Lighting

 

 

Light is a electro magnetic variation which we cannot see. It falls on object and gets modified. It is reflected on each objects and forms an image.

 

Light changes expressions when changing the angles. No need to change the facial expressions. Light itself changes the expressions.

 

In Cinematography movement creates feelings with the help of Light. When lighting up we are lighting up for the whole set. Not lighting up only for the frame.

 

Lighting can create atmosphere and mood as well as signify meaning.

Example :  in the horror genre, light and shade are codes of meaning.

 

High-key lighting is harsh.

Soft-key lighting creates romance.

Spotlighting picks out a character from a group.

Available light suggests natural light.

Full-face lighting suggests openness and honesty.

Shadow can suggest fear or lack of trust.

 

Colour Temperature

 

We measure colour temperature in Kelvin.

 

2000 Degree Kelvin  > >  Red - Candle and Fire

2100 to 2300 Kelvin  > >  Amber - Tungsten Light

3400 to 4000 Kelvin  > >  Greenish White - Fluoroscent Light.

5300 to 6500 Kelvin  > >  Bluish White - Sunlight + HMI

7000 +                      > >  Deep Bluish White - Sky Light.

 

Two Types of Lights

 

1.  Open Light

2.  Lensed Light

 

Open Light  > > Bulb

Lensed Light  > > Fresnel Lens. No defraction, No Colour Rings.

 

Filters

 

Filters on Camera

Filters on Lens

Filters on Light

 

All filters has specific colours. It is internationally recognized.

 

Filters can be used externally and essential inbuilt shutters are also available for video camera. Filters like Neutral density and color balancing are usually inbuilt with cameras.

 

Neutral Density (ND) A colour-neutral filter which absorbs light evenly throughout the visible spectrum. Used to reduce the amount of light coming through the lens in strong lighting situations.

 

Straw Filter

 

It cuts the UV + excess blue.

Ultra Violet (UV)

 

Video cameras are sensitive to both visible light and ultra violet (UV) light. UV is invisible to humans but it can create a blue tinge and/or washed-out effect on video, especially outside. A UV filter removes UV light while leaving visible light intact. UV filters are also commonly used as a protective filter for the lens.

Polarizing

 

A special type of lens which removes polarized light, reducing the washed-out effect sometimes created by reflected light. This results in more saturated, vibrant colours. Polarized filters are usually mounted with a rotational adjustment to align the polarization.

Diffusion

 

Effectively blurs the image for a slightly soft look. A mild diffusion filter can be used to soften faces (remove wrinkles etc), a stronger filter can be used to create a dream-sequence effect.

Sepia

 

Creates a sepia-tone effect, commonly used to depict historical images or flashbacks.

Fog

 

Creates a fog effect.
Colour balancing / color Correction adjusts the colour temperature of the light.

 

White Balancing

White balance basically means colour balance. It is a function which gives the camera a reference to "true white" — it tells the camera what the colour white looks like, so the camera will record it correctly. Since white light is the sum of all other colours, the camera will then display all colours correctly.

 

Way to do white balance

If your camera has a filter wheel, make sure you are using the correct filter for the lighting conditions or set to the available channel memories.

Point your camera to a pure white subject, so that most of what you're seeing in the viewfinder is white. The subject should be fairly matte, that is, non-reflective.
Set your exposure and focus to auto.

Activate the white balance by pressing the button or throwing the switch. The camera may take a few seconds to complete the operation, after which you should get a message (or icon) in the viewfinder. Hopefully this will be telling you that the white balance has succeeded - in this case, the camera will retain its current color balance until another white balance is performed.

 

Light meter

A light meter uses a photocell to measure the amount of light falling upon a subject (ambient light) or reflected from a subject (reflective light). Almost all modern cameras are equipped with some form of light meter (usually reflective)

There are two types of light meters

1. Incident light meter (Placed at the subject and on which the light falls)

2. Reflected Light meter (Calculates the reflected light from the subject & placed near to camera)

 

Incident light meters

In most cases, an incident-light meter will cause a medium tone to be recorded as a medium tone, and a reflected-light meter will cause whatever is metered to be recorded as a medium tone. What constitutes a “medium tone” depends on meter calibration and several other factors, including film processing or digital image conversion.

Meter calibration establishes the relationship between subject lighting and recommended camera settings.

If a scene differs considerably from a statistically average scene, a wide-angle averaging reflected-light measurement may not indicate the correct exposure. To simulate an average scene, a substitute measurement sometimes is made of a neutral test card, or gray card.

Reflected light meters

A reflected light meter calculates the exposure using the reflected light from the subject.TTL meter, Spot meter, all fall under this category. Incident and reflected combo meters, analog and digital meters are also available.

 

Gray Card

This gives an average reflectance of about 18 % gray .This generally refers to the mid tone in a scene and gives the average reading.

 

Light Positions

 

Classic 45 Degree Position

Top Position

Parallel 90 Degree Position

Flat Light Position

Back Light Position

 

Low Key Light

 

High contrast and lot of dark area.

More black areas and low keylight.

Very selectively highlighted portions.

It is called as Low Key Picture.

 

High Key Light

 

Lot of white (brightness) areas and less black areas.

Contrast will be less.

Black to Grey and Grey to White.

