Post 13: Media Language - Lighting 3 (Source & Colour)

Source and Colour

Source and colour are two aspects of lighting that should always be remembered when filming. Whilst speaking of the source of lighting, three point lighting is often used. Three point lighting is when,"by using three separate positions, the director can illuminate the shot's subject (such as a person) however desired, while also controlling (or eliminating entirely) the shading and shadows produced by direct lighting." The three lights are; the key light - which focuses on the subject matter in the shot, the fill light - which focuses on illuminating the entire scene which helps get rid of unwanted shadow and the back light - which focuses on illuminating the background and getting rid of the shadow.

Here are the links to three point lighting where I collected my information;    http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Three-point_lighting
http://www.mediacollege.com/lighting/three-point/

My group and I experimented using the three point lighting, below are two videos showing our experiments.

The images below show what happened when we tried to recreate the three point lighting technique. They all show various parts of the screen being illuminated at each time, with the key light illuminating the main person with a lot of shadow, the fill light subtly illuminating the screen in comparison to the back light which focused purely on the background ignoring the subject matter. 

Key light: It is usually the strongest and 

has the most influence on the look of 

the scene. It is placed to one side of 

the camera/subject so that this side is

well lit and the other side has some shadow.

Fill light: This is the secondary light 

and is placed on the opposite side of

the key light. It is used to fill the 

shadows created by the key light. The

fill will usually be softer and less

brighter than the key, you could

move the light further away to 

achieve this. You might also want to

set the fill light to more of a flood than the key.

Back light: The back light is placed behind the

 subject and lights it from the rear. Rather than

 providing direct lighting (like the key and fill), its

 purpose is to provide definition and subtle 

highlights around the subject's outlines. This helps

 separate the subject from the background and 

provide a three-dimensional look.

White balance and Colour gels

In video recording, white balance is an electronic process that calibrates the picture for accurate colour display in different lighting conditions by determining what is "white." White balancing should be performed prior to any recording. The easiest way to calibrate is to focus in on a piece of white paper where you will be filming. 
Colour correction by using colour gels is a process used in cinematography with the intention to alter the overall colour of the light; typically the light colour is measured on a colour temperature.Without colour correction gels, a scene may have a mix of various colours. Applying colour correction gels in front of a light sources can alter the colour of the various light sources to match. Mixed lighting can produce an undesirable aesthetic when displayed on a television or cinema screen.Gels may also be used to make a scene appear more natural by simulating the mix of colour temperatures that occur naturally. Colour gels may also be used to tint lights for artistic effect.There are two main types of colour gels; CTO (colour temperature orange) and CTB(colour temperature blue). A CTB gel converts tungsten light to 'daylight' colour and a CTO gel performs the reverse.

Here are the link to the information about white balance and colour gels;

http://whatis.techtarget.com/definition/white-balance

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Color_correction

Orange colour gel

By using colour gels they have the ability to change the lighting of a scene and therefore the temperature also, for example an orange colour gel is used to make a room seem cooler and a blue colour gel to make the room appear warmer. 

Blue colour gel

My group and I wanted to experiment using these different colour gels as we wanted to see first hand the changes the colour gels made to the film. Our experiment took place in a corridor which was already full of natural light, we turned the camera to white balance then held up a piece of white paper with either an orange or blue colour gel above it so the camera was able to pick up the colour. Here are the video links to the experiments; White balance to half orange and  White balance to half blue. You are clearly able to see how half blue can make the room feel warm where as the half orange can make the room feel rather cold, these colour gels could come in handy when shooting our short film.

Above is a video showing the effects of both red and green colour gels placed over lights to create a different atmosphere.

Although we used the colour gels specifically to alter the white balance of the video, we discovered you can also use the same gels placed in front of a light to balance the colour temperature of the lights (As seen in the green and red video above). This is useful knowledge as my group and I may need to change the colour temperature of the lights in the room however not the white balance. We tried to do that in the experiment below placing orange gels over lights.

Post 12: Media Language Lighting 2 (Quality & Direction)

Quality and direction are also two aspects of lighting one should consider when filming. My group and I researched into the quality and direction of lighting and what to consider when producing a film as it can only benefit us when we come to actually produce our short film, because of this we also thought it wise to conduct our own experiments of quality and direction.

Fresnel light

Quality: Refers to the intensity of the illumination that the audience are viewing which can be separated into two areas, soft and hard. Soft is indirect or diffused - which blurs contours and textures, and softens the contrast between light and shade. Hard is direct light which creates large and bold shadows with obvious textures.

