Cinematography: Understanding Lighting in Film

Cinematography: Understanding Lighting in Film

Lighting is a quintessential part of filmmaking in visually setting the mood and atmosphere of a film, which oftentimes define the genre of the film. It’s a powerful tool that can direct the audience’s eye to a part of a scene, a specific actor or prop and even reflect the emotions and personality of a character

Three-Point Lighting

The three-point lighting system, developed in the studio era in Hollywood, is the basic and most commonly-used lighting technique in films today. It consists of three light sources: Key Light, Fill Light, Backlight

What Is Cinematic Lighting?

Cinematic lighting goes beyond the standard three-point lighting system by varying the intensities and direction of lights.

Cool Lighting

Creates blue, green or grey tones. Effect:

Hard or Harsh Lighting

Uses smaller light sources to cast larger, clearer, and sharper shadows on the subject as well as heighten contrast

Lighting for Characters

Helps the audience get an idea of the characters and their emotions in a scene

Soft or Diffused Lighting

Larger light sources that are distant from the subject and in the scene with plenty of fill lights are used to create soft lighting.

Other Lighting Techniques

Side lighting

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