It is called as High Key Picture.

 

Lighting Continuity in Camera

 

It is about maintaining the flow of Light.

 

 

Common Lighting Terminology

Ambient Light
The light already present in a scene, before any additional lighting is added.

Incident Light
Light seen directly from a light source (lamp, sun, etc).

Reflected Light
Light seen after having bounced off a surface.

Colour Temperature
A standard of measuring the characteristics of light, measured in kelvins.

Key Light
The main light on the subject, providing most of the illumination and contrast.

The primary light on the subject. Can be any light from a source.

Fill Light
A light placed to the side of the subject to fill out shadows and balance the key light. To fill up the shadows created by key light.

Back Light or Kick Light
A light placed at the rear of a subject to light from behind.

To differentiate the subject from the background.

 

Background Light

To light up the background.

Kicker Light

To reveal the shape of the subject placed at a particular angle.

Hard Light
Light directly from a source such as the sun, traveling undisturbed onto the subject being lit.

Soft Light
Light which appears to "wrap around" the subject to some degree. Produces less shadows or softer shadows.

Spot
A controlled, narrowly-focused beam of light.

Flood
A broad beam of light, less directional and intense than a spot.

Tungsten
Light from an ordinary light bulb containing a thin coiled tungsten wire that becomes incandescent (emits light) when an electric current is passed along it. Tungsten colour temperature is around 2800K to 3400K. Also known as incandescent light.

Halogen
Type of lamp in which a tungsten filament is sealed in a clear capsule filled with a halogen gas.

Fresnel
A light which has a lens with raised circular ridges on its outer surface. The fresnel lens is used to focus the light beam.

Incandescent
Incandescent lamps produce heat by heating a wire filament until it glows. The glow is caused by the filament's resistance to the current and is called incandescence.

Illuminations

There are Two types of illumination known as Harsh & diffuse Illuminations.

 

Day-For-Night, Night-For-Day

Night scenes film at daylight, day scenes filmed at night

Intensity of Light

Using two types of light meters. Incident and reflected light meters we can measure the intensity of light.

 

Measuring color of light

Using color temperature meters we can measure the color of light.

 

Unit for measuring the intensity of light

The unit for measuring the intensity of light is Foot candles.

 

Unit for color of light

The unit for color of light is Kelvin Temperature.

 

Standard tone

The standard tone for which the light meters are calibrated is 18% gray.

Colour gelatin sheets

Colour gelatin sheets are the sheets generally used on lights to change the color of light.

Fresnel Light

A thin optical lens consisting of concentric rings of segmental lenses and having a short focal length, used primarily in cine lights is called Fresnel Lens. Fresnal lights will give a concentrated beam of light.

 

Open Lights

Lights without any lens at the front are called open lights.

The power of Baby, Junior, Senior

Baby - 750~1000V,   Junior - 2.5KV,   Senior - 5KV.

HMI

Hydrargyrum Medium Arc Iodide – Lamp.

The color temperature for HMI is 5000 ~ 6000 K

Arc lamps

Arc lamps give a Bright and strong beam of light. They are used in many areas like Projectors, Cine lights, Spot lights.

Compact lights

Compact lights are small lights used in areas where home power or generator power is impossible. These have powers from 0 watts to 500 watts.

Lighting up in the daytime

Sunlight is the primary light source for daylight working conditions .The scene could be lit up using reflections from sunlight. Reflector boards, Skimmers, Bounce boards. HMIs as they match with daylight could also be used to light up in the daytime.

Flicker

Lights like HMIs which are not giving continuous spectrum will give flicker or less frequent spectrum resulting upon spoiling the lighting. These occur due to voltage drop. Lamps like tungsten as they give continuous spectrum doesn’t have chances for flicker.

Low Key Light

These are style of lighting wherein lighting is not brightly done and minimal parts of the frame are having lights it is called Low key. Painters like Rembrandt used this technique.

 

High Key Light

When the lighting is in most of the areas of frame then it is called high key. Painters like Turner adapted these kind of style to light up in their painting.

Contrast Ratio

The ratio Between Key light and fill light which is the main reason for the contrast is called contrast ratio.

 

Lighting Ratio

Lighting ratio is the one which takes into account of Key + fill area also and calculates the aperture to be kept.

Ex : Key 800 Footcandles & fill 400 footcandles CR : 2:1
Key 1200 footcandles ,fill 400 footcandles,Key + fill – 800 footcadles.LR – 3:1:2
Cameraman could creatively use this ratio to set up his aperture.

3 Point Light

Key ,fill and backlight are the 3 Point lighting.

Silhouette

A silhouette is a view of an object or scene consisting of the outline and a featureless interior, with the silhouetted object usually being black.

 

Few materials which controls light

Nets

These cut the amount of light falling on the subject without diffusing it.

Garware, Gateway sheet, Garfilm

These diffuse the light falling on the subject.

Scrims

These cut more amount of light than net.

Mull cloth

This will also diffuse the light to an extent but cuts more of light. There are certain filters used light for special purposes for light color balancing.

 

 

 

Notes

 

 

Background lighting
Cameo lighting
Flood lighting
Lens flare
Mood lighting
Rembrandt lighting
Stage lighting
 

 

 

 

 

All rights reserved © Vahee.com