Catchlights That Make Eyes Real
Real eyes show the light that is actually in the room. One window should leave one matching catchlight in each eye.
Catchlights make eyes real when they match the room. A window leaves a soft rectangle. A bare bulb leaves a small dot. A ring light leaves a ring, which is why so many generated hosts look like they are in a studio they are not in. Ask for the light, then check both eyes before you let the mouth move.
Match the source
If the story is a kitchen, do not ask for a ring-light catchlight. The eye is a mirror. It should mirror the window you described, not a light that only exists in portrait presets.
Same shape, both eyes
The two catchlights should be the same shape and roughly the same height. One eye with a window and one eye with a dot means the face was assembled. That still does not survive a talking clip.
Do not place them low
A catchlight sitting at the bottom of the pupil usually means the source is below the face, which reads as spooky even when the rest of the light is fine. Keep the bright speck in the upper half.
A worked example
Window camera-left, overcast. Both eyes carry a soft vertical rectangle in the upper iris. No ring. The still is kept. A version with a circular studio glint is rejected.
Check the still
- Catchlights match the room.
- Both eyes agree.
- The bright speck sits in the upper iris.
Where Scro fits
Scro will not repair a mismatched pair of eyes once the clip is talking. Approve the still, then record or clone the voice. Captions can carry the line. The eyes have to be right in the frame.
Approve the eyes before the talk. Finished samples are on the examples page.
Related: Shallow Depth of Field, Sharp Ears.