Film Lighting Techniques PDF

Why is lighting important Highlighting characters: Lighting helps highlight characters and make them stand out against the background. Creating atmosphere: Lighting can be used to set the overall mood of a scene, whether it's warm and romantic or cold and creepy. Setting time and place: Lig...

Why is lighting important Highlighting characters: Lighting helps highlight characters and make them stand out against the background. Creating atmosphere: Lighting can be used to set the overall mood of a scene, whether it's warm and romantic or cold and creepy. Setting time and place: Lighting helps to show the time of day or the surrounding environment, such as bright daylight or dim nighttime lighting. Directing the eye: Lighting helps to direct the viewer's attention to specific areas of a scene. natural lighting Natural light is light that comes from natural sources, such as the sun or the sky. It is considered a natural element, the most important in film design, as it must be realistic and reflect the aesthetics of the surrounding environment key lighting What is key lighting? Key lighting is the main source of lighting in the series. This is the most popular, as it allows the subject to be seen and directs viewers to focus on important things. high lighting High lighting is a lighting technique used to create a bright scene without harsh shadows. It is commonly used in films that require a cheerful atmosphere, such as comedies and romances, as it aims to show details clearly and create a feeling of comfort and optimism Low light What is low lighting? Soft lighting is a lighting technique used to create scenes with strong shadows and high contrast. It is often used in films with dramatic or mysterious atmospheres, where it contributes to feelings of tension, anxiety, or mystery. Low key lighting wants contrast and blackness Fill light Fill Lighting A fill light cancels out the shadows created by the key light. A fill light is placed on the opposite of the key light, and usually not as powerful as the key The Three-Point lighting setup The key light, backlight, and fill light all make up the three-point lighting setup. Three-point lighting is a standard method used in visual media. By using three separate positions, the cinematographer can illuminate the subject any way they want, while also controlling shadows produced by direct lighting What is Backlight? Backlighting A backlight hits an actor or object from behind. It is placed higher than the object it is lighting. Backlights are used to separate an object or an actor from a background. They give more shape and depth. Backlights help the frame feel three-dimensional. Backlight Summary: The sun is a great backlight -you can use a reflector or bounce the sun at a lesser intensity back the subject. If a backlight is placed behind an actor at an angle, the backlight is called a \"kicker. Practical light summary: Consider multiple practical lights to help illuminate a subject Keep a count of available outlets in every location Make sure color temperatures match Hard lighting summary: Can be stopped with diffusers or flags Will highlight anything in the frame Great for shadows Soft lighting summary: It can be used as a fill light It can add youth to a subject\'s face Gives the illusion of coming from practical sources Bounce light summary: Can be used to bolster any kind of film lighting Created by pointing direct light and bouncing indirectly Highlights a subject without directly shining on them Side lighting summary: Used to highlight a person or object Can possibly provide harsh shadows if notdiffused Can help in contrast Motivated lighting summary: Motivated lighting summary: Used to mimic natural elements Can be altered with any tools or set dressin Ambient lighting summary: Always take into account the time of day Refers to light that leaks into frame Practical Light What if you want to use light sources within a location? Things like lamps, candles, or even the television set? We call those things practical lights. Most of these accouterments are added to the set Hard light is a harsh souring of light that can be created with a direct beam from a light source or from the sunlight. This kind of lighting creates shadows and harsh lines. You can use it to draw attention anywhere in the frame, especially on the subject. It can also create silhouettes and highlights. Soft lighting is an aesthetic used by cinematographers to eliminate shadows and to recreate subtle shades of light from exterior sources. sources Bounce Lighting Got a whiteboard or white card? You can bounce light from the sun, lamps, or any film lighting kit to indirectly highlight a subject within the frame. Using a bounce light creates a larger area of evenly spread light. If executed in the right way bounce lights can be used to create a much soft light, fill light, top, side, or even backlighting. Side Lighting or Chiaroscuro Lighting Much like the name, side lighting refers to light that enters the frame from the side to highlight a person or object. These parallel lights provide a faint fill. They\'re often used to provide drama and mood to a scene, particularly in the genre of film noir. Side lighting Motivated Lighting Let\'s say you\'re on set and can\'t find any natural light sources. That\'s where motivated lighting comes into play. Motivated lighting is a technique that seeks to imitate natural light sources. That means it\'s a stand-in for sunlight, moonlight, streetlights, and even car headlights. You can use flags or bounces to help create them and alter them to appear natural. Ambient Light Unless you\'re shooting in a pitch-black night or an artificial space, there will always be some sunlight or lamplight or overhead light that seeps in. This light that\'s present is known as ambient light. You need to account for ambient light, especially when shooting outside or near windows. As the time of day changes, ambient light changes, so think about that when shooting one scene over a long period of time Types of ambient light in photography 1\. Natural light from outdoors The first type of ambient light in photography is natural light from outdoors. This is the daylight that comes through side windows, ceiling windows, and open doorways. Types of ambient light in photography 2\. Natural light from indoors Candle lights and the glow of light coming from fireplaces are natural lights that can already be indoor sources rather than the natural sunlight coming from outdoors. Types of ambient light in photography 3\. Artificial lights in the home This is a range of lights