Project AP-3 Analyze Lighting (see Light Notes below)

Project Analyze a film for the elements of lighting. In documentary you can’t always control lighting; instead you control camera angle, composition, and exposure parameters to capitalize on what’s present. Here’s an exercise in recognizing the elements you must work with. In controlled documentary—a historical recreation, say—you would have the time and facilities to deliberate over using such lighting techniques.Goals are to identify examples of:a) High contrast, low contrast imagesb) Graduated tonality imagec) Practical lightsd) Fill lighte) High key and low key lighting situationsf) Hard (specular) light and soft lightg) Portrait shot with frontal lightingh) “ “ “ broad lightingi) “ “ “ narrow lightingj) “ “ “ backlightingk) “ “ in silhouette

Preparationa) Pick a documentary with a variety of lighting situations (interior/exterior,

day/night, artificial light/sunlight, etc). My choice is______________________________(title)

b) Identify one or more of the facets specified in (a) to (j) above, using a computer frame-grab facility to collect samples that you integrate into a piece of explanatory writing.

Writing Describe and append a sketch if it helps,a. What the film delivers as mood, message, meaningb. What makes each of your shots qualify in (a) to (j) lighting categoriesc. Where the key light originates in each shot (for example, a window or a

fluorescent overhead light, or supposedly from a table lamp “practical”)

d. What feeling the particular lighting contributes to each scenee. What progression the lighting follows through the filmf. Discuss what you learned from making this analysis, and what resolutions you

formed in relation to your own filmmaking

Notes Shooting spontaneously means taking advantage of the lighting and compositional potential of any scene. You’ll need a practiced eye and a keen mind to realize all that’s on offer. During your analysis try to distinguish between lighting applied by the filmmakers and shooting that makes artful use of circumstances. Shooting under available light is mostly the latter, though a fill light mounted on the camera sometimes makes a vital contribution to lighting.

Alternative: Using a digital camera, shoot documentary stills as examples.

ASSESSMENT, PROJECT AP-3 ANALYZE LIGHTING

Criteria Rating

1. Good choice of documentary with varied setups for a lighting discussion

0 1 2 3 4 5

2. Frame-grabs used effectively in discussion 0 1 2 3 4 5

3. Clear writing makes effective use of chosen evidence 0 1 2 3 4 5

4. Effective connections made between lighting (natural or artificial) and the film’s moods, message, and meaning

0 1 2 3 4 5

a. High contrast, low contrast images 0 1 2 3 4 5

b. Graduated tonality image 0 1 2 3 4 5

c. Practical lights 0 1 2 3 4 5

d. Fill light 0 1 2 3 4 5

e. High key and low key lighting situations 0 1 2 3 4 5

f. Hard (specular) light and soft light 0 1 2 3 4 5

g. Portrait shot with frontal lighting 0 1 2 3 4 5

h. “ “ “ broad lighting 0 1 2 3 4 5

i. “ “ “ narrow lighting 0 1 2 3 4 5

j. “ “ “ backlighting 0 1 2 3 4 5

k. “ “ in silhouette 0 1 2 3 4 5

5. Analyzes lighting type and origination in at least three setups 0 1 2 3 4 5

6. Describes lighting progression and its significance through the film 0 1 2 3 4 5

7. Describes the learning you got from making this analysis, and how you would like to use it in future work

0 1 2 3 4 5

TOTAL _____/90

Lighting NotesThis project challenges you to categorize types and combinations of lighting situation,

become familiar with the look and effect of each, and be able to use the appropriate

terminology in describing them. The aim is to recognize the emotional associations that

all the different possibilities that lighting and image control bring to our art.

When you do your lighting study, turn down the color control on your monitor until you

have a black-and-white image uncomplicated by chrominance. What follows is a just a

brief rundown; you will need a lighting text to go deeper. YouTube and other web sites

offer many lighting demonstrations, but mostly for still photography. I like

www.youtube.com/watch?v=9KZe7Xbi6DM for the way it works in black and white and

demonstrates the effect of each source light as it goes.

My illustrations are frame-grabs from Tod Lending’s Omar and Pete (USA, 2005,

www.nomadicpix.com) shot by the masterly Slawomir Grunberg. The film’s first 12

minutes are available to watch on this book’s website

(www.directingthedocumentary.com). It chronicles attempts by the prison system to

rehabilitate recidivists—the hard core who keep returning to prison. Through two such

men it examines the Gordian knot of social disadvantage, racism, poverty, poor

education, and dysfunctional family life that lie behind the tragic self-destruction of so

many African American men. Grunberg’s camera handling and special picture quality set

us deep within a grim world from which there is little escape.

