The Versatility of Effect Lighting

There are a few categories or functions of light when calling for a specific unit to be used in a scene. The director of photography starts most importantly with the story, what is going on in a particular scene, and looks at what sources are available in the space. Lighting does not always have to be motivated, but beginning with what is naturally lighting up the space is a good place to start.

Besides the key, whatever fill, backlights or set lights the scene may contain, there are also sometimes effect lights that are placed to create a specific effect. This could be the light coming from a television screen, a projector, fire-the possibilities are endless. This is where believability comes into play in order to pull of the desired effect, though you may have physical fire in the shot, you may need to extend the effect of the fire to really paint the frame in the way you want to.

I have mentioned some effects in past columns, but thought I would touch on a few as I have found myself having to recreate them a lot lately. I have done video demos of some of these, and there are many ways to achieve them.

NATURAL EFFECTS

Natural effects include elements we encounter in nature. The key to creating these effectively for the screen, is observing them in life. It is natural for us as cinematographers to constantly be observing light in life and gaining an understanding of how it acts throughout the day and how changes in weather can affect it. Of course, it is quite simpler to pull these off on a stage where you have full control.

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