Rainbow Storyboard

Here is the storyboard for my outdoor shoot. Like I mentioned earlier it involves a guy spying a rainbow and running towards it. He runs through trees and flower beads only to find a mildly attractive girl at the end of the rainbow.

Rainbow Recce

I did a little recce of the park where I plan on filming. I took a few photos and have also printed out a map from Google satellite so I can show where they are on the map. Some numbers may appear to be left out. I've done this deliberatly as I later felt they were unecessary.

Somewhere Over the Rainbow

I had been planning on doing an outdoor daytime shoot for a while seeing as it's an area I don't know a lot about. By doing it I'll gain new experience in shooting in difficult varying light conditions. I'll also most probably need to use some reflectors and flagging and I haven't done all that much with either so that'll be some more useful experience. Finally the film will also consist of a short bit of dialogue at the end so I'll get a chance to practice editing dialogue and recording wildtracks.

My idea involves a man seeing a rainbow in the distance, running after it with the view to getting to the end and meeting the anticlimax of a sort of attractive girl who's totally up for getting with him, it is the end of a rainbow after all! He initially feels a little dissatisfied but then he realises that he's got nothing better to do and the film ends with him disrobing. For added comic effect and for ease of casting we'll have a guy in obvious drag playing the part of the girl. It's basically commenting on how guys can be perfectly happy with "anticlimactic romance" and that they usually aren't as fussed as women would like them to be about idealistic "end of the rainbow" lovemaking.

The below music video is actually a music video I crewed on. The scene towards the start of the video involving the soldiers walking away from the battle scene is the kind of thing I'm looking to emulate: a journey across what looks like quite a distance.

Lens Tests

I thought I'd familiarise myself with lenses more so I took some out and had a play. I took out a 10-22mm lens and had a look at what it looks like at 10mm, 12mm, 14mm, 17mm, 20mm and 22mm and compared depths of field between 10mm, 17mm, and 22mm. I also took out a 180mm lens to compare how that looks against the 6 wide lenses. I didn't take anything in the middle (50mm) as that is too close to normal vision and I felt that for now, learning the difference between wide and long lenses would be sufficient.

Mime debrief

Here is the finished product for "Dawn of Mime". Overall I'm pleased with the result. Not only have I put my lighting and tracking skills into practice but I have made a piece of work that I would happily place in an exhibition. I have done some tweaking in post to brighten it up a little as well as adding a vignette.

There are some things that need to be worked on.

Firstly my previsualisation skills need to be worked on. My rudimentary storyboards were not as helpful as they should have been as when it came to shooting it turned out that I had miss-judged compositions as well as how easily some shots would be obtained. The biggest culprit was the opening tracking shot which couldn't be obtained from low enough, hence our having to divert from the storyboard. Also when it came to editing I found usable shots scarce. This was simply a case of not shooting a enough of a wide variety. When I was storyboarding everything felt fine of course and I spent at least an afternoon on it all. Knowing what I know now, it looks like I'll have to be more thorough in my consideration of angles and composition.

My second gripe, which is only really a minor one is to do with my lighting. I should have used less soft light and done more tests for this specific scene. This I think would have resulted in a more professional look. Of course this shoot was partly a test anyway and it's not like I could expect to get things perfect first time so that is why it is only a minor gripe. I have still learnt a lot and made a decent piece of work.

Now that I've just had my interim crit I have fresh information and ideas regarding my independent practice. I am in a position to look back on what I have learnt and take a view on what my next moves should be, i.e where the gaps need to be filled. So far I have acquired a basic knowledge of lighting and grip equipment. To compliment this I plan on making three more micro films, this includes completing my high speed idea. The two new films that I have in mind are an outdoor shoot and a scene set round a table with three players, i.e a typical dialogue scene.

I also plan on doing some lens tests. By this I simply mean comparing a variety of lenses so as to become familiar enough with them in order to be able to fluidly decide on the right lens for the job when working on set.

The Dawn of Mime

To piece together what I've learnt about lighting so far, I'm going to make a micro short. This one minute idea will combine the use of close-ups, hard and soft light, staging for three players and tracking skills.