LIGHT SOURCES: KEY, FILL, BACKLIGHT, PRACTICALS

Key light is the source casting the shot’s shadows. The key light on Omar’s sister in her

office comes from the window behind her and off to the left. The rest of her face is

illuminated by fill light.

Fill light illuminates shadow areas so that a camera can record their detail. In Figure AP-

3A fill comes from soft light (see below) cast either by a fixture close to the camera, or

by window light reflecting from the office’s white walls. In exterior shots you often

throw fill light on the subject using handheld reflectors of silver or matte white. Fill is

necessary because highlights under sunlight are often so bright that important shadow

details, such as in a person’s eye-sockets, remain in deep shadow. By adding light to the

shadow areas you lower the contrast (see below) between highlight and shadow areas so

the recording medium can record detail in each.

Back light is a source shining on the subject from behind, and often from above. Also

called a hair- or a kicker-light, it casts a rim of light around a subject’s head and

shoulders, and creates a separation between the subject and background, as seen here

with the two men on Omar’s parole board.

A practical is any light source that appears in frame as part of the scene, such as a

bedside light, miner’s lamp, or traffic signal. The fluorescent fixture above Omar and his

guard is a practical. Most practicals don’t supply light for exposure, but Omar and Pete

was shot in prison under available light, so they supplied most of the lighting.

Set lighting is that needed to adjust a scene’s background to a proper illumination level.

TONALITY

A high-key picture looks overall bright with small areas of shadow. Any shot, interior or

exterior, can be overall bright and thus qualify as high key. Comedies are mostly high

key, while film noir is by definition low key. Every film needs relief from its

predominating mood, and exteriors provide the audience with reprieve in Omar and Pete.

A low-key picture is one that looks overall dark with few highlight areas. Low key

images, often interiors or night shots, predominate in Omar and Pete. This is the cage of

steel surrounding Omar. The system offers him the opportunity to work his way out, but

can he do it?

Graduated tonality shots have neither very bright highlights nor deep shadow, but consist

mainly of midtones—a term referring not to colors, but the tonal range between dark and

light. Here Omar seems to blend into the detention facilities that contain him.

CONTRAST

High-contrast pictures have a big difference between highlight and shadow illumination

levels. Here, birds have the liberty that an imprisoned man can only dream of, and their

world is in stark contrast to his own.

Low-contrast pictures can either be high or low key but their highlight levels are not far

above their shadow illumination. Notice how selective focus in this case isolates and

separates Omar from his background, unlike Figure AP-3F.

LIGHT QUALITY

Hard lighting describes light quality in terms of its shadow. Hard light or specular light

creates hard-edged shadows (for example, a studio spotlight, a candle flame, or sunlight

as in the Figure AP-3I). Hard light is not necessarily strong light, just light coming from

an effectively small source whose rays cast distinct shadows.

Soft light comes from an effectively large source and creates soft-edged shadows (for

example, fluorescent fixtures, sunlight reflecting off a matte-finish wall, light from an

overcast sky, studio softlight). In this shot there is some shadow under the subject’s chin

and beard, but it’s very indistinct.

TYPES OF LIGHTING SETUP

Photography’s limitation is that you must use a two-dimensional medium to present a

three-dimensional world. What’s missing is depth, so in portraiture you use angled

lighting to reveal the third dimension. The basic portrait lighting setup is called three

point lighting and its components are diagrammed in Figure AP-3K. It uses a fill light, a

key, and a backlight. There’s also set lighting which illuminates the background and

which we’ll leave aside.

In the diagram only the fill light is turned on; it emits disorganized light rays from a

broad source that casts little shadow. Keeping it close to, and above, the camera means

that any shadow it does cast is largely thrown behind the subject and out of sight of the

camera.

This shows a face lit by fill light alone. Once you turn on the key, it will illuminate the

other side of the face and cast definite shadows. By moving the key through positions A,

B, and C we create three classifications of lighting.

Frontal lighting setups have the key light in position A, close to the camera/subject axis,

so that shadows are largely thrown backward out of the camera’s view.

Broad lighting setups have the key light in position B so that a broad area of the subject’s

face and body is highlighted by the key.

Narrow lighting setups have the key light in position C to the side of the subject, and

perhaps even beyond, so that only a narrow portion of the face receives highlighting.

Most of the face is in shadow and depends on fill for an exposure.

Calculate lighting ratio by measuring light reflected in the highlight area and comparing

it with that from the fill area. When taking measurements remember that fill light reaches

the highlight area but not vice versa, so you can only take accurate readings with all

lights on.

Back lighting setups have the key light coming from above and behind the subject,

picking out the body outline and putting highlights in the hair and profile. Some

additional fill would make this an acceptable lighting setup for an interview.

In silhouette lighting the subject reflects no light at all and shows up as an outline against

raw light. This setup is useful when the subject’s identity must be withheld.