Sony Pixel Power calrec Sony

Cinematic Lighting: 3 Looks, 1 Location

17/07/2024

Home Applications 3 Looks, 1 Location

class=attachment-thumbnail size-thumbnail f-align-center alt=Garrett Sammons decoding=async data-lazy-srcset=https://www.litepanels.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/06/garrett_sammons-150x150.png 150w, https://www.litepanels.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/06/garrett_sammons-300x300.png 300w, https://www.litepanels.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/06/garrett_sammons-768x768.png 768w, https://www.litepanels.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/06/garrett_sammons-100x100.png 100w, https://www.litepanels.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/06/garrett_sammons-140x140.png 140w, https://www.litepanels.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/06/garrett_sammons-500x500.png 500w, https://www.litepanels.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/06/garrett_sammons-350x350.png 350w, https://www.litepanels.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/06/garrett_sammons-800x800.png 800w, https://www.litepanels.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/06/garrett_sammons-600x600.png 600w, https://www.litepanels.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/06/garrett_sammons.png 900w data-lazy-sizes=(max-width: 150px) 100vw, 150px data-lazy-src=https://www.litepanels.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/06/garrett_sammons-150x150.png />Garrett Sammons Garrett is the Creative Director at Nice Shirt Media and part-time film professor. With a primary focus on commercial cinematography, he also creates narrative and documentary films.

youtube

instagram

Written by Garrett Sammons

Lighting is one of the most crucial aspects of filmmaking. Although sometimes underestimated, lighting can change the entire look and feel of a location. It can also impact the depth of the story told. As such, cinematographers, gaffers, and directors of photography (DPs) need to understand how light works and behaves.

If we do our jobs well as cinematographers, gaffers, and DPs, we can use lighting to create a world that is completely believable and similar to reality. To demonstrate the impact of lighting, we filmed three short scenes using different setups. We used the same location, set design, and subject for each scene, changing only the lighting.

Look 1: Good Morning

There are two key things to keep in mind when discussing dawn light -temperature and harshness. Light is on a color and behavior spectrum, and morning light is particularly harsh. Therefore, we used the Gemini 1 1 Hard to emulate it.

Key light setup We put the 1 1 Hard light on the roof outside a window on the second story of the building. We tuned it to approximately 3200K. For the tight shots, we used a -stop scrim to slightly cut down the harshness. But for the wide shots, it was wide open.

Our key light in this scene was sunlight, which we got using the 1 1 Hard Gemini coming through the window. This created nice, hard, long shadows, which are similar to dawn light. Make sure you use extremely accurate and bright lights that can replicate color temperature well to achieve this look.

Book light setup On the other side, we created a book light that uses a bounce and diffusion combo to create a morning look. The booklight ensured a contrast balance between the sun coming from one side and the shadow on the other side of the room.

Our book light setup comprised of a Gemini 1 1 Soft at 20-25% put through a 4 4-foot Silk. This soft light bounced off a neutral white wall. Here, we were not trying to change the behavior of the light. Rather, the goal was to get enough light to subtly fill in the shadows so that we could alleviate that contrast ratio.

This fill is necessary, even when working with directional light sources, as it allows you to remove unwanted contrast or shadows. However, an indirect source is still preferable because you can spread the light out. Hence, we used white silk while filming this scene. Putting artificial silk on the other side diffuses the bounced light a second time, further scattering it.

Screens For the second shot, we put a -stop screen over the window to change the light intensity. Here, we did not use diffusion because we didn't want to lose the hard light nature. Diffusing too much in this shot would have made the lighting look super soft. As such, it wouldn't match the wider shot.

alt=Gemini lighting plot data-nectar-img-srcset=https://www.litepanels.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/08/Morning-plot.png 1068w, https://www.litepanels.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/08/Morning-plot-300x169.png 300w, https://www.litepanels.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/08/Morning-plot-1024x578.png 1024w, https://www.litepanels.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/08/Morning-plot-768x434.png 768w, https://www.litepanels.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/08/Morning-plot-600x339.png 600w sizes=(max-width: 1068px) 100vw, 1068px title= />

You can also use screens to adjust lighting without changing behavior. The use of a -stop screen and a window here allowed us to stop that down while still maintaining the harshness.

