When I started experimenting with setups in 2020, I played with every lamp in the house. I used posterboard to bounce lights, an old smartphone as a camera, a sheet for a backdrop, and so on. Everything "worked", but I wanted to bump things up a bit. Finally, I settled on the configuration below. It works great, and I can keep everything set up as a workstation and have it ready to go for auditions. I also have a dedicated wall that I painted blue, rather than using a backdrop.
The image below is a still from my current setup. I use all the equipment listed here. My camera is set to: 1/60; ISO400; 23.89fps; 5200K. I could probably tweak it to "perfection", but this seems to work well for me.
I use three-point lighting with two box lights and a backlight. The box lights (and the camera) are about three and a half feet in front of me and off to the side, as shown in the diagram below:
In the photo below, you can see the placement of the box lights, the backlight, and the lavalier microphone hanging from the ceiling. It's easy for me to affix the mic since I have exposed rafters, but you may need to use tape instead. You might also try positioning the mic in front of you on a separate tripod or on the back of a chair. I like the lav mic because it picks up my voice very well compared to the built-in mic on the camera.
This is my view. I can use my workstation to prop up my sides if I need to. Then, as soon as I'm done, I transfer the files to my laptop and start trimming the front and back ends of the video so you don't see me hitting the record button on and off.
Here's a quick video to show how the three-point lighting works:
That's it! I'll create another post later to show how you can move the lights to change the way the light hits your face, and I'll show you different camera settings.
This is just one way to set up your self-tape acting audition equipment. Check out more configurations here.
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