● Need to consider to ensure mise-en-scene is visible, set mood, & manipulate how things

are shown
● Different lighting for different genres, scenes, atmospheres, e.g.
○ Comedy: clear, bright, usually natural
○ Horror: low, illuminates subject & keeps background dark to heighten suspense,
stark shadows
● Available light sources:
○ Natural
■ Sunlight
■ Fire
○ Artificial: electricity
■ Professional film equipment
■ Fire / candle
■ Room
■ Streetlights
■ Car
● Film lighting made us believe yellow, warm lighting = sun/daytime while blue lighting =
night
● Single source/beam of light will always shine harder light (e.g. tungsten light w/ 1 beam
vs flat light w/ multiple beams (Pak Peter’s equipment))
○ E.g. sun: single beam - hard light; diffused by clouds - soft/er light
Ultimate Guide to Cinematic Lighting — Types of Light & Gear Explained [Shot List Ep. 12]
● Lighting can provide insights into character
● Decisions made primarily by DoP (determines how scenes are to be lit) & gaffer
(executes lighting setup & gear)
● Ambient lighting: any on location that crew didn’t bring, e.g. street lamps, neon signs,
moon
● Practical: any light source seen in frames, ambient or placed by gaffer
● Motivated: logical or reasonable justification for light in a scene — practical often exist
just to justify this
● Lumens: measurement of how much light a source produces
● Lux / footcandles: measures how much ^ light hits surface
● Reflective light: amount of light that hits the camera
● Amount of light dependent on strength of source & position in relation to subject
● Light fallout: as soon as light leaves source it begins to lose intensity — can predict
1
account of loss w/ inverse square law (𝑖𝑛𝑡𝑒𝑛𝑠𝑖𝑡𝑦 = 2 → every time we double
𝑑𝑖𝑠𝑡𝑎𝑛𝑐𝑒
distance away from source, light reduced by 75%)
● Color temp needs to be considered — measured in thermodynamic units, Kelvins (K)
● Daylight bluer than most artificial light by 5600 K
○ Can be imitated by artificial light sources w/ same temp
● Tungsten lights: common artificial source w/ color temp of 3200 K (but can vary w/
source)
● Mixing can add variety of temp/color w/ tungsten lights adding orange & daylight adding
blue
● Lighting terms:
○ Exposure: amount of light that reaches light sensor in lens
○ Aperture: adjustable mechanism that determines how much light enters lens
■ Various sizes measured in f-stops (f/1.4, f/2.8, f/4, f/8, f/11, f/16, f/22, …)
■ Each f-stop doubles light or reduces by half
○ T-stops: common setting in camera settings to measure how much light hits
sensor
○ Contrast ratio/range: latitude - how balance & relationship b/n light & shadow is
expressed; how we measure light & shadow in 2 areas of an image, usually b/n 2
sides of subject’s face or b/n subject & background
■ Cam’s w/ higher latitudes usually more expensive cuz can capture images
in lower light
○ High-key lighting: low contrast ratio where background & subject lit evenly w/
minimal contrast
■ Usually used in lighter, happier scenes
○ Low-key lighting: high contrast ratio where difference b/n light & shadow much
greater, subject & background stand out against one another
■ Usually used for darker, more dramatic & tense scenes
○ Chiaroscuro: type of low-key lighting w/ high contrast ratio — seen most
frequently in film noir to enhance mysterious & dangerous qualities
○ Hard light: more directional light that creates stark shadows
■ Works best in more dramatic or tense scenes
○ Soft light: more diffused & generates less intense shadows
■ Often for happier or romantic scenes
■ Usually best during magic hour or golden hour (just before sunset & just
after sunrise when sunlight less harsh & more colorful)
○ Dumb side / broadside: lighting side of subject closer to cam often givins ubject
more approachable feeling
○ Smart side / shortside: lighting side of subject that isn’t facing cam, giving subject
more dramatic look
○ Lens flare: created when light hits lens — shapes & colors depends on lens
○ Bokeh: out of focus elements in shot, typically points of light that often add
romantic or painterly texture to image
● Lighting gear:
○ Tungsten
○ Daylight: usually achieved w/ HMI lights, stronger than tungsten
○ Fluorescent: offer soft, cool light
○ Kino Flos: banks of tube lights adjustable to various temps
○ LED lights: provide high amount of ctrl of color & strength
○ Gels: thin, plastic sheets that come in assortment of colors, help
cinematographers achieve desired hues
 ○ Light meter: measure amount of incidental light hitting subject which informs
exposure settings on cam
■ Some models have spot meter - allows to pinpoint exact part of image for
exposure
■ Many cams also have different modes to measure the reflective light
actually reaching lens
■ Other ways to measure light: waveforms, histograms, & false color
○ Diffusion: when semi-translucent material placed b/n light source & subject,
scattering light to make it softer; can be done w/
■ Softboxes: use translucent cloths placed in front of light
■ Diffusion paper: can achieve similar effect
■ Silks: for larger sources
■ Clouds, fog, dust, smoke: natural
■ Reflectors: bounces light to create diffusion & redirect light — come in
variety of colors & textures, each bringing unique type of diffusion (e.g.