We also used a slightly cooler color temperature for the fill. We had 3200K outside and approximately 4200K (mixed) for our diffused book light. This ensured that it wasn't quite daylight; it was cooler. So, our fill was a bit cooler than our key.

Look 2: Goodnight

Light behavior is very different from night to daytime. There are notable differences in both the color temperature and light behavior. Morning light is very direct, hard light. In contrast, night light goes into the difference between reality and creating a new reality.

With night lighting, the aim is to create a specific overall aesthetic, not to perfectly replicate the real world. The goal is to create a believable reality our audience lives in.

The behavior of light is directly related to the perceived surface area of a source to a subject. However, the moon is so far away that the surface area of that source is perceived to be very small. As such, this primary source of nightlight emits hard light.

Key light setup The night also do
LINK: https://www.litepanels.com/en/applications/cinematic-lighting-3-looks-...
See more stories from litepanels

Most recent headlines

05/01/2027

Worlds first 802.15.4ab-UWB chip verified by Calterah and Rohde & Schwarz to be demoed at CES 2026

Worlds first 802.15.4ab-UWB chip verified by Calterah and Rohde & Schwarz to be ...

09/10/2026

Dolby Expands Dolby OptiView Platform with New Capabilities at IBC 2026

September 10 2026, 06:00 (PDT) Dolby Expands Dolby OptiView Platform with New Capabilities at IBC 2026 New Sports Intelligence helps providers better unders...

07/10/2026

Dalet Flex LTS Delivers Smarter Media Operations from Ingest to Distribution

Dalet, a leading technology and service provider for media-rich organizations, today announced the latest Long-Term Supported (LTS) release of Dalet Flex. Build...

28/09/2026

SBE Announces 2026 Ennes Scholarship Recipients

Share Copy link Facebook X Linkedin Bluesky Email...

28/09/2026

Spectrum to Demo AI Computing at the Network's Edge at SCTE TechExpo 26

Share Copy link Facebook X Linkedin Bluesky Email...

28/09/2026

Autoscript launches new Voice Controller prompting soluti...

Autoscript, the leading global provider of professional teleprompting solutions, today announced Voice Controller for WinPlus-IP, a new voice-controlled prompti...

28/09/2026

IBC 2026 Technical Conference Highlights

IBC 2026 Technical Conference Highlights David Kirk September 28, 2026 0 Comments Hero image courtesy Deposit Photos David Kirk reports from the 11-1...

28/09/2026

First Baptist Nashville Taps Clear-Com for Production Coms

Share Copy link Facebook X Linkedin Bluesky Email...

28/09/2026

IEEE Announces Award for Leadership in Developing HEVC/H.265

Share Copy link Facebook X Linkedin Bluesky Email...

28/09/2026

Nakadi Introduces Live to Theater Service Powered by Pate...

Nakadi, a global streaming technology innovator dedicated to engineering a new era of digital media delivery, today announced its Live to Theater service based ...

28/09/2026

Crimecall returns for a brand-new series

Crimecall, presented by Carla O'Brien, returns tonight for a brand new series at 9.35pm on RT One and RT Player. In tonight's episode, alongside appe...

28/09/2026

RT SHORT STORY COMPETITION 2026 - SHORTLISTED STORIES ANNOUNCED

CELEBRATING 40 YEARS AT THE HEART OF NEW IRISH WRITING LIVE FROM POETRY IRELAND, DUBLIN AND ON RT RADIO 1 FROM 7PM DETAILS: www.rte.ie/writing | FOLLOW: #r...

27/09/2026

Boss launch the EX-4 Effects Expander

New compact pedal packs in 120 effects The latest multi-effects pedal from Boss is a compact unit that promises to give any pedalboard a massive boost in s...

