Lighting - Caroline

• In order to film our anamatic we need to consider what lightong we are going to use. In order to convey the suspense and fear that we wish to in our film I feel that good lighting is key.
• This information comes from the website: http://www.siggraph.org/education/materials/HyperGraph/lighting/lighting_film_video.htm

Lighting in Film and Video

Film stock has a much greater dynamic range for light than did early video tape. Video tape has improved, but film still has a greater range. This means that early video, and to a lesser extend current video, requires more light for exposure. So even though the techniques used were similar, early video had a flat, low contrast look. This look is still seen in some video.

The basic lighting scheme for film and video was a three-point system, consisting of a key light, a fill light, and a back light. The key light is the primary light in the scene and it simulates the natural light, e.g., the outdoors or an interior light. It is usually placed between 30 and 45 degrees from the camera-subject axis and is elevated by 30-45 degrees.

The fill light is supposed to partially fill in, or soften, the shadows created by the key light. It is a lower intensity and more diffuse light than the key light. It is usually placed on the opposite side of the camera from the key light, at an angle of 30-45 degrees from the camera-subject axis, and at about the height of the camera. If the fill light is too intense, then a low contrast, flat image is created.

The back light is placed above and to the rear of the subject, so that the light does not come directly into the camera lens. It helps to outline the subject, especially the upper portion, and to separate it from the background.

More extensive lighting systems may include the following:

• eyelight - a small light that can be focused to reflect in the subjects eye, giving them a reflective sparkle
• background light - to illuminate the background
• kicker light - similar to a back light, i.e. it helps to separate the subject from the background. It is usually placed low, behind the subject, and may be opposite the key light.

By varying the intensity, duffuseness, position, and number of these lights, different effects can be obtained. Note that some of these lights might be virtual lights, i.e., highly reflective surfaces that are positioned to reflect the light of a real light source.

• Different types of lighting
 

- High Key Lighting refers to a low contrast lighting style that is used to brighten up everything within the frame and cut down on shadows. With high key lighting, every person in the scene, as well as every object get the same amount of light so that everything looks even. The advantage of High Key Lighting is that it also cuts down on shooting time as there is no need for a complex set up of lights.

- Low Key Lighting is all about shadows. If you want drama, tension, and darkness choose a Low Key lighting scheme for more high contrast visuals. As opposed to the three point lighting scheme, this type of set up will often only use one light, sending harsh shadows upon anything that is not illuminated. Calculating a Low Key set up can take more time, but the results can be visually stunning.

- Hard light throws distinct shadows. It comes from a point light source such as the sun or an electronic flash. It is a harsh light and often can cause the subject if it is a person to squint or need to put on sun glasses.

- Soft light is the opposite and comes from a reflected source or a broad source. It is often indirect light and is frequently found in the shade as light that reflects into the shade from the surroundings. Light quality is effected mostly by change in subject or camera position or the use of reflectors or fill flash. 

- Front light is used to show detail. Few good outdoor shots use this type of light because it eliminates texture. This type of light is what comes out of a flash attachment and evenly lights our subject. It is the worst of the hard light types and would be better as soft light if a choice is possible

- Side light emphasizes texture and shape. A strong side light from a window or a sunset causes long shadows and a dark side and light side relationship on a subject. To meter such a light the photographer may want to average a close up meter reading of both the bright side and the dark side.

- Backlight softens the quality of the light as the subject gets mostly reflected light on its surface. If the light is placed directly behind the subject a rim light can be the result. This is the most dramatic type of light. This type of light does a good job of separating the subject from the background but requires careful metering. IF the meter sees mostly the bright light in the background the exposure will be adjusted lower to compensate which will result in an underexposed subject which has less light falling on it from the reflected light reaching it from the front.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xqXgw8_pkfA - this video is also really good as a lighting tutorial.