Scribd
Upload
73 views21 pages

Mastering Lighting Techniques in Film

This document discusses lighting techniques for film and discusses how lighting can be used to control mood, tone, shadows and shape. It covers key lighting philosophies of imitating life versus intensifying experience. Specific lighting characteristics like intensity, quality, contrast, direction and color temperature are defined. Common lighting styles like high key, low key, film noir, and experimental are provided as examples. The document emphasizes that light affects mood and experience and should be used intentionally to support the theme.

Uploaded by

Puja Prasad
Copyright
© © All Rights Reserved
We take content rights seriously. If you suspect this is your content, claim it here.
Available Formats
Download as PDF, TXT or read online on Scribd
73 views21 pages

Mastering Lighting Techniques in Film

This document discusses lighting techniques for film and discusses how lighting can be used to control mood, tone, shadows and shape. It covers key lighting philosophies of imitating life versus intensifying experience. Specific lighting characteristics like intensity, quality, contrast, direction and color temperature are defined. Common lighting styles like high key, low key, film noir, and experimental are provided as examples. The document emphasizes that light affects mood and experience and should be used intentionally to support the theme.

Uploaded by

Puja Prasad
Copyright
© © All Rights Reserved
We take content rights seriously. If you suspect this is your content, claim it here.
Available Formats
Download as PDF, TXT or read online on Scribd

CS 5964

Lighting:!
Controlling Shadows, Shape, Mood and
Tone !

p.s. Machinima doesn’t have to use these!


“GTA Coca-cola ad”!

Color shift?!
PHILOSOPHY
•  Light affects everything
•  Changes mood
•  Seasonal effective
disorder

•  Film noir vs. Wizard of


Oz

•  Fluorescent lights in Joe


vs. Volcano

•  Mix of art and science


•  Use technique and
aesthetics to support the
theme
2 PHILOSOPHIES
1.) IMITATE LIFE
•  Aims for realism
•  Where is the existing
light? Attribution?
Motivation?

2.) INTENSIFY EXPERIENCE


•  More expressionistic
•  What’s the emotional
tone? Temperature?
Mood?
MOTIVATION
•  Motivation is often
what separates
student films from
professional films--
how did that light get
there?

•  Practicals--light
provided within the
frame, such as a
lamp

•  The sun and its light


derivatives are major
motivators
CHARACTERISTICS

1.) INTENSITY

•  Measures the brightness of


the shot

•  Saturation measures
brightness of a color
CHARACTERISTICS
2.) QUALITY

•  Is the lighting harsh, or soft


•  Hard vs. soft, full sun vs. Softer light

cloudy, direct vs. diffusion

•  Size--smaller is harder
(think sun), larger is softer
(think clouds)

Harder light
CHARACTERISTICS
3.) CONTRAST

•  Gauges the levels of


brightness within the frame
between the highlights and
shadows
CHARACTERISTICS
4.) DIRECTION
•  Where is the light coming
from? What angle?

•  Motivation--realistic or
expressionistic

•  Reflective
•  Bouncing/dampening
•  Shaping
CHARACTERISTICS
5.) COLOR
•  Temperature--Is it a
warmer or cooler color?
(usually from more orange
to more blue)
Cooler tones
•  Neon lights, stained glass,
gels

•  Psychology of color
•  Emotion of red, white,
and blue

•  Cultural--”Lady in Red” Warmer tones


3 (or 4) Point Lighting
•  1.) Key--primary
light source

•  2.) Fill--fills in the


shadows

•  3.) Back--separates
from background; 3D
quality

•  4.) Background

•  Real world more


complex
3 (or 4) Point Lighting

Key light only


Fill light only

Back light only


Complete 3-point light setup
HIGH vs. LOW KEY
•  High Key--No or few
shadows; flat light; evenly
lit can cause eye to
wonder

•  Ex. TV shows--Jay
Leno, Stephen Colbert--
soaps; full shade and
overcast

•  Low Key--More shadows;


more moody; light leads
the eye

•  Ex. Film noir,


Chiaroscuro, full sun
STYLES

Black & White Realism

Experimental

Real-Expressionistic Expressionistic
STYLES

Chiaroscuro
“Jill’s Song”
STYLES

Dramatic
“Maintenance Man”
STYLES

Realism Saturated
“Ignis Solus”
STYLES

Realism Desaturated
“Melon 3” & Coke ad
STYLES

Sepia Toned
“Flying Fenix”
Lighting Effects

Color key Silhouette

Fog and natural elements Spectral flare


CLOSING WORDS
•  Light as simply as possible
•  Make pictures one picture at a time
•  Managing light is also managing shadows (don’t
just eliminate them)

•  Let necessity drive your decisions


•  If all else fails... turn all the lights off and turn
them back on one-by-one

•  Draw a lighting diagram

You might also like