26/09/2026

ESPN Operations, Production Teams Plan for Every Scenario as WNBA Playoffs Tip Off

With short turnaround between game selections, ESPN's operations team is pla...

26/09/2026

Prime Video Scales Up for First WNBA Postseason, Adding Cameras, Analysts, Coach Mics, and NBA Mobile Units

Prime Video will use GCV's Bird and Magic mobile units for its inaugural WNB...

26/09/2026

NBC Sports Tips Off First WNBA Postseason in 20+ Years Using Sunday Night Basketball as a Production Baseline

Studio show moves on-site as network models playoff coverage on its NBA flagship...

26/09/2026

Ratings Roundup: Cowboys-Commanders Leads NFL Week 2 With 27.2 Million, College GameDay Posts Best Week 3 Ever

Ratings Roundup is a rundown of recent ratings news and is derived from press re...

26/09/2026

From Sketch to Strut, Unzipped Returns to the Sundance Film Festival at 30

Douglas Keeve attends the 2025 Sundance Film Festival screening of Unzipped at the Egyptian Theatre. (Photo by Andrew H. Walker/Shutterstock for Sundance Film...

26/09/2026

Native Instruments update Maschine

Launched alongside three new expansion packs In celebration of their 30th anniversary, Native Instruments have released a major update for their Maschine 3 ...

26/09/2026

YouTube Embraces Microdramas with Features for Episodic Shorts

Share Copy link Facebook X Linkedin Bluesky Email...

26/09/2026

Civil Rights Groups Urge Sen. Cruz to Delay Thumann Severs FCC Confirmation

Share Copy link Facebook X Linkedin Bluesky Email...

25/09/2026

SVG GameDay, Ep. 32: National Hockey Leagues John Bochiaro - Leading the Leagues In-Venue Efforts

In-venue and creative video staffers at the professional and collegiate level ha...

25/09/2026

HBS Taps Ronald den Hollander as CEO

Infront has named Ronald den Hollander as CEO of its Host Broadcast Services (HBS) subsidiary, effective 1 October 2026. The appointment follows the previously ...

25/09/2026

NABA to Host Cyber University 2.0 Cybersecurity Summit in New York

The North American Broadcasters Association (NABA) will hold Cyber University 2.0, a full-day cybersecurity summit for the broadcast and media industries, on Tu...

25/09/2026

Alpha Networks and Ateme Deliver Low-Latency Video Platform for International Sporting Event

Alpha Networks and Ateme have delivered a joint video platform for the digital d...

25/09/2026

Viaplay Migrates Free-to-Air Channels to Encompass Altitude Scheduling

Encompass Digital Media has announced the migration of multiple Viaplay free-to-air channels - TV3, TV6, TV8, and TV10 - to its Altitude Scheduling platform. Al...

25/09/2026

NAB Show New York 2026 Set for October 21-22 at Javits Center

NAB Show New York 2026 will take place October 21-22 at the Jacob K. Javits Convention Center in New York City. Registration is open at nabshow.com/newyork. Th...

25/09/2026

NHL Network to Air NHL Tonight, NHL Now, NHL Tonight: First Shift, and On The Fly During 2026-27 Season

NHL Network has announced its studio programming lineup for the 2026-27 regular ...

25/09/2026

First Baptist Nashville Installs Clear-Com Arcadia Central Station

Clear-Com has announced that First Baptist Nashville has upgraded its production communications with a Clear-Com intercom system as part of a sanctuary technolo...

25/09/2026

Broadcast Management Group Upgrades to EVS XT-VIA Platform at Cloud Control Center

Broadcast Management Group (BMG) has deployed EVS XT-VIA live video production s...

25/09/2026

BBright Adds dotCentral as U.S. Sales and Support Partner

BBright, a Hexaglobe Group company, has announced that dotCentral has joined as a sales and support partner in the United States. BBright's portfolio cover...