After a little musing and tea drinking I came up with the following concept.

The proposed film - The Dawn of Mime - will be spoofing a scene from the film 2001: A Space Odyssey. It will involve three mimes inquisitively approaching a PS3 and then miming playing on it. The idea/joke is that it is the next stage in man's evolution; his ability to amuse himself without electricity. Below is a storyboard and lighting plan.

The first four images are of a setup that I quickly realised probably wouldn't work, due to the amount of space left for actors and the direction of the light so it basically starts all over again with the set of images on the second piece of paper. The first two images on this piece are actually part of one long tracking shot.

In the back of my mind I had this video as a guideline for a lighting style. As a music video I think it's absolutely awful; pretty boring and budget with no real eye-grabbing qualities. However its one positive feature is its clever lighting with what looks like just one keylight. This produces the very nice effect of strong chiaroscuro on the subject; they are well fashioned by light, showing clear tonal contrasts with smooth transitions from light to dark. This is probably why they chose this lighting technique for this video as they clearly had little budget so they thought they would use a simple and reliable technique to make a presentable piece of work in a flash.

Testing Big Things

Shot by shot by Steven D. Katz talks briefly about the crane and tracking shots.

Seeing as we rarely see the world from such angles the crane shot is the least naturalistic shot as it is capable of movement in many directions. This makes them inherently majestic and whatever the subject our attention is usually held. It is good as an establishing shot as it introduces us to the geography of the scene. On the other hand it can be used for very subjective shots too in that it can follow a walking subject closely. Seeing as it can move to pretty much any position, especially when placed on a track, it can be tempting for the director to make it slavishly follow the subject which is often unnecessary and can look clumsy. The crane can also come into use for when a director wants to achieve a quick succession of shots in different areas of the environment that would normally require multiple moves of a tripod.

The tracking shot is similar to the crane shot in that it can be used to follow a subject or explore space. Deciding on whether to use a tracking shot has a lot to do with the point of view of the scene and the appropriate emotional distance between the viewer and the subject.

Common tracking uses/principles:

• To introduce a subject or location: this works with both tracking into and out of a close up of the subject; an intimate view of a subject and it's environment can all be shown within one shot.
• To follow a moving subject, especially common when following a walking subject.
• Tracking towards or away from a subject to highlight the increasing or decreasing gravitas of the subject.
• Tracking around a subject: to draw attention away from the characters as individuals so that we will evaluate the situation as a whole.
• Combining an interior and exterior shot into one: this can work well when shooting through windows.
• The tracking camera intensifies our perception of space for any angle.
• When following subjects at fixed distances the angle of the shot doesn't change however if the camera approaches or retreats from the subject the angle of view may change.

When editing tracking shots remember:

• A tracking shot can be time consuming and the director can be put in a position of gambling the success of a scene on a single moving shot.
• A static shot can't be inserted easily into a tracking shot of the same action.
• Jump cuts appear less pronounced and jarring when made between tracking shots.
• Continuity is still dependent on the same types of compositional and editing strategies that promote smooth shot flow in a series of static shots.

I haven't really done any track and dolly work, let alone used a crane so a group of us (all with a similar amount of inexperience) decided to get some kit out and play around.

Here is an example of how the tracking shot is used to highlight the increasing gravitas of a scene. As you can see we did a fair few takes.

Here's a little playing around we did with the crane. We filmed a monologue. The idea is to slowly bring the viewer closer to the words and increase their attention to them. It later struck me that the words are a little rude so I had to get rid of them.

I think that the perfect example of how the tracking shot should be used is this one from Stanley Kubrick's The Shining. A slow track pretty much by definition creates anticipation. That combined with the creepy music and the frantic sound of a typewriter (when does a typewriter not sound frantic?) creates one of the most iconiclly spooky shots in cinema. This sense of spook is added to by the pysical attributes of the scene; created by things like the beams in the ceiling and the slow revealing of either side of the other half of the room.

