15 Lighting © Goodheart-Willcox Co., Inc. Permission granted to reproduce for educational use only. Identify the various types of lighting instruments

15 Lighting

© Goodheart-Willcox Co., Inc. Permission granted to reproduce for educational use only.

• Identify the various types of lighting instruments and cite unique characteristics of each.

• Compare the characteristics of incandescent lamps with the characteristics of fluorescent lamps.

• Explain how the color temperature of light affects the video image.

Objectives


• Recall methods to control lighting intensity.

• Identify the steps in the procedure to light a set.

• Describe the television lighting techniques presented and identify the instruments used with each technique.

Objectives


Functions of Lighting

• Meet technical requirements of camera• Meet aesthetic requirements of director


Creating 3-D Appearance on TV

• Shoot people and objects in 3/4 angle• Apply makeup and set paint properly• Arrange set elements in fore-, middle-, and

background• Use shallow depth of field• Use creative lighting and shadowing

techniques


Consumer vs. Professional Terms

• Consumer• Lamp• Lightbulb

• Professional• Instrument• Lamp


Types of Light

• Hard light• Soft light


Lighting Instruments

• Spotlights, or spots• Flood light• Scoop


Lighting Instruments (Cont.)

• Fresnel


Accessories

• Barndoors• Cinefoil, Blackwrap, or heavy duty

aluminum foil• Form sheet into cylinder• Attach to front of instrument• Turn instrument on• Shape foil by hand to create shadow pattern


Preventing Light Hits

• Flag• Spray item with photo dulling spray• Spray item with inexpensive hair spray


Preventing Light Hits (Cont.)


Safety Note

• Light fixtures operate at extremely high temps

• They can ignite flammable objects• They can severely burn human skin!• Always wear work gloves to prevent injury

• Recommended gloves are inexpensive cotton gloves with leather palms and fingers


Incandescent Lamps

• High heat output—dangerous to touch with bare hands

• Spreads wide light frequency, more than camera needs

• Brightness can make talent squint on set• More costly than fluorescent lamps


Preserving Life of Incandescent Lamps

• Do not:• Turn off and on in rapid succession• Move them when they are hot• Close barndoors, trapping heat inside instrument• Point straight down; heat then enters instrument• Handle lamp with bare fingers


Fluorescent Lamps

• Soft, even glow• Relatively inexpensive• Low heat output—will not burn hands• Long life span• Produce much more light per watt than

incandescent


Supports

• Floor stand• Advantages: Ease of movement, necessary for

remote shoot• Disadvantages: Can tip over easily, power cord

is tripping hazard, occupy much floor space

• C-clamp


Kelvin Color Temperature Scale


White Light

• Equal to 3200°Kelvin (3200K)• Needed for proper colors and flesh tones on

TV• Cooler (lower) color temps produce

yellowish or reddish tints• Hotter (higher) color temps produce

greenish or bluish tints


Common Color Temperatures

• Consumer lightbulbs: 2000°Kelvin (20K)— yellowish

• TV studio lamps: 3200°Kelvin (32K)—white• Commercial fluorescent office/school ceiling

lamps: 4500°Kelvin (45K)—greenish• Sunlight: 5600°Kelvin (56K)—bluish


White Balancing the Camera

• Camera needs to interpret white light to reproduce colors accurately

• To “trick” camera into seeing white light:• Get illumination as close to 32K as possible• Point camera at white object on set and

manually press white balance button


Gel


Lighting Set with Colored Lights

• First, light set with white light to white balance camera

• Then, turn off white lights and turn on colored lights—camera will see each color


Lighting Room Lit with Sunlight

• Place CTO (color temperature orange) gel on inside of window to absorb and convert blue light, or

• Place CTB (color temperature blue) gel on instruments inside the room to match blue sunlight. Then, perform white balance


Lighting Intensity

• 3200K lights can have different wattage—color is the same but varying amounts of light are produced

• Varying brightness of lamps is necessary to prevent hot and dark spots on set


Varying Lighting Intensity

• Move instrument closer or farther away from set

• Replace lamp with lower or higher wattage lamp

• Place diffusion material or scrim in front of instrument

• Use bounce lighting or dimmer


Planning Set Lighting

• Light plot• Basic hang, or rough hang


Light Plot


Three-Point Lighting


Key Light


Fill Light


Back Light

• Different from background light


Three-Point Lighting


Four-Point Lighting Set-up


Cross-Key Lighting Set-up


Lighting with Fluorescents

• Same technique used with incandescents• Most equipped with a honeycomb


Limbo Lighting


Lighting Check

• Always view set under designed lighting on television monitor

• If bad image is displayed, stop shooting and determine if monitor is faulty

• If monitor is OK, then contrast, color, brightness, and tint may need adjustment


• The Society of Television Lighting and Design

• www.stld.org.uk

Career Page


What are precautions to take when working with incandescent studio instruments and lamps?Do not jar them when they are hot. Do not touch them with your bare fingers, even when they are cold. Do not close barndoors completely. Do not point them straight down. Do not turn them off and on in rapid succession.

Review Question


How do you light something using three-point lighting?The key light is above and to one side of camera at about the 4:30 spot. The fill light is on opposite side of camera and above it at about the 7:30 spot. The back light is above and behind subject at about the 12:00 spot.

Review Question


What is the difference between hard and soft light?Hard light creates sharp, distinct, and dark shadow. Soft light produces indistinct, gradual change from light to dark with plenty of gray in between.

