By Anant Mathur (May 23, 2011)
The art of lighting for films is essential for visual storytelling. The purpose of lighting is to create an aesthetically pleasing scene both visually and emotionally.
Lighting adds significantly to the emotional response an audience has while viewing a motion picture. Not only does it help create a certain mood for the character(s) but also generates a peculiar environment for the scene.
Generally, there are three techniques used of lighting scenes: 1) General, 2) Accent, or 3) Task.
Task Lighting is usually the most intense and used for
situations such as reading or inspection of materials.
Other instances of task lighting are in machinery, where
a specific work area needs illumination. For example,
examination and operation lights for medicine and
surgery, as well as the dentist's lamp. Lighting of larger
areas is beyond the scope of task lighting.
Accent Lighting is lighting that emphasizes an area of
or an object in a room. This lighting adds to the drama
or style of a room by highlighting certain aspects of a
room's decor. For example, plants, pictures, or other
features of interior design or landscaping.
General lighting (also called ambient light) covers every
other situation and is a general illumination that comes
from all directions in a room that has no visible source.
For example, table or floor lamps or a fixture on the ceiling.
Outdoors it could be lighting for a parking lot, etc.
Methods of Lighting
Downlighting is the most common method of lighting a scene. In this technique fixtures are on or recessed in the ceiling directing the light downwards. This is the most used method and although it is easy to design it has drawbacks due to glare and large amounts of energy consumption.
Front lighting is also used very regularly, but it tends to make the subject look flat because it casts almost no visible shadows. Lighting from the side is the not all that common, as it tends to produce glare near eye level.
Uplighting is not very common, its usually used to bounce indirect light off the ceiling and back down. It is typically used in situations that require little glare and uniform general luminance levels.
The Basics of Film Lighting
At its most basic, set lighting usually incorporates what's known as a three-point lighting setup. This film and video lighting technique uses a trio of lights to illuminate the action on screen, including:
The key light. A key light is the main element of a film
lighting setup, and it is usually placed at the side and
oriented at an angle to cast bright light on one side of
the frame while leaving shadow and darker space to be
filled in by the other lights.
The fill light. This set light is used to fill in the
shadowy areas left by the angled placement of the key
light. It's normally softer than the key light and is
placed across from it and oriented at the same angle to
create consistency within the frame.
The back light. Back lights are used to create the
illusion of 3-dimensional space on the 2-dimensional
screen; they shine in the back portions of the frame and
are also used to create definition and highlights in the
subject.
Lighting is not just about turning lights onto a scene and starting to shoot. Lighting is an art that helps to create the mood of the scene, it grabs the attention of the audience and helps them focus on the drama before them.
Lighting is not just about turning lights onto a scene and starting to shoot. Lighting is an art that helps to create the mood of the scene, it grabs the attention of the audience and helps them focus on the drama before them.
© Anant Mathur. All Rights Reserved.