commonly seen in homes and spaces. It includes ceiling down-lighters, spotlights, ceiling pendants, chandeliers, table lamps, floor lamps, neon lights, lights from mirrors, fluorescent lights, and wall sconces. light Light Film School: Color Temperature Types of Film Lights (and How to Use Them) What do you know about light fixtures? Open Faced Light Fixtures An open-faced lighting fixture creates hard light that casts hard shadows on the subject. It provides nothing to filter the subject from the bulb\'s light. Open Faced Light Fixtures Types of Film Lights (and How to Use Them) Fresnel Light Fixtures A Fresnel lens is a type of lens that is divided into repeating concentric circles. This results in a thinner lens than a conventional lens of similar power. This lens provides an even light and allows the beam to be varied from flood to spot. It does this by changing the distance between the lamp/reflector unit and the lens. Fresnel Light Fixtures Types of Film Lights (and How to Use Them) Practical's Light Fixtures A practical light is a source of light that comes from an object within the scene being filmed. To cheat brighter or dimmer, existing bulbs are swapped out for those of different wattage or color temperature. Practical's Light Fixtures Flashlight, lamp, candle, etc What effects the performance of each light? Not every light performs the same way. Lights and lighting are tricky to handle. You have to plan for every circumstance. But the good news is, lighting can be adjusted. Let\'s look at different factors that affect lighting in every scene you shoot. CRI CRI stands for Color Rendering Index. The Color Rendering Index describes the ability of a light source to reveal the color of an object, as compared to the color a natural light source would provide. The highest possible CRI is 100. A CRI of 100 generally refers to a perfect black body, like a tungsten light source or the sun. CIR Color Temperature Color temperature describes the "color" of white light by a light source radiated by a perfect black body at a given temperature measured in degrees Kelvin. Yeah, that\'s a mouthful. You\'ll understand color temperature better if you\'ve ever changed a light bulb at home and noticed that it doesn\'t match the other bulbs in your fixture. Light can be warm (yellow/orange) or cool (blue). Color temperature can even affect the tone of your story. The best lighting misses both cool and warm to create an environment and to get the color you want out of an object or subject. T ungsten (Quartz Halogen/Tungsten Halogen) lights So, what\'s a tungsten light source? Tungsten or Tungsten Halogen lights are incandescent filament bulbs which are common in homes and offices but have been being slowly replaced with longer lasting, more reliable bulbs. What sets these bulbs apart is that they take advantage of what is known as the \"halogen cycle Tungsten lamps operate at a high temperature, and thus have a higher color temperature and are more luminous. Tungsten bulbs are often used to mimic daylight because they produce a warm light. They usually have open-faced light fixtures or Fresnel. Uses of Tungsten Lights Light interiors and match domestic places or office locations. Daylight. Advantages& Disadvantages Advantages of Tungsten Lights Almost perfect color rendition Low cost Does not use mercury like CFLs (fluorescent) or mercury vapor lights Better color temperature than standard tungsten Longer life than a conventional incandescent Instant on to full brightness, no warm-up Disadvantages of Tungsten Lights ▪ Extremely hot ▪ High power requirement ▪ The lamp is sensitive to oils and cannot be touched ▪ The bulb is capable of blowing and ▪ sending hot glass shards outward. A ▪ screen or layer of glass on the outside of ▪ the lamp can protect users. time, and it is dimmabl Setting Focus Focus is possibly the most basic part of using a camera. All modern cameras come with autofocus mechanisms, but in order to truly master the camera, you need to learn how to set and control the focus yourself Using the Zoom Lens Which type of lens is better, a prime lens or a zoom lens? This is one of the most debatable topics in photography. It is important to know what each of the two types of lenses are, and which type should be used during a given situation. Focal Length Defined Focal length is the distance from the lens to the camera's image sensor(s), usually measured in millimeters What is a Prime Lens? A lens that has a fixed focal length is known as a prime lens. So if you want to change your view of the frame, you will have to go closer to, or farther away from the spot where you are standing. As the focal length is fixed, there is no zoom ring on the lens. There is a wide range of prime lenses available on the market, ranging from wide-angle prime lenses (such as 14mm and 24mm lenses) to medium and long range telephoto prime lenses (such as 135mm and 400mm lenses). Using the Zoom Lens Which type of lens is better, a prime lens or a zoom lens? This is one of the most debatable topics in photography. It is important to know what each of the two types of lenses are, and which type should be used during a given situation. There is a broad range of zoom lenses available, be it a wide zoom lens (such as the 12-24mm or 16-35mm lenses), the telephoto zoom lens (such as a 70- 200mm, 100-400mm, and 150-600mm lenses), or the multi-purpose zoom lens (such as the 18-300mm and 24-105mm lenses) How does focal length affect your image? Viewing angle Depth of Field Perspective Image flicker Types and models for key focal length measurements 1. Ultra wide Angle 2. **Wide Angle** 3. Standard 4- **Telephoto** 5- S**uper-Telephoto** - - - - - - - - - shutter speed can also be used to do just the opposite -- freeze motion. If you use an especially fast shutter speed, you can eliminate motion even from fast-moving objects, like birds in flight, or cars driving past. - In the left image, the camera's automatic exposure exposed for the sunlit background, leaving our subject in shadow. In the right image, we used the manual exposure control to expose for our subject. Although the background is blown out, at least now we can see our subject's face. - - - - Polarizers are used to deepen saturation and improve contrast. Shooting with a polarizer will greatly improve images of cloudy skies, and they are valuable for all landscape shooting. - - If you're shooting a conversation between two or more actors, you need to make sure the eyelines in each close-up match, so that when the shots are edited together, the performers appear to be looking at each other e.