Lighting:Controlling Shadows, Shape, Mood and ToneCS 5964p.s. Machinima doesn’t have to use these!Thursday, February 12, 2009“GTA Coca-cola ad”Color shift?Thursday, February 12, 2009PHILOSOPHY•Light affects everything•Changes mood•Seasonal effective disorder•Film noir vs. Wizard of Oz•Fluorescent lights in Joe vs. Volcano•Mix of art and science•Use technique and aesthetics to support the themeThursday, February 12, 20092 PHILOSOPHIES•Aims for realism•Where is the existing light? Attribution? Motivation?1.) IMITATE LIFE2.) INTENSIFY EXPERIENCE•More expressionistic•What’s the emotional tone? Temperature? Mood?Thursday, February 12, 2009MOTIVATION•Motivation is often what separates student films from professional films--how did that light get there?•Practicals--light provided within the frame, such as a lamp•The sun and its light derivatives are major motivatorsThursday, February 12, 2009CHARACTERISTICS•Measures the brightness of the shot•Saturation measures brightness of a color1.) INTENSITYThursday, February 12, 2009CHARACTERISTICS•Is the lighting harsh, or soft•Further from source, harsher the shadows (counterintuitive)•Hard vs. soft, full sun vs. cloudy, direct vs. diffusion•Size--smaller is harder (think sun), larger is softer (think clouds)2.) QUALITYSofter lightHarder lightThursday, February 12, 2009CHARACTERISTICS•Gauges the levels of brightness within the frame between the highlights and shadows3.) CONTRASTThursday, February 12, 2009CHARACTERISTICS•Where is the light coming from? What angle?•Motivation--realistic or expressionistic•Reflective•Bouncing/dampening•Shaping4.) DIRECTIONThursday, February 12, 2009CHARACTERISTICS•Temperature--Is it a warmer or cooler color? (usually from more orange to more blue)•Neon lights, stained glass, gels•Psychology of color•Emotion of red, white, and blue•Cultural--”Lady in Red”5.) COLORCooler tonesWarmer tonesThursday, February 12, 20093 (or 4) Point Lighting•1.) Key--primary light source•2.) Fill--fills in the shadows•3.) Back--separates from background; 3D quality•4.) Background•Real world more complexThursday, February 12, 20093 (or 4) Point LightingKey light onlyFill light onlyBack light onlyComplete 3-point light setupThursday, February 12, 2009HIGH vs. LOW KEY•High Key--No or few shadows; flat light; evenly lit can cause eye to wonder•Ex. TV shows--Jay Leno, Stephen Colbert-- soaps; full shade and overcast•Low Key--More shadows; more moody; light leads the eye•Ex. Film noir, Chiaroscuro, full sunThursday, February 12, 2009STYLESBlack & White RealismReal-Expressionistic ExpressionisticExperimentalThursday, February 12, 2009“Slightly Later Man”“Male Restroom Etiquette”“Legend of a Cowgirl, 2:00 mins. in”Thursday, February 12, 2009STYLESChiaroscuro“Jill’s Song”Thursday, February 12, 2009STYLESDramatic“Maintenance Man”Thursday, February 12, 2009STYLESRealism Saturated“Ignis Solus”Thursday, February 12, 2009STYLESRealism Desaturated“Melon 3” & Coke adThursday, February 12, 2009STYLESSepia Toned“Flying Fenix”Thursday, February 12, 2009Lighting EffectsColor key SilhouetteFog and natural elements Spectral flareThursday, February 12, 2009“The Right - in production”Thursday, February 12, 2009CLOSING WORDS•Light as simply as possible•Make pictures one picture at a time•Managing light is also managing shadows (don’t just eliminate them)•Let necessity drive your decisions•If all else fails... turn all the lights off and turn them back on one-by-one•Draw a lighting diagramThursday, February 12,