Lighting

Types of Light

Incident: comes directly from the light sourceReflected: has come in contact with some other material before entering our field of vision Our ability to see largely the result of

reflected light

Lighting Director’s Goals

Meet artistic needs of the programGeneral Illumination needsDevelops a lighting plan so that all performers and parts of the set are lit as required/desired

Measuring Light Levels

Measured with a light meter Video levels? Audio levels?

In footcandles (ftc)--amount of light falling on a surface one foot from the light with the illumination level of one candleAlso used, lux: About 10 lux = 1 ftc Measure incident & reflected

Other lighting issues

1--Contrast Ratio: brightest to darkest: human eye 100:1, TV 30:1Sports Stadium daytime shots (shader) Monitors and adjusts the iris opening

AGC automatically adjusts2--Color Temperature: measure of the frequency of the light wave 3,200° K / 5,400° K / red / blue

Lighting uses & objectives

Flat Lighting (shape/texture)

High-key / low-key for mood

Follow spot, limbo (subject ‘in limbo’ against softly lit cyc/cameo (subject lit & background dark)/ silhouette (subject dark & background lit)lighting-focus attn. More specific definition to follow--

…cont...

Lighting uses & objectives

To imitate reality Shoot on a set for ‘outdoor shot’ Using lights shooting outdoors Bouncing light shooting outdoors Use of shadow and lighting effects ‘Natural’ look / invisible lighting

Lighting Instruments

Quartz lamp 3,200° K 500 / 1,000 / 2,000 watts / 10,000

New High Speed Fluorescent (HSF) Traditional / HSF at 3,200° K

HMI bulb -- 5,500° K

NEWEST – LED, 5500° K

Lighting Instruments

Spotlights Controlled beam / pinned & spread Fresnel

Other spotlights Ellipsoidal / leko / cutters / cookies

Barn doors / light pole / light stand

Lighting Instruments

Floodlights Pans/broads --rectangular shaped Scoop -- Bowl shaped Strip lights for background Softlight -- bulb points inward

Sometimes covered with scrim or gels

Three point lighting

Key --spotlight -- 35-40° angle

Fill -- flood or spread spot (1/2)

Back --spotlight (1.5-2x the key) Subjects and foreground Compare to background -- also important

Kicker --comes from the side over the camera left shoulder of the subject (added to 3-point lighting)

External lights must be eliminated / mixing light sources

Lighting effects

Silhouette--subject is not lit; background is evenly lit

Limbo--subject is lit evenly; background is vague or nondescriptive

Cameo--subject is lit with a spotlight directly above; background is not lit

Studio Lighting

Light Board / dimmers / pig tails

Grid vs. floor stand

Extension poles, c-clamp, safety

Inverse square law--as light to subject distance doubles, light level is reduced to 1/4 previous level ###