Big Batch of Tests

After spending so long reading and noting my book on lighting, I was eager to get on with actually trying out the techniques outlined. I got out a load of kit and had a play around. Below are the numbered lighting plans and their respective shots of fifteen different setups. I got two classmates to help me out.

I had at my disposal:

3 800w readheads.

1 kinoflow.

Sony XD cam and lens adapter with 50mm prime lens.

A large whiteboard to use as a reflector.

A projector screen to use as a reflector.

A tripod.

1. This was the first part of basic three point lighting; using just a keylight. This makes for a great deal of shadow on one side of the face especially seeing as I'm using hard light.

2. Now I added a fill on the other side of the face at a similar angle and distance, note the drop in shadow.

3. Now I've added a kicker (a backlight but to the side) to bring out some definition and to separate the subject from the background.

4. The following three are just like the first three but as close-ups.

5.

6.

7. The final one of this series uses just a backlight to provide a little glow on his hair and then I go on to lower it to directly behind his head so that it produces illumination from all around the back and sides.

8. This uses reflectors to create soft light that spreads wide. There is a key to the subject's left coming from a bounced readhead and a reflector on the right about a metre from the subject as well as fill coming from a bounced readhead on a large projector screen about five metres away on the other side.

9. This is exactly the same as before only now the whole setup is moved closer to the projector screen by about three meters, thus using the inverse square law to make the light to the subject's right more intense and thus provide more fill.

10. This is now much simpler, using only a readhead bounced off a reflector as a keylight.

11. This is the same as before but with bounced fill from a readhead off the projector screen about five metres away.

12. Next I started using the kino fluorescent light. Here it is about a meter from the subject's face at varying angles. As you can see this provides instant soft light that wraps around the subject.

13. Now we've added a practical on the other side, thus changing the key. However because the light isn't powerful enough, on camera a readhead about a meter away is needed to act as the real key. It is carefully placed to look as if the light is still coming from the practical. We also have some fill coming from the other side via a kino about a meter away.

14 + 15 . In these last two setups we've got a practical and a redhead providing the real key.

We later realised that it wasn't providing much light and actually made things look worse! The second setup adds a kino for some fill on the foreground.

High Speed Test

To test whether or not the toys would key out properly, as well as how they would look on camera, I did a little trial run with them and a couple of lights. Seeing as it was only a test we didn't bother to light the green-screen fully - it takes a lot of light to make things show up well on a high speed camera. This is why the toys are only properly visible in a small area, which is fine because that's the only area we were lighting properly anyway. It doesn't matter all that much as we can light it fully on the day and we now know that the toys will key out nicely when lit properly.

High Speed Idea

Because we're fortunate enough to have access to a high speed camera at our college, I thought it would be silly if I didn't try it out before I left. Seeing as the majority of subjects look cool when shot with the high speed camera, it's all too easy to just shoot any old thing for the sake of eye candy. I felt I should show a little more ability as a filmmaker and give this short film some kind of a story so here's the idea I had.

Boy drinking milkshake sees something out of the corner of his eye and turns and stares desiringly at subject.

Girl does likewise.

The two milkshakes drop simultaneously.

They kiss, whilst behind them kinder egg toys fly up and from beneath and fall back down.

O.k yes it still is eye candy but then that's what high speed filmmaking is all about. I had a large bag of kinder egg toys sitting in my room and so I thought they had to be used for something decent. If all goes well the toys should add a certain stylish comical campness to it all.

Staging For Three Players

Film Directing, Shot by Shot by Steven D. Katz goes on to discuss staging with three subjects.

With two subjects the only possible pattern is the "I" pattern. With an extra subject one can make the "A" and "L" patterns.

Here is an example of an A pattern. The two policemen being the two bottom corners of a letter A and the man they are questioning being the top. When the fourth player enters the scene the pattern changes. If the scene involved say one of the policemen alternating between talking with the man behind the counter and his fellow officer then the scene would be an L pattern.

Of course these patterns are rarely as clearly defined in most shots and as we can see below, what with the introduction of other players and the placement of the camera, there can be a fine line between A and L setups. So here are a few common stagings.

"L" pattern round the corner of a table

"L" pattern: two players in car, looking out towards one outside the car.

