A cinematographer is a master of lighting. He knows where the light is coming from, how intense it needs to be and what mood it creates. He works very closely with the director and the gaffer to create the perfect balance of light. A few things a cinematographer considers when setting up lights are movement, placement, intensity and color. Here is how they work:
Movement: When light moves, it can mean a number of things. A character could be approaching a scene, a light could be “going out” which could create a creepy basement interrogation scene, or it could be something along the lines of a dance party or perhaps a rave of some kind. Maybe flashes are needed to mimic paparazzi taking pictures, in which case a lot of movement is needed as that could consist of a bunch of consecutive flashes from all over the frame.
Placement: The placement of lights is very important because any wrong placement and light leaking out of any cracks can create a whole new effect and destroy the one you’re trying to create. Light coming from places it shouldn’t looks fake and unbelievable. The best way to deal with light placement is to just intensify the practical lights (meaning those that are seen in a house)-putting the lights already given at a location on a dimmer control can do this. Think about where lights are normally seen and how bright they are when you’re out looking around and this will help you understand light better and recreate believable situations.
Lighting your actors appropriately is also very important because where the light is placed will cast different shadows on their faces. The lower the light, the more ominous someone will look and also keeping them in half light and half shadow-not revealing their whole face. If you think of a light as a little sun and then shine it on your actors according to the time of day you’re trying to mimic, thinking about the angle of the sun during that time of day will also help you manipulate the light to your liking. Protagonists tend to get lit brighter and their eyes are shown more to the audience to keep a connection. The antagonists tend to be darker lit and their eyes are not seen as much so the audience doesn’t feel as connected to them and they seem less trustworthy.
Intensity: Light intensity can make things look different and hide objects and even wrinkles in shadows. I once had an actress ask me to turn the light down a little because she thought she looked better in the lower lighting-and she was right-it took away some of her wrinkles and made her look a little younger and thinner. It was after this encounter that this lesson stuck with me. Just like black clothes give you the illusion of looking thinner, less light also makes you look thinner and younger. If you notice, in films you will see that antagonists are shown in darker lighting because shadowy figures represent someone evil or unapproachable to people. Protagonists are better lit and you can see more of their face because someone who’s eyes you can fully see seems more trustworthy and approachable.
Intensity can also be used to represent times of the day. Obviously it’s not going to be bright outside at 10PM, so you’ll need to use dimmer lights and add some color to them. A scene with a romantic dinner would use dimmer lights as opposed to a reenactment of a football game at night. Each scene calls for a realistic intensity of light and your job as a cameraman or cinematographer is to find that realistic balance. A good idea is to take note of the light around you in every day situations-see how intense the light is, where it’s coming from and what color it emits. This will help you create more realistic lighting situations in the movies you make.
Color: The color of the light also creates mood and helps the audience understand time of day and whether the character(s) are inside or outside. Inside light tends to be more orange or tungsten, and outside light tends to be bluer.
Once you fully understand these concepts, putting them all together and creating a specific mood, time and place becomes easier and more fun as time goes on and you learn more. Each project presents more obstacles to overcome and packs more creativity into your head of never-ending learning. With each set comes new people and new ideas to share and learn. The cameraman is always learning and growing with each project.
See what’s behind the obligation of the TV show lighting camera person at Mark Cella‘s site.
categories: lighting,photography,filming,cameraman,tv shows