bead board & foam core)
● White: softens light
● Silver: reflects hard light
● Mirror: reflects v/ hard light
● Gold: adds gold hue to warm up lighting
● Diffuser: set in front of hard light to change to soft
○ Neutral density gels: can be attached to light or applied to windows to reduce
sunlight
○ Flags: opaque boards, shape & block unwanted light
○ Barn doors: adjustable flaps on light source w/ similar function to
○ Egg crates: direct light & help it from spilling into unwanted areas
○ Cuculoris / ‘Cookies’: boards w/ patterns cut into them to create dappled effect &
texture to light, when placed in front of it
○ Light stands: poles that mount & position light sources
○ C-stands: also mount & position lights, can also set up diffusion, flags, &
reflectors, or any equipment
Ultimate Guide to Cinematic Lighting Pt. 2 — How to Light Subjects and Locations
● Styles & lighting setups:
○ Single subject: comes down to intention - how are they feeling, what do we want
audience to know abt their emotional state — most common:
■ 3-point lighting: 3 light sources directed at subject:
light, key light, backlight
● Key light: primary & strongest
● Fill light: fills in shadows created by ^; usually less strong & more
diffused — v/ dim or non-existent in low-key lighting; closer in
strength to key light in high-contrast lighting
○ Negative fill: process of blocking any unwanted fill light to
increase contrast
○ Difference b/n fill affects contrast ratio
● Backlight: positioned behind subject, creates rim of light around
their edges, separating them from background; types:
 ○ Edge lights or kickers focus on particular area of subject
○ Hair lights: usually angled down on subject’s hair to create
highlights
○ Catchlights / eyelights: tiny reflections of light source in
eyes which help give them depth
○ Image: https://www.studiobinder.com/blog/three-point-lighting-setup/
● Type of 3pL - Rembrandt lighting: placing key light slightly higher
& dimming fill light, creating signature triangle of light on darker
side of subject’s face
● Butterfly / paramount lighting: 2 lights: key light placed directly in
front of subject at high angle creates butterfly shaped shadow
under subject’s nose for glamorous shots that hide & smooth over
imperfections
● Loop lighting: similar to ^, but light set at 45° angle from subject’s
face & placed just above eye line — can seem to lengthen
subject’s face so often used on actors w/ oval-shaped faces
● Split lighting: key light hitting half of subject w/o key light, creating
dramatic effect, often for air of mystery
● Overhead: positions light over head of actor, can be used to
obscure eyes; amplifies bone structure
● Underlighting: places light under eyes to create unnatural-looking
shadows in face, often used in old horror films; can also amplify
bone structure
○ Multiple subject: must consider where attention should be focused — who is
supposed to stand out; should all be lit equally?