"A" pattern: two players facing one player on the other side of the table.

"A" pattern: three players, one on each side of a square table.

"A" pattern: one player is on a different level.

Staging Dialogue

The book Shot by Shot: Visualizing From Concept to Screen by Steven D. Katz has some good pointers on staging dialogue.

He says that there are two goals for the director:

The honest expression of human relationships and the presentation of these relationships to the viewer.

The issue at stake here is how to predict in three-dimensional space what will work on a two dimensional screen.

Remember the following:

• Cinematic "vision" relies on spatial memory and recognition skills.
• Five areas to staging: staging stationary actors, staging moving actors, using depth of frame, staging camera movement, staging camera movement and actor movement together.
• Most standing arrangements in the movies are basically frontal; subjects tend to face the camera instead of each other.
• If an actor is turned away from the camera (partially or completely) more than one camera angle is necessary to see both actors' faces.
• The master shot is wide enough to include all the actors in the scene.
• A sequence shot is a moving shot where the camera is repositioned with a dolly throughout the course of the scene as opposed to using separate shots at different angles. It respects frontally more because editing links shots that are opposed by as much as 180 degrees and this change of angle would be near impossible to do quickly within one long shot.
• The shot, reverse shot pattern allows us to see the subjects isolated reaction to the dialogue, lets us see the point of view changes in the scene and it establishes and eye-line match between one character and another for spacial unity.
• The closer the sight line is to the camera the more intimate our contact with the actor will be.
• There are three basic patterns for figure placing in a frame: "A", "I" and "L". These are the letters that grouped players resemble when viewed from above. They are the simplest form of arrangement of actors to the line of action.
• The pattern for two players is pretty much the basic building block of any conversation scene.

Below are some examples of basic staging. Different examples will of course be used for different types of conversation scenes. Examples 8.a and 8.b would be good to show two players who are at this point emotionally quite distanced from each other, whilst 2.c is good for making the viewer have a more intimate relationship with the viewer and the dialogue

1: Simple face to face.

2.a,b,c: over the shoulder shots and over the shoulder close up (c).

3.a,b: low angle, like over the shoulder but at the hip.

4.a, b: shoulder to shoulder.

5.a, b: subjects are facing 90 degrees from each other.

6.a,b,c: subject in foreground faces away from other subject. Other subject faces the foreground subject's back. Cutting to close ups of both.

7. Both subjects facing in same direction, one behind the other.

8. Both subjects facing away.

Exposure

Here is a little basic noting I did on exposure from Cinematography: Theory and Practice by Blain Brown.

• Light is measured in foot candles (fc) or lux. A foot-candle is the light from a standard candle at a distance of one foot. One lux is the illumination produced by one standard candle from a distance of 1 meter. Typical T.V studios are about 1000 lux or 99 foot candles whilst a bright office has about 400 lux of illumination or 40 foot candles.
• The f/stop controls the size of the aperture on a camera and it measures in stops, a stop being a unit of light measurement. An increase in the amount of light by one stop means that there is twice as much light. A decrease of one stop mean that there is half as much light.
• F/stop numbers are actually fractions as they describe the ratio of the lens' focal length to the diameter of the entrance pupil so f/8 actually means 1/8; the diameter is 1/8 the focal length.
• Light becomes more intense, the closer one is to the light source. For example if the lamp is 10 feet from a subject increasing the distance from the subject to 16 feet will decrease illumination by two stops. This is called the inverse square law.

Below is what happened when I decided to play around with exposure. I set up my subject with an 800w readhead, five foot up, about 12ft away at an angle of about 30 degrees to his right. I started at f/2.8 and worked down in half stops to f/5.6. The light was also set to flood and the camera was set to 1080/25p with a 1/60 shutter speed.

I then did the same but this time with another 800w light. This time 5 feet up, about 10 feet from the subject and about 5 degrees to the subject's left.

After doing these shots I realized it wasn't about trying different exposures it was more about learning how to find the correct exposure.

