LIGHTING

Without light it is virtually impossible to make television images. Lighting has both a technical and aesthetic function The right light will create excellent pictures

Amount of light The amount of lighting a shot will determine how clearly we see the images The type of light affects the color

MOOD Lighting affects mood…two messages can be conveyed in the same room with different lighting.

Video Cameras Video cameras require more light than other cameras. There must be enough light reflected off a scene to produce an image.

BRIGHTNESS The intensity or brightness of the light on a subject affects how well a camera can see it Too little= too dark and underexposed The image will be soft and underexposed Will create a grainy look (this is called picture noise) Bright light creates sharp and clear images

BASE LIGHT The light that already exists in an environment is its base light. If you turn the lights off in a room you lower the base light If you turn more light on then you raise the base light Base light is often all you will have to work with but that doesn’t mean you can’t think about lighting

DIRECTION The direction of a light source affects the way light and shadow fall on a subject. Direction is determines by how you position both the subject and the lighting fixture. Light from the side produces dimension and texture where as light coming directly in front (from the angle of the camera) will reduce texture and shape.

QUALITY The quality of light refers to whether it is hard or soft . Hard light creates sharp and well defined dark shadows. It brings out the shapes and textures of the subject Hard light is created by sunlight and directional focused lighting fixtures

SOFT LIGHT Soft light is diffused and creates very few or no shadows (like a cloudy day)

COLOR Light also determines the color an object will be White light is an equal mixture of colors across the full spectrum of red, orange, yellow, green, blue, indigo and violet Our eyes compensate for these differences in color temperature Cameras don’t The type of light affects the color of the object

COLOR TEMPERATURE The exact color and tone of light is called color temperature Color characteristics are classified on a KELVIN (K) color temperature scale. This scale measures the degree of red or blue in the light (not the heat or brightness) The higher the color temperature the more prominent the blue tones

COLOR TEMP…. As the light gets brighter or as the light source changes the color temperature changes Daylight has more blue tones Video lights usually have red tones Lights in homes are even redder Fluorescent lights are green

Example of Color Temperature Warm (2000-3000K Mid-range (3000-4000K) Cool (4000K +)

WHITE BALANCE Most cameras will white balance automatically but some will have the option to do this manually To do so you would select the color temperature for the dominant light source,; place a white object or card in that areas; point the camera at the white object completely filling the screen and perform the white balance function

POSITION OF LIGHTS Read the hand outs and answer the questions then you may work on your brochure (which you should do very well on) or your critique, or your commercial.

Light Module Information From http://hrsbstaff.ednet.ns.ca/goorap/filmandvideo/lightmodule.pdf