They will also use Litepanels’ Croma LEDs as their
main source on this project.

Resources:

www.litepanels.com

Litepanels Croma LEDs Shine Light on Human Trafficking Doc Life is Love