Review Question


What are the functions of light in television?Allows camera to operate effectively and

meet aesthetic requirements of director.

Review Question


Consumers call them lightbulbs—what to lighting professionals call them?Lamps

Review Question


What is color temperature of white light?32K, or 3200K, or 3200° Kelvin

Review Question


What effect does temperature have on video image?Cooler temperatures produce yellowish or reddish tints, while hotter temperatures produce greenish or bluish tints.

Review Question


Name three ways to vary lighting intensity.Move instrument; use different wattage lamp; place diffusion material or scrim in front of instrument.

Review Question


How do you white balance a camera?Try to get illumination as close to 32K as possible, then point camera at white object, then manually press white balance button.

Review Question


How would you light a set that requires a lot of colored lights?First, white balance camera, then turn off white lights and turn on colored lights. Camera will see them as colored lights.

Review Question


What is the difference between spotlights and flood lights?Spotlights provide circular light in small, defined area, while flood lights provide general lighting in larger area.

Review Question


_____ lamps are more expensive and powerful, last longer, and create less heat than _____ lamps. Incandescent; fluorescent

Review Question


What is produced when an instrument is pointed at a photographic reflector?A. DimmerB. Bounce lightingC. Back lightD. DiffusionB. Bounce lighting

Review Question


• 3200 Kelvin: The temperature of white light in degrees Kelvin. Also noted as 3200K or “32K” when spoken.

• back light: A lighting instrument that is placed above and behind the talent or object in a shot, at the twelve o’clock position, to separate the talent or object from the background.

• background light: A lighting instrument that is pointed at the background of a set.

Glossary


• barndoors: Fully moveable black metal flaps attached to the front of a lighting instrument; used to block or reshape the light.

• basic hang: The initial process of hanging instruments over the set according to the light plot and plugging them into the raceway. Also called a rough hang.

Glossary


• bounce lighting: A lighting technique where a lighting instrument is not pointed directly at the subject of the shot, but the light is bounced off of another object, such as a ceiling, wall, or the ground.

• C-clamp: A clamp in the shape of a “C” that is used to attach lighting instruments to the grid.

Glossary


• cross-key lighting: A lighting technique that combines more than one person or object in the lighting spread using only two key lights and one back light.

• diffusion: A translucent material that is placed in front of a lighting instrument to soften and reduce the intensity of light, without altering the color temperature.

Glossary


• dimmer: A device attached to the power control of a lighting instrument that regulates the amount of electricity that flows to the lamp.

• fill light: A lighting instrument that is placed opposite the key light and above the talent to provide illumination on the other side of the talent’s face or object in the shot.

Glossary


• flag: A flexible metal rod with a flat piece of metal attached to the end; used to block light from hitting certain objects on the set.

• flood light: A soft light instrument that provides general lighting in a large area.

• floor stand: A lighting support with three or four legs and a long vertical pole to which a lighting instrument is attached.

Glossary


• fluorescent lamp: Type of lamp that functions when electricity excites a gas in the lamp, which causes the material coating the inside of the lamp to glow (fluoresce) with a soft, even light.

Glossary


• four-point lighting: A lighting technique that uses four lighting instruments for each person or object photographed: two key lights and two fill lights. The two key lights are positioned diagonally opposite each other, and the two fill lights are placed in the remaining two corners.

Glossary


• Fresnel: A hard light instrument that is lightweight and easily focused.

• gel: A heat resistant, thick sheet of plastic placed in front of a lighting instrument to turn white light from a lamp into a colored light.

• grid: A pipe system that hangs from the studio ceiling and supports the lighting instruments.

Glossary


• hard light: Type of illumination used in a studio that creates sharp, distinct, and very dark shadows.

• honeycomb: A device that attaches to fluorescent instruments to reduce the shape and size of the light beam, making the light more directional and easier to control.

• incandescent lamp: Type of lamp that functions when electricity is applied and makes a filament inside the lamp glow brightly.

Glossary


• instrument: The device into which a lamp is installed to provide illumination on a set.

• Kelvin Color Temperature Scale: A scale developed by the scientist Lord Kelvin for measuring color temperatures of light in degrees Kelvin.

• key light: The lighting instrument that provides the main source of illumination on the person or object in a shot.

Glossary


• lamp: Part of a lighting instrument that glows when electricity is supplied.

• light hit: A white spot or star shaped reflection of a lighting instrument or sunlight off of a highly reflective surface on the set.

• light plot: A diagram developed by the lighting designer that indicates the placement of lighting instruments on the set of a program.

Glossary


• limbo lighting: A lighting technique in which the background of the set is lit to create the illusion of a solid-color, indistinct background.

• raceway: The system of electrical cables and outlets used to power lighting instruments on the grid. The raceway either hangs beside the grid pipes or is mounted to the ceiling above the grid.

Glossary


• scoop: A common type of flood light with a half-spheroid shape that produces a great deal of light.

• scrim: A wire mesh or woven material placed in front of instrument to reduce the intensity of light.

• soft light: Type of illumination used in a studio that creates indistinct shadows.

Glossary


• spotlight: Type of hard light instrument that creates a circle of light in varying diameters.

• three-point lighting: A common lighting technique that uses three lighting instruments for each person or object photographed: a key light, a fill light, and a back light. Also called triangle lighting.

Glossary

Documents

15 Lighting © Goodheart-Willcox Co., Inc. Permission granted to reproduce for educational use only. Identify the various types of lighting instruments