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 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 TLTL 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, 2 nd ed. Belmont CA: Thompson-Wadsworth.

Aesthetics Shadows Falloff Color High Key / Low Key lighting Patterns

Kukuloris (“Cookies”) or Gobos 24” or 42” sq. panel frame Thanks to Bill Holshevnikoff,

Shadow projected on background …and actors in this case Viera & Viera, p. 35.

Shadows Shape Location Mood Time, season Texture Suggest:

Shadows “Flat” with diffused 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, 4 th 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 falloffSlow 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. Key Fill 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-Back Zettl, 2 nd ed. p

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). Microsoft Encarta Encyclopedia 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, 2 nd ed. Belmont, CA: Thompson-Wadsworth. Zettl, H. (2005, 1998). Sight, sound, motion: Applied media aesthetics. Belmont, CA: Thompson-Wadsworth.