Introduction to Lighting & Techniques

Introduction

Films consist of pictures and sound.

The pictures come from cameras, but cameras

need light to see.

All around us, there is plenty of light

“accidentally”, from ambient daylight, room

lights, etc.

Introduction

On location, it is the lighting team’s job to:

1. Use and supplement, or

2. Eliminate the “accidental” light

In the totally controlled studio environment, all

light has to be provided for the cameras

Arri Fresnel 1Kw Spot Light

Provides light to a specific spot

Barn doors can be adjusted to:

1. Limit light

2. Reduce shadows

3. Overlap adjacent lights

Produces a lot of heat

Kino Flo

Soft, flood light

Provides light to a large

area

Produces less heat

Fits into cramped areas

Redheads & Blondies

Three-point Lighting

Most commonly

used setup

Building block

Key light

Fill light

Back light

Key Light

Brightest light

Most important

Reveal surface form

Principal shadow

One side of the camera

Fill Light

Less intensity

Diffuse (soften)

Opposite side

Reduce shadows by key light

Three-point Lighting Combination

Depth & Separation

3 Dimensional

Separate background

from subject

Direction of Lighting

Front

Edge (side)

Back

Under

Frontal Lighting

From camera’s

viewpoint

Reduces modeling and

texture

Diminishes age wrinkles

Avoids shadows

Edge Lighting

Emphasizes texture and

contours

Highlights objects

Back Lighting

Directly behind subject

Often from high position

Halo effect

Illuminate & separate

outline

Under Lighting

Inverted facial modeling

Mysterious

Ghostly

Lighting Mood

Lighting helps to establish the mood of your

story.

Changing the angle, intensity, and colour of

your lights can dramatically alter the mood of a

scene

Flat Lighting

Low contrast

Reveals all details

Little or no shadows

No background separation

Boring

Modeled Lighting

High contrast

Tonal graduation

Shadows formations

Three-dimensional illusion

Atmospheric Lighting

Mood lighting

Support the atmosphere or

environment

Normally associated with darker

images

Use of practical lights

Silhouette Lighting

Back lighting

Brighter background

No or little subject detail

Common Lighting Terminology

Ambient light

The light already present in a scene, before any additional lights are

added.

Incident light Light seen directly from a light source (sun, lamp, etc).

Reflected light

Light seen after having bounced off a surface.

Common Lighting Terminology

Colour temperature

A standard of measuring the characteristics of light, measured in degrees Kelvin.

Contrast ratio The difference in brightness between the brightest white and the

darkest black within the image.

Key light The main light on the subject, providing most of the illumination and

contrast.

The Correct Way of Lighting

There is never a correct or definite way.

There is always scope for interpretation and trail

& error in lighting.

The Correct Way of Lighting

The best way is to ask these 2 questions:

1. How do I light the scene logically and realistically?

2. Where is the light for the scene coming from?

Angle of Shine

The imagined source of light for a scene representing

the sun shining downwards

What is your angle of shine in order to recreate the light

from the sun?

Managing Shadows

In the natural world, objects often only cast one defined

shadow

How do you light your shot to achieve one clear defined

set of shadows?