■ Typically, all characters in frame have key, fill, & back light, but no need
for separate lights for each — w/ smart blocking & light positioning, 1 light
can act as key light for 2 or more characters, or key for 1 & fill for another
● Cross-key / back cross: positioning light behind subjects act as
key for 1 character & backlight for other — esp useful for DIY
projects w/ multiple cam’s & few light sources
● Lighting locations
○ Ext. day: must be keenly aware of time of day; for most cinematographers,
shooting w/ sun directly on subject’s face generally avoided, so subjects often
placed w/ backs to sun so light can be bounced on faces more softly & sun can
act as backlight
■ Giant sets can be used to diffuse or block out sun to avoid overexposure
○ Ext. night: have to create light that doesn’t feel unnaturally light w/o
underexposing to still show scene
■ In rural setting, cinematographer often est. base light: non-directional light
that makes sure nothing is completely lost in black shadows — allows
colorists to have more control over shadows in editing
■ For moon light, DP often use moon cubes: large box filled w/ heavy
diffusers
● Musco light can be used for larger areas
● Cooler temp must be used
● Tends to be around 4100 K
■ Specials: smaller lights hidden in frame, can be used to make certain
elements in background more visible
■ Soft lights usually used on subjects
■ Occasionally, more directional equipment can be used for more stylistic
 look
○ Int. day: usually more ctrl over light; cinematographer can use practicals: light
that appears in frame
■ Can shoot w/ or from outside light, inside light, or both
○ Int. night: relies more on artificial light cuz no sunlight

Exposure triangle
● Comprises
○ Aperture: ctrl’s depth of field, regulates the amount of
light that makes it to the light-sensitive surface
■ Opening in lens determines how much light
let in
■ Light has to travel through lens to sensor &
when light travels it always loses intensity
■ Reduce light by reducing opening; get more
light by opening it, but depth of field gets
decreased then
■ Designed b/c ISO hadn’t existed at the time
■ Technology came from telescopes
■ Can’t raise both ISO & aperture
■ B/c every lens is different, aperture
■ Every doubling of the light is called a stop (f-numbers)
● Each step is double the previous one
○ Shutter speed: shutter that opens & shuts at different speeds - can blur or freeze
motion
■ inverse of ISO
■ determines the frames per second (FPS): how many frames are captured
per second to create the illusion of motion
■ When things move while shutter is open, motion gets blurred in pics - this
creates motion in cinema
■ Standard shutter speed is 1/48 b/c fps is 24 so total cycle = 48
■ Less light - can keep shutter open for less time
○ ISO: international standards organization, sensitivity of the sensor - regulates the
sensitivity of the surface captured by cam & can add or subtract grain or noise
from image
■ Different cam’s have different sensors - the bigger the sensor the more
expensive
■ Too
much light - overwhelms
the cam, only shows white
■ Too
little light - not enough,
only shows black

■ Higher the number, greater sensitivity & better picture quality (more
visible)
■ Best sensors now can shoot at ISO 3200 or 6000 - some even go up to 4
mil
■ Chemistry of film limited ISO back then but that’s changed
 ■ Sensitivity can be changed in editing now
■ Same across all cam’s

Imaji’s presentation
● Motivation: where light is coming from
○ Subtext: used to represent abstract concepts, convey subtext, or emphasize
themes
○ Objective sources: lighting from anyth that exists within context of scene &
location to est atmosphere
● Objectively motivated light sources:
○ Practicals: light from property, exists naturally within setting of scene
○ Narrative-driven: lights emanating from narrative landscape that interacts w/
subject
○ Natural light: light from nature in scene, in relation to surrounding landscape (e.g.
sky, sun, thru trees)
● Subtext-motivated light sources:
○ Symbolic: lighting look contrast w/ tonal atmosphere of film to intensify
symbol/meaning
■ E.g. Pulp Fiction: opening the briefcase, light emanating from it - not clear
what’s inside but meaning created
○ Tonal: overall look, emotional tone of character’s state of mind or worldbuilding
● To create balanced lighting look, emphasize contrasts — important to consider interplay
b/n light & shadows to avoid flat lighting & create meaning
● Contrast creates visual interest
● Identify key light sources & their placement to est dominant light direction
● Strategically introduce fill lights (if any) depending on context of shot, to soften shadows
w/o completely eliminating them, ensuring balance b/n light & dark areas
● Use accent lights to enhance specific elements or create focal points, further enhancing
contrast & adding visual impact to composition
● If bored w/ 3-pt lighting
○ Use practical lights, e.g. lamps or candles, to create more natural & immersive
atmosphere
○ Experiment w/ unconventional light sources, e.g. colored gels or projections
○ Multiple key lights or incorporate backlighting to add depth & dimension
○ Master art of lighting modifiers, e.g. diffusers, reflectors, flags - allows to precisely
ctrl quality & direction of light
● Bounced & diffused lighting - both kinds needed
○ Interior lighting designed for diffused/soft light since we not longer use bare bulbs
○ Many windows tinted or frosted in Indo (cuz sunlight harsh) - keep in mind
○ Can bounce light off of wall or use diffuser to soften
○ When enough space (& looks better that way) use diffuser; when not enough
space, use wall or some sort of flat surface to bounce light off of
● If only have 1 light: put subject next to source & reflector on other side to ctrl shadows
● Front lights often produce flat lighting but adding other kinds of light can create contrast
● Top light can make characters’ eye sockets look black & hollow (e.g. The Godfather)
● Back light: creates mood, mystery, makes silhouette/shadow
● Omni-directional: can use practical sources, have characters in foreground, b/n lamp &
camera
● Tips:
○ Storyboard important to plan how light will interact w/ subject + make notes
○ Technical reconnaissance: visit shooting location to see how much space there
 is, where can place light
○ Make lighting diagram to block sources & subject/s