• With incorrect exposure: the shadows may appear too bright and the highlights will appear too bright or "blown out" or the shadows will be too dark and not show enough detail and the highlights will appear too dark and only be a grey midtone.
• Correct exposure is about setting the f/stop so that it sits directly between the brightest highlight and the darkest shadow. Of course in scenes where the highlights and shadows are far apart this becomes problematic.
• A typical scene has seven stops of brightness; a contrast ratio of seven. Part of a cinematographer's job is ensuring that there is a suitable contrast ratio and setting the f/stop in the middle.
• Controlling the contrast is therefore mostly in the lighting techniques (hence why I bought that book).
• A good thing to remember is that white caucasian skin is usually about one stop lighter than the middle of the greyscale of a scene.

Here is a trailer for film Archipelago. The film is pretty poorly lit, especially for a full length feature. The whites are frequently blown out/close to being blown out and there are large patches of darkness in all the wrong places. The entire film is lit very flatly too. This film is of course designed to be highly realistic, capturing family life as we know it and the lighting does go well with the realism. In this film there are no great hurdles to overcome or crises to battle with, there are only a variety of disputes and discomforts, i.e a realistic representation of modern family life. I for one can't stand the lighting, it just makes me feel uncomfortable and tense. I suppose also that I probably don't like it because it goes hand in hand with the script which is so realistic it's boring and ultimately pretentious.

Lighting Low-Budget Locations, Part 2

Here is a diagram and description of a scene shot by the author of Lighting for Digital Video and Television. This was lit with two 650 watt fresnels. The key light is diffused with the barn doors cutting the light from the walls. The other light is bounced off the ceiling. A backlight is unnecessary as the players are wearing white headgear.

Using existing light is very important for low budget filmmaking, mostly because it's free. It is of the upmost importance that you scout the location at different times to see what the natural light is like in the morning, afternoon and before sunset. Always try and rearrange the light with reflectors or mirrors instead of lighting with a large natural light source present.

In the above video apart from the already available light, the steadycam shots of the boys rapping directly into the camera were lit with nothing but one handheld LED light held by another crew member directly behind the camera about head height pointing down. This added the needed definition to the subject(s). I think it works really well as it brings out the subject just the right amount.

Lighting Low-Budget Locations, Part 1

Lighting for Digital Video and Television by John Jackman has a very good chapter on lighting low-budget locations. Here's the first chunk.

Usually it's a lot cheaper to find a workable location than build a set however this has the disadvantages of being cramped, having little power e.t.c. Low budget filming is therefore all about compromise and being able to adapt. The following are some useful points that will help in low budget shooting.

• Use close ups, they are easier to light and cheaper in every department literally: fewer costumes, fewer extras, less makeup e.t.c.

• If it's not necessary to the shoot and it costs money, why bother?

• Less is more: establish a low level base fill for the room and then concentrate on lighting the actors.

• Less is enough: cameras are far more sensitive to light these days so you can often use lower than 1ks and 2ks.

• Keep it simple, adding lights will usually require more light to counter it or even it out.

• Make walls interesting with cookies and lamps that cast interesting shadows. Just don't put a lot of light on to the walls.

• Don't be afraid of shadows, it's fine for actors to walk through them just don't have them delivering important lines there.

• Make use of natural light, it could well look natural!

• Balance is everything. It's not so much about the amount of light as much as it is about the balance of light sources.

• Expose to the middle of the iris f/4 or f/5.6. At f/8 or f/12 you have too much light unless you are looking for a shallow depth of field or there is too much light coming through a window.

Here's the ultimate example of low budget lighting. Michael Winterbottom's nine songs was lit entirely with available light on location. Here it fits perfectly with its attempt to have a low key vibe and capture a sense of realism and familiarity.

Daytime Exteriors

Lighting for Digital Video and Television has a similar section on outdoor lighting tips...

There are more complex difficulties when lighting outdoors simply because you can't control the sun. Clear days are too contrasty and overcast days don't provide enough contrast. The sun will act as a hard light source on clear days and will be at its worst at midday what with the inherent ugliness of direct overhead lighting. The most forgiving day you can hope for is one where there is just a little cloud to diffuse the light but not too much.