25/09/2026

MeyerPro Deploys ROE Visual Graphite GP 2.6 for Acumatica Summit 2026

MeyerPro delivered audio, video, broadcast, and LED production for the Acumatica Summit 2026 at the Seattle Convention Center's Summit Building, January 25-...

25/09/2026

PWHL to Hold Inaugural All-Star Weekend in Toronto on March 7

The Professional Women's Hockey League has announced its inaugural All-Star Weekend, to be held Saturday, March 7, 2026, at Scotiabank Arena in Toronto. The...

25/09/2026

Presidents Cup Makes Leap to 1080p HDR as NBC Sports, PGA TOUR Step Up Coverage

The 2026 Presidents Cup is underway at Medinah Country Club outside of Chicago with Team USA and an International Team of men's golfers facing off for four ...

25/09/2026

SVG Remote Production Forum Goes Inside WBDs Techwood Facility, Maps the Next Phase of REMI Production

Warner Bros. Discovery's Atlanta hub hosted a day of discussion on REMI prod...

25/09/2026

Antares release AutoTune Advanced

Algorithm update & new DVA vibrato-detection engine A new flagship version of Antares' iconic pitch-correction software has arrived, and along with a co...

25/09/2026

Two notes to launch the Captor X Pro

New flagship unit to arrive in early 2027 Two notes Audio Engineering have revealed that a new and improved version of their hugely popular reactive load bo...

25/09/2026

Finalist 2 from Tim Exile

AI-free mixing tool gets an upgrade Launched in October 2025, Tim Exiles Finalist is an algorithmic mixing tool that's been designed for those who don&#...

25/09/2026

Rohde & Schwarz Mobile Test Summit 2026 puts the spotlight on 6G - registrations open

Rohde & Schwarz Mobile Test Summit 2026 puts the spotlight on 6G - registrations...

25/09/2026

IBC 2026: When Intelligence Became the Industry's New Competitive Advantage

In our latest blog, Tim Pearson reflects on IBC 2026 and considers the main learnings against an industry that saw AI finally coming out of the labs and into pr...

25/09/2026

Digital Anarchy Releases Newest Version of its Real-Time Skin Retouching Tool for Video

Digital Anarchy Releases Newest Version of its Real-Time Skin Retouching Tool fo...

25/09/2026

Blackmagic Design Used on More Than 50 Summer Films in 2026

Blackmagic Design Used on More Than 50 Summer Films in 2026 Brie Clayton September 25, 2026 0 Comments Hero image: Disclosure Day Blackmagic Design p...

25/09/2026

How I Automated Social Media Resizing in After Effects - Free Script

How I Automated Social Media Resizing in After Effects - Free Script Graham Quince September 25, 2026 0 Comments If your text keeps getting cut off on...

25/09/2026

IBC2026 celebrates collaborative breakthroughs as it anno...

IBC has unveiled the winners of the prestigious IBC2026 Innovation Awards at an event held at the RAI Amsterdam on Sunday 13 September, honouring collaborative ...

25/09/2026

IBC2026 brings global media industry together to turn inn...

IBC2026 brought the global media, entertainment and technology community together for four days of business, innovation and collaboration at the RAI Amsterdam. ...

25/09/2026

Lightware Helps Integrators Overcome MacBook Neo USB Topo...

Lightware testing has revealed that each USB-C port on Apple's new MacBook Neo consumes three of the seven USB tiers available under the USB specification, ...

25/09/2026

Lightware Expands Education Support With New Products and...

Lightware is supporting educational institutions in building modern learning environments by combining professional training with education-focused AV technolog...

25/09/2026

Study: Only 10% of Young Adults Watched Local TV News Last Week

Share Copy link Facebook X Linkedin Bluesky Email...

25/09/2026

Optimum, A+E Global Media Sign New Distribution Agreement

Share Copy link Facebook X Linkedin Bluesky Email...

25/09/2026

MPA, Unions Back 'Motion Picture, Television, and Entertainment Revitalization Act

Share Copy link Facebook X Linkedin Bluesky Email...