KNOW HOW Creative Film Lighting may be called upon to replicate morning light, afternoon light and evening light all at the same location. As an example, I’ll discuss lighting for evening/ night time. The audience traditionally has been conditioned to interpret blue light as night time. Many times I have replaced the diffusion on my daytime lights with blue colored gels to represent night. Of course, the sun is stronger than the moon, but the blue gel will take away luminance hence giving a feeling of evening light. I would probably move the light that represented the sun because the moon wouldn’t be in the same exact place as the sun and then just gel the fixture.
If the script says, “John sits in a room on a summer afternoon”, then you would expose for the fill light (the lower light ratio) so the room looks bright, losing some detail in the bright areas of the scene giving the impression of the sun hitting your subject through a window on a summer afternoon. In both of these instances, the lighting wouldn’t have to change much but which exposure you choose is crucial. With film stock being as versatile as it is today, it is very easy to over light your scene. You have to trust the film stock which comes only with experience, so embrace every opportunity you have to test different scenarios out.
How you interpret or read the exposure will make all the difference.
The role of film stock selection in the lighting process
If the script says, “John sits in a dark room waiting for Jane to arrive” then you would need to expose for the key light (the higher light ratio) so the room goes dark and you would lose some detail in those dark areas.
Knowing how much detail your motion picture film will read into the shadows, or how it holds the detail in bright areas, is essential to how you approach your lighting scheme and picking a type of film to use. Once you have the basics down and a good understanding of
these principals, you can achieve a myriad of artistic concepts, taking the project to the next level. Many times I have lit a scene and then adding effect lights to enhance the reality of the moment. For example, having car headlights pass through the set as though a car is driving down the street, (by use of two small lights rigged together and swung across the set by your gaffer) or the flicker of a fireplace, (by use of orange gel on a small lamp bounced off a hand held silver board being shaken by your gaffer) are just some of the things you can do to add to the realism. Lighting transitions are also paramount to getting to the next level. Too frequently a scene features characters that walk into rooms that are already lit. To strengthen the reality of a scene, I always find it better to have actors turn lights on creating a lighting transition. This means that the actor walks into a room lit only by moonlight, or by ambient light, and turns on what appears to be the room lights. This would call for two different lighting schemes for the same scene. 1) Blue bounce light representing the moon light, the size of the light unit would depend on your film stock, the distance to the subject and the size of the room. 2) When the actor flicks the switch you would have to coordinate your room lights being turned on by your gaffer at the same time. This means practical lamps as well as studio fixtures that have been set for the ‘lit’ mood of the piece.
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