Quite often you will just have too much light in all the wrong places. Use reflectors, beadoard and white card to act as keys, fills or backlights and redirect the light. In areas where the light needs to be softened or taken down a notch, nets and diffusion fabric should be placed accordingly to absorb the rays.

On an overcast day one wants to create contrast as grey light is coming from all angles. You'll either want to add light or take it away. Adding light will of course consist of either adding an actual light such as an HMI or using more reflectors. The second option is to create negative light using a large black flag placed close to the subject off camera. This will block light from one side as well as absorbing any light coming from the other direction.

Darkness

Lighting for Digital Film and Television goes into lighting dark scenes specifically.

Lighting Darkness: Interiors

First consider what is going to be visible and what is going to pass through into shadow. Usually you don't want areas of flat black, you want most of the room to "read" with vague shapes and shadows. For areas where the action passes into shadow you'll be wanting an appropriately sized slash of light. This works best if the light looks like it is coming in through a door or a window but unexplained slashes of light are acceptable too. Another method of illuminating a dark interior is with a moonlight kicker which is a kicker at a low level coloured blue for moonlight usually made to cast befitting mullion shadows. A tweak on this method is to light the subject fully and then light the rest of the room with that same moonlight technique, this time using a cookie to break up the light. Finally there may be cases were light will be coming from a practical in the scene. In this case light so as to make it look as if the source is the practical.

Lighting Darkness: Exteriors

This is similar to interiors, usually you just need more light power to illuminate the dark areas so that the camera can read them. In the above photo there is a large amount of fill light as well as light on the subject. The camera of course picks up the light as moonlight and there is just enough light to read the background.

Another huge help is smoke or mist. This gives the blue light almost physical presence in the frame by catching the light and showing it in more obvious areas. Just make sure your light is blue; the Hollywood vernacular we accept as "night".

9 Steps to Lighting a Scene

Here is a step by step guide to the entire process of lighting a scene in a film as opposed to say an interview or a speech. This is once again via Lighting for Digital Video and Television by John Jackman.

1. Lay out a lighting diagram.

Here is where you blueprint your lighting decisions and lay out the fictional and real lighting sources on the set. You consider all the info that describes the scene, acquired from the script or via the director or production designer, and you plan out how you are going to light the scene.

2. Establish action, close-ups, and mood.

You must frame the main shots by establishing the main action of the scene and the mood. You'll have to liaise with the actors for this and get them to stand on their various marks.

3. Establish exposure.

Set an exposure on the camera depending on desired depth of field or possibly an uncontrollable light source and light to that.

4. Begin setting key lights.

Considering your diagram set appropriate keys. If for example you are shooting in a room with a central chandelier, keys should be pointed so they radiate out from the chandelier.

5. Watch for problem shadows.

To keep shadow problems to a minimum, keep actors well away from walls. Also look out for plants or other such shaped things that will cast oddly shaped shadows.

6. Create accent lighting.

This is any lighting that breaks up the flat featureless feel and ads realistic texture such as the light from a venetian blind or the flicker of a fire. It's not unusual to have unexplained dashes of light just to break up a boring wall.

7. Bring in fill.

This will all depend on the look you're going for. Don't worry about the fill being consistent across a set, light varies in different parts of real rooms anyway. Just make sure it bares logical relation to the imaginary lighting plan.

8. Add shadows.

Done with flags, nets and other lighting controls they direct the eye to brighter areas of the picture usually the human face. Or to not draw attention to an area of the picture.

9. Control hot spots.

What with the inverse square law and actors moving, unexpected hot spots can pop up. To combat this carefully placed nets or a scrim can solve the problem.

Solving Common Lighting Problems

Lighting for Digital Video and Television by John Jackman has highlighted a number of common problems as well as tips for solving them.

Always look out for hotspots. These are areas of fully blown out white which are often reflections on shiny surfaces. With digital, one must be extra vigilant as unlike film there is no gentle rolloff in the gamma curve. This translates into a soft edge into the over exposed area. Over exposed areas will apear as flat solid and white with no detail. Most broadcasters will be leanient with very tiny hot spots though. Allthough they are spotted by the camera zebra display, most good D.Ps can spot them by eye.