Kino Flo

The quality can be effected by the type of light chosen for example using a Fresnel light instead of a Kino light. A Fresnel light is a focusable spotlight used in film and television lighting, which can be adjusted via a knob on the back of the light from "spot" for a narrowly focused beam, to "flood" for a wider beam. Kino lights however provide a relatively compact and efficient way of providing soft lighting. Compared to the original motion picture lighting, incandescent lights and HMI lights, Kino Flo tubes produce less heat and fit into smaller spaces, two significant advantages that have made them popular with professionals.

Direction: Refers to where the light is coming from and what part of the frame it is effecting. Every light has a point where it is at its lowest and blends, and it also has its brightest moments where it creates a sort of spotlight. The direction of a light can come from anywhere possible; left, right, high, low and so on.

Madonna's Vogue video is a powerful example of showing how direction and quality of lighting can effect the object of importance. There are many techniques used throughout the video with lights shining from a range of different directions to create shadows or back lights or three point lighting. 
The photo to the left shows Madonna's face as the object of interest in this shot, this is done by there being a plain black background with her face being strongly illuminated in a film noir style. To the right is a photo of a woman picking things up in the middle of the frame, she is made the interest of the shot with a large back light producing a white background  which contrasts against the black shadow from the person's outfit. The last photograph shows a man sat in a chair with his fingers close to his face, there is a light source coming from the left hand side of the frame which produces an attached shadow on his face where his fingers are placed.

Above is the music video Vogue by Madonna

Post 11: Media Language - Lighting 1 (Shape & Texture)

Lighting can be very important when it comes to setting the mood and creating the right atmosphere for a film. So my group and I researched into what type of lighting we could use for our short film by learning about film noir.

Film Noir : "Film noir is a cinematic term used primarily to describe stylish Hollywood crime dramas, particularly those that emphasize cynical attitudes and sexual motivations. Hollywood's classical film noir period is generally regarded as extending from the early 1940's to the late 1950's. Film noir of this era is associated with a low-key black-and-white visual style that has roots in German Expressionist cinematography. Many of the prototypical stories and much of the attitude of classic noir derive from the hardboiled school of crime fiction that emerged in the United States during the Great Depression." 
Various examples of film noir and their range of genres include The Big Sleep, The Big Heat, The Set-Up, Night and the City, Gun Crazy and D.O.A. 

In film noir many effects were created through various lighting techniques because of film noir being in black and white it was rather important for everyone to look out for what shadows had been created and finding an interesting way to use them. The two main ways to describe shadows are; Cast Shadows and Attached Shadows.
Cast Shadows: Is when someone is only partly illuminated by light because an object is in front of the light source. E.g Blinds or a door casting shadows over a stalker.

Attached Shadows: Is when something or someone's features are partly illuminated because something natural is in the way. E.g Someone wearing a hat or having a large fringe creating shadow on someone's face.

Lighting is a very powerful tool when creating atmosphere in a film as it can keep certain aspects of a character hidden from the audience, or can reveal it to them. When we began researching into films in our genre we discovered Lolita which was a Film Noir, my group and I had previously commented on how the lighting used had helped set the atmosphere and revealed things about the characters. For example Humbert Humbert is always seen in shadows or in a darker light in comparison to Lolita who is always on display for the audience. Light is often signified with innocence and dark often signifying danger and mystery, therefore it is understandable why the lighting was taken into consideration when creating the characters.

Double Indemnity (1994) : The photo to the left shows a cast shadow of the blind going across a man standing up. This could suggest to the audience that he is more important to the film then the other character as the lighting is grabbing the audiences attention and making the character standing appear more interesting. The lighting in this photo helps with the characters body language to reveal something to the audience if not hint at something. The photo to the right is also a screen grab from Double Indemnity, only this time showing a woman standing over a balcony. The lighting suggests that she could be a femme fatale, as she is somewhat in the light of a gloomy mansion possibly trapped from a possible husband. The lighting shows her to blend in with her surroundings instead of making her stand out, this could show her to be trapped in her situation.

In the photo from Asphalt Jungle you are able to see how lighting shapes a shot's overall composition. The Light being cast from the hanging light creates attached shadows on the men's faces more so over the man wearing a hat. The light shows the protagonist making him the most frontal due to the illumination that is being  held over head. The shadow in the frame could reveal to the audience the secrecy and mystery of what is taking place, possibly an important meeting involving things illegal.

Below is the experiment my group and I conducted trying to recreate the effects of blinds going across Max's face like in Double Indemnity, I believe this effect made Max appear more mysterious and interesting especially combined with the rule of thirds. 

Lighting can also change our sense of shape and texture, with Josef Von Sternberg -thought to of been one of the cinema's masters of film lighting, said "The proper use of light can embellish and dramatize every object." An example of this theory is shown through the clip Lemon by Hollis Frampton, by moving the light in various ways and focusing on various angles of the lemon, you are able to create what appears to be an entirely new object for the audience. However my group and I decided to recreate this video using a skull instead which is below the lemon.