Lighting For Film & Television:  The basics to consider.

 Light Sources :

Whether it be natural light (from the sun) or artificial lights you need to consider the implications for the look, feel and tone of your production. The aim of lighting design is to choose the best source(s) to achieve your goals. You need enough light.

You must ensure that your camera is able to record an acceptable picture in the conditions. With modern cameras this is seldom a problem except in very low light or strong contrast.

 Assuming you have enough light, you must then consider the quality of the light and how the various light sources combine to produce the image.

 If you have clashing light sources (e.g. artificial interior lights with sunlight coming through the windows), you may find the colours in your image appear unnatural.

Colour temperatures:

 It's best to control the light sources yourself if possible (e.g. turn off the lights or close the curtains). When moving between locations, think about what light source you are using. If you move from an outside setting to an inside one with artificial lights, the amount of light may seem the same but the colour temperature will change according to the type of lights.

In this case you need to white balance your camera for the new light source.

 Contrast Ratio :

Contrast ratio is the difference in brightness between the brightest and darkest parts of the picture. HD does not cope with extreme contrast quite as well as film, and nowhere near as well as the human eye. The result of over-contrast is that some parts of the picture will be too bright or too dark to see any detail. For this reason you need to ensure that there is not too much contrast in your shot..

Direction of the light:

When shooting a subject think about what the light source is reflecting off. For example, may of you initially framed shots with a window in the background. The natural light from the sun shining through the window created silhouetted out figures. This may be fine in certain circumstances, but in most cases, the assumption is that you will want your character/subjects well lit. There fore, you should check the position of the sun and aim to have the sun behind the camera and not the subject. Position yourself in relation to the light source to achieve the effect that you desire.


Check out this cheeky chappy who explains it pretty effectively



Discuss these lighting basics with your group and reflect on these discussions to achieve a fit- for- purpose lighting plan.