Rembrandt Lighting

What is Rembrandt lighting? What is Chiaroscuro? What is important to consider when you are trying to achieve low-key lighting?

    Rembrandt lighting is inspired by the lowkey lighting effects which artist Rembrandt Van Rijn used in his paintings. This effect is when a part of the subject's face is in shadow, but not completely as some detail is still visible. Historians suspect that a window allowed light to shine directly on the subject's face, with a white wall filling in the shadow. In filmmaking, Rembrandt lighting is the lighting setup that makes a triangle of light under one of the subject's eyes. This is a good technique to use as it is aesthetically pleasing, increases the depth on the image, and is relatively simple to achieve. The definition of Chiaroscuro is the use of deep variations and subtle gradations of light and shade. When trying to achieve low-key lighting, it is important to consider the hardness of the lights, which side of the face is in shadow, and helping the subject stand out. It's good to use three-point lighting to achieve this look. A rule of thumb when using this lighting technique is to favor the shadowed side of the subject's face in order to increase the drama.

Chiaroscuro

In a detailed paragraph, explain what chiaroscuro is.  How can it be used to create depth in the images you record?  How can you put this into action going forward with your projects?

    A chiaroscuro is a lighting technique that is used to create dimensional depth. A rule of thumb to utilize this technique is to alternate between light and dark in the image. This can be used to create depth in the images I record by hitting the subject from an angle so that part of them is cast in shadow and lighting the background over the dark part of the subject so that they pop from the background. I can put this into action going forward by considering this rule of thumb when lighting different scenes. If I properly place lights and consider practicals to use for the background, then I can create an image with a lot of depth and good visual aesthetics.

Foot Candles, Lux, and Lumens

Foot Candles: The Best Way to Gauge Light

What is a lumen? What is a foot candle? What is Lux? How do you think this could affect your understanding of lighting in the future?

    A lumen is the standard measurement of light. A foot candle (FC) is the unit of measurement for light intensity (illuminance), with a single foot candle being the illuminance produced by a candle that is one foot away from a subject. Lux is a unit of measurement used with regards to meters rather than feet. Thus, one FC is approximately 10 Lux (0.0929030436 FC = 1 Lux). This could affect my understanding of lighting in the future as it provides me a more solid and measurable idea of the strength of lights, which can increase my precision when it comes to making lighting choices.

Lighting Ratio's

In your own words, explain what lighting ratios are. What is high key lighting used for?  What is low-key lighting used for? How can you put this principle into effect with your film noir shoot?

    Lighting ratios are the comparison between the main light source and the light used to fill shadows. High key lighting is used for more dramatic lighting that has more depth. Low key lighting is used for creating flatter images. I can use this principle in my film noir by utilizing higher lighting ratios to create more dramatic lighting. I'd like to use this more intentionally in order to add to the visual storytelling.

Film Noir Scene Lighting

What are some issues you notice that the presenter runs into when lighting his scene? What are three techniques he uses to make the image look more cinematic?  How do they affect the shot?

    Some issues that the presenter runs into when lighting his scene are... Three techniques he uses to make the image more cinematic are... They affect the shot by...

Film Noir Lighting

Explain three of the key concepts that the presenter says are important for film noir lighting.  How does film noir lighting differ from lighting in other kinds of productions?

    Three key concepts that the presenter says are important for film noir lighting are... Film noir lighting differ from lighting in other kinds of productions...

What Defines a Film Noir Pt. 2

How did societal fears play into the storylines of film noir?

    Societal fears played into the storylines of film noir as...

What Defines Film Noir Pt. 1

What are some key defining features of the protagonist in Film Noir?  What are some key defining features of the femme fatale in Film Noir?

    Some key defining features of the protagonist in Film Noir are a fall; their morals deteriorate as they are put into more and more bad situations. In a lot of cases, the protagonist is a detective or private investigator, but he could also be a lot of different types of people. Some key defining features of the femme fatale in Film Noir is...

Watching Black and White Movies Pt. 2

How can black and white set a mood and create a tone?  How can it heighten realism?

    Black and white can set a mood and create a tone because it is one step-removed from reality. Black and white can create a heightened reality because it is a view of the world that doesn't really exist in reality. The surrealism is able to create dream-like quality. It also can create a bleak and inescapable mood because of the bazaar atmosphere. On the contrary, it can also be used to make the film feel like it's based in a true story because the black and white look can mimic the appearance of historical photos of a specific time period.

Watching Black and White Movies Pt. 1

How did german expressionism effect black and white cinema?  How did black and white enhance film noir?  How does black and white enhance other genre's?

    German expressionism affected black and white cinema as it embraced and exaggerated the concept that, without color, our brains would latch onto the shapes and contrast of the image. This style of cinema began to influence American films through the horror genre and inevitable evolved into the high contrast style of film noir. Black and white enhanced film noir as the dark themes of the genre are amplified by the stark contrast of the black and white image. Without color, it creates a visual conflict of darkness vs. light. Black and white enhances other genres as it had forced filmmakers to find other ways (besides color) to create visual interest such as texture, separation, contrast, and depth with a limited color palette.

Inverse Square Law of Lighting

What is the inverse square law of light? How does this affect you when you are lighting a scene?  What do you need to keep in mind?

