Lighting for Television & Videography

Design & Practice

Hue, Saturation, Brilliance

Hue and saturation are the two qualitative differences of physical colors.

The quantitative difference is brilliance, the intensity or energy of the light.

"Color," Microsoft Encarta Encyclopedia 2000. Microsoft Corporation. All rights reserved.

Essential character, inherent feature, property

Hue & Saturation

HUE - Actual color: Human color perception is based on only 4 HUES:Yellow, green, blue, & red.

SATURATION: (“chroma”)Amount, strength, purity of color

Computers& TVs

T L

Zettl, H. (2005). Sight, sound, motion: Applied media aesthetics, 4th ed. Belmont, CA: Thompson-Wadsworth

The Look & Feel of Lighting

Look sensory, surface properties, visual style; “slick”,

hard, soft, bright, dark, etc.

Feel emotional, subjective, connotative; rhythms,

textures, colors, tonal values

Viera, D. & Viera, M. (2005). Lighting for film and digital cinematography, 2nd ed. Belmont CA: Thompson-Wadsworth.

Aesthetics

ShadowsFalloffColorHigh Key / Low Key lightingPatterns

Patterns

Kukuloris (“Cookies”) or Gobos

24” or 42” sq. panel frame

Thanks to Bill Holshevnikoff, http://www.poweroflighting.com/

Shadow projected on background

…and actors in this case

Viera & Viera, p. 35.

Shadows

ShapeLocationMoodTime, seasonTexture

Suggest:

Shadows

“Flat” withdiffused source

Directional source, off to side.

What shape are these objects?

Shadows Define Shape & Location

Attached Shadow vs. Cast Shadow:

Gives info on shape of object & where it is relative to its surroundings.

• Where is the light source? • How far from the ground is the cone?

Shadow

Indicates distance, time, mood.

Zettl, H. (2005). Sight, sound, motion: Applied media aesthetics, 4th ed. Belmont, CA: Thompson-Wadsworth, p23

Attached Shadow Reversal

Shadows help interpret shape.

By turning the object upside down, the ornamentation reverses.

Ibid.

Falloff

Facial texture

Fast falloff Slow Falloff

Zettl, H. (2005). Sight, sound, motion: Applied media aesthetics, 4th ed. Belmont, CA: Thompson-Wadsworth, p28

Ext shadow

Time of day

Angle

Predictive Lighting

Portends a coming event…

Often used along with predictive sound, music…

Soft & Hard Light

Dramatically different shadows and moods

Background Lighting and Composition

Bkgd. divided into B & W, separates characters

Bkgd. Light used to create composition; where does the light bkgd. lead you?

Photographs, Viera & Viera, p. 34

(The Third Man, Studio Canal Image, 1949) (8 ½, Corinth Films Inc., 1963.)

Background Light

The same ¾ key, fill, background set up Different intensity for different moods

Bkgd.

KeyFill

Photographs, Viera & Viera, p. 33

Cameo

Black background, subjects sharply set off from bkgd. No fill, no bkgd light. Sometimes a kicker.

Zettl, p. 43

Chiaroscuro

Zettl, p. 41

Here, light seems to radiate from a single candle hidden behind the

left woman’s hand.

Three functions: Organic, Directional, and Spatial / Compositional.

Rembrandt

Most applied type of chiaroscuro lighting (Zettl).

Selective lighting

Shadows

High Contrast

Fast falloff

Zettl, p. 43

Chiaroscuro

Selective illumination, low key (bkgd dark, overall level is low), fast falloff with distinct attached shadows.

Zettl, p. 39

Back Key- back light is dominant

When light comes from behind. Frontal fill

Viera & Viera, p. 25

Eyelight, cont.

Without eyelight, eyes would be lost in shadow.

Give a sense of “aliveness,” twinkle

Viera & Viera, p. 37, 81/2, Corinth Films, Inc. 1963

Eyelight: Do you see a difference?

No eyelight

Eyelight

High Key / Low Key

What kind of lighting is this?

a. Low Key

b. High Key

c. Flat lighting

d. Cameo

Key-Fill-BackZettl, 2nd ed. p. 38-39

Hollywood style lighting

Hollywood style lighting

Silhouette - opposite of cameo

a) Key

b) Back

c) Fill

d) Kicker

e) Background

Shows contour but no volume, no texture.

What’s being used?

Review: Lighting lingo

L.D., Gaffer, Best Boy Gaffer: lighting personnel

“INSTRUMENT”= light

“LAMP”= bulb

Reflectors Flags

Barn doors

Scrims

Gels

Cookies

Baselight

fc, lux

Light meters

(gaffer’s tape)

Shadow

Contrast

(Color Temperature)

References

• Compesi, R. J. & Gomez, J. S. (2006). Introduction to video production: Studio, Field, and beyond. Boston: Allyn & Bacon.

• Holshevnikoff, B. [On-line] (retrieved 1/16/2006). http://www.poweroflighting.com

• Microsoft Encarta Encyclopedia 2000. Microsoft Corporation. All rights reserved.

• Stinson, J. (2002). Video communication & production. Tinley Park: CA: Goodheart-Willcox Co., Inc.

• Viera, D. & Viera, M. Lighting for film & digital cinematography, 2nd ed. Belmont, CA: Thompson-Wadsworth.

• Zettl, H. (2005, 1998). Sight, sound, motion: Applied media aesthetics. Belmont, CA: Thompson-Wadsworth.