The simplest solultion is of course to remove the offending item. After that a slight tweak of the lighting angle can usually fix the problem. The most popular answer is dulling spray which creates a temporary matte finish which can be easily cleaned off most surfaces. In other cases the principles already coverd for controlling light such as diffusion or flagging may be the answer.

The glint caused by eyeglasses is so common and they are in fact a whole new ball game. As the eyes are so important for conveying meaning in cinema you can see why they need to be completely unobstructed. A common answer is to ask the actor to wear contact lenses and then have them wear flat glass in the frames. The fancy alternative is to have something called AR coating applied to the lenses. There are still many more ways for getting around this problem, you've just got to see which ones work for your situation.

Light sources in the frame (known as practicals) are a large hurdle to get across as they create a contrast range that is way outside what the camera can take. Here are the various ways one can get around the problem.

• Lamps with lower wattage bulbs.
• Using dimmers (they dim).
• Paper inside the lampshade.
• Neutral Density Gel.

When lighting somone with a darker complexion just remember all the contrast range rules and principles behind directing and manipulating light. So diffused light, flagging and reflectors can be used to keep hard light away from the face. Another idea is by using the inverse square law to try and make the person of darker complexion further from the light.

Especially in outdoor situations there can be too much light in all the wrong places; highlights are too hot and shadows are too pronounced. Obviously the idea is to bring down the contrast ratio by bringing in lights for a fill or redistributing the light already there. There are times when both are requried but obviously the latter is the more stylish and cheap. A good knowledge of where the sun will be and at what kind of intensity and temperature, will be the most important thing to bear in mind.

The last major common problem that one will have to deal with (and this is a common problem) is different colour temperatures in the scene. You shouldn't have to worry about this in a studio environent but on location, say in a large office with flourecent lighting that can't be turned off and sunlight coming through the windows, no white balance will satisfy both sources so you'll have to find ways around things.

There are a number of solutions.

• ND Gel for the windows.
• Shoot when strong sunlight isn't coming through the windows or when overcast.
• Balance with a filter

Variations on Basic Lighting

Here's what Lighting for Digital Video and Television by John Jackman has to say about other variations on the three point setup.

A key and a kicker 180 degrees apart and off axis can be good for an interview. Varying the angles slightly as well as where the reflector is bouncing light from will give different feels to this setup. For an even quicker setup but with just as much potential for a professional look you could loose the second light and just use the reflector to add fill. This works best with a soft light as it wraps around the subject far more.

To take this idea further and go truely minimalsit we can just use the soft light close to the subject on one side and a nearby white wall on the other to bounce light back. A flag may be necessary to keep light off the background wall.

Good lighting is all about imagination and improvisation. Be prepared to use techniques such as using just natural light and a reflector or say using two kickers instead of a backlight.

The Basic Lighting Setup

This again is via Lighting for Digital Video and Television by John Jackman.

Just remember...

Start with the key,

Set the fill to illuminate shadowed areas,

Set a backlight to seperate the subject from the background.

In a typical T.V setup the keylight is the onside key: the side near the camer but off axis for modeling. The light is also placed above the subject but not too high, going into the face of the subject to avoid ugly shadows. The fill light is usually about the same height on the side away from the camera. The backlight is directly behind and above the subject pointed at the back of the head and shoulders.

This setup is just a base though. In practice all kinds of tweaking is necsessary depending on what you are shooting. Frequently the backlight should be off axis untill it's more like a kicker "from the side". You might want to reverse the key and fill, rotate the whole setup round the subject, add some diffusion. The posibilites are endless and of course should be played around with to get a feel for it all.

A few things to remember in three point lighting:

• Adding diffusion reduces intensity so you may need to move the light with diffusion closer to subject to compensate.
• Background should usually be a stop lower than the subject.
• Avoid shooting in front of a white wall at all costs.
• For maximum control use a fourth light on the background.
• The height of the light, especially the key should be between 45 and 75 degrees (1.30-2.30).