    The inverse square law of light is used to calculate the fall-off of a light source as you increase/decrease the distance from the subject. Regarding light fall-off, a light source emits a set number of rays on the subject. When it's closer, the rays are more condensed and make the light appear brighter and stronger. When the light source is further, it spreads those rays across more space, creating a sort of feathered look and decreasing the amount of light that is actually hitting the subject. The exact formula for the inverse square law of light when increasing the distance is i=1/d^(2), with "i" being intensity and "d" being distance. What this formula tells you is how much the intensity decreases based on the distance. For instance, when you increase the distance of a light from the subject by 2 times, the intensity is 1/4 the amount of light. When you want to move the light closer, the formula is i=d^(2). This affects me when I'm lighting a scene because I may need to adjust my lighting either to get a more desired look or to fix issues such as unwanted lights overpowering the lights that I do want. The main thing that I need to keep in mind is that the closer a light, the more intense, and the further the light, the less intense.

Reviewing 3-Point Lighting

What are the three different parts of 3-point lighting? What are three tips that this presenter makes that are different than what you have been taught so far in this class? How can you put this knowledge into use in your future videos?

    The three different parts of 3-point lighting that the video goes over are the key light, motivated light, and back light. The key light is the primary light source that is responsible for exposure and is the first point of 3-point lighting. The next point is motivated light, which should appear to come from some kind of object within the scene: a lamp, a window, a candle, etc. The back light should be the brightest light source and is used to separate the subject from the background. This can come in the form of a rim light, which outlines the subject or a hair light if it highlights just the hair. Three tips that this presenter makes which differ from what I have been taught in class are the purpose of a fill light, backlight, and the emphasis on the sun.

    In this video, he says that good cinematographers don't use a dedicated light as a fill light, but rather use motivated light as the fill light. This differs from what we've learned as we learned that the fill light or the reflector is one of the points, whereas the presenter says that motivated light is a point instead. Regarding back lighting, we've learned to use a back light just to highlight the hair, but he also talked about how it can be used to outline the subject. A major point within his video is the importance of the sun when it comes to lighting. He really emphasizes understanding the way our world is naturally lit by the sun, which we hadn't learned in class.

    I can put this knowledge to use in my future videos by considering 3-point lighting and remembering the purpose of the different points, which can massively improve the quality and artistic appeal of my images.

Using a Waveform for Exposure

What is the IRE scale?  What does it mean on the waveform? What is crushing and clipping?  What does it tell you when you see it happening on the waveform? Why is the waveform monitor so important to the digital cinematographer?

    The IRE scale is the measurement of exposure from 0% to 100%, with 0 being black and 100 being white. On the waveform, it means that the higher the data is, the higher that the exposure is. Crushing is when data that is below 0% is cut off and clipping is when data above 100% is cut off. When they happen on the waveform, it tells you that they are at the absolute max or minimum for what is broadcast legal, causing the image to lose discernible detail in those extremes. The waveform monitor is so important to the digital cinematography because image monitors are less trustworthy because of a variety of outside factors that can affect the way the image look without actually changing the image that's shot, which can create issues and lead to mistakes. However, a waveform monitor shows the actual data, which then allows them to know what actually needs to be done for their desired image and exposure.

Using Zebras for Exposure

What are zebra stripes?  What are they used for? What do the zebra stripes tell you? What a practical way to use these while shooting with a video camera?

    Zebra stripes are... They are used for... Zebra stripes tell you... A practical way to use these while shooting are...

Reviewing Gain

What does the ISO/Gain sensitivity of a camera mean? Why would you want to increase the ISO/Gain of the camera? What happens when you increase the ISO/Gain on a camera?  What are the problems that come into play?

    ISO refers to the sensitivity of the sensor that's receiving the light for your camera. You would want to increase the ISO/Gain when you're filming in low light and need the sensor to be more sensitive to the light, increasing the exposure. The more you increase the ISO/Gain on the camera, the brighter the image will appear. That being said, the increase in sensitivity makes the camera pick up on more digital noise, thus adding this noise into the image. Thus, it is ideal to shoot with low to no gain to prevent this digital noise and try to use other methods to brighten the image through lighting or other settings that impact exposure.

Getting the Correct Exposure

What is a gray card used for?  What does it help represent? What is a waveform monitor used for?  How should you use it? What is false color?  How can it be used to determine exposure?

    The gray card is used for... It helps represent... A waveform monitor is used for... You should use it by... False color is... It can be used to determine exposure as...

F-Stops Explained

What is the difference between the aperture and the iris?  In your own words, what is an F-stop?  What is the difference between each stop?  Explain in detail.

    The difference between the aperture and the iris is that the iris is a circular disc that opens and close depending on how much light you want the camera to see and the aperture is the name of the hole on the iris that lets light in. An F-stop is the unit of measurement that dictates how wide the aperture is and thus how much light goes into the lens. The difference between each stop is that each point either doubles or halves the area of the aperture depending on whether you increase or decrease the F-stop.

Spring Semester Goals

Look back at the goals that you set in the fall. Did you achieve them? Why or why not? How can you take steps or make corrections to achieve these goals? Where will you need to look to gather help or resources?

    Looking back at the goals that I set in the fall, I have done fairly well at achieving them. Thus far, I have acted in nearly all of the films that the advanced class has made and I have also acted in a fair share of the beginners' projects. I have also grown much more as a filmmaker and have learned a lot more technical skills and knowledge, such as lighting. That being said, I haven't made any personal projects; however, I have been able to create a fair few projects that have more of my ideas and vision imbued into it.

    Regarding how I can better achieve these goals, for the first two, there is infinite room to grow as I can act in more project and I can always learn more. Regarding the third goal, some steps I can take are stepping up in director and writer roles in order to give these projects more of a personal connection to me. I'm hoping to be able to take on these roles for the noir project and so I can look towards examples and different sources to learn more about noirs and writing in order to create the story and vision for it. For example, I could watch a variety of noirs to understand the storytelling of the genre for both writing and visually. I can also watch documentaries to better understand the process and meaning behind different techniques that are commonly present in noir films.