Four Hour Film Challenge 1

Lighting Techniques

In this video, I demonstrated the main lighting techniques used in film and television. The techniques are edge lighting, rembrandt lighting, butterfly lighting and three point lighting. These techniques are used in commercial films but I showed them in a talking head interview style, as this was the easiest to set up in the college studio.

Edge lighting just involves one light source, which is placed to the side of the subject so that it only illuminates half of their face or even less. The result is quite a moody image, and gives connotations of duplicity so is often used with characters that have a darker side (as their face literally has a dark half) or have negative intentions. This shows that lighting can give a more powerful meaning than simply to illuminate the actors.

Rembrandt lighting also only involves one light source, but it is placed at a fourty five degree angle to the subject, and about a foot above their head. The creates a simple but flattering effect, and is characterised by a small triangle of light underneath one eye. This lighting technique originated from the painter Rembrandt who used to paint his subjects with this lighting technique, and it got translated to photography and film.

Butterfly lighting also uses one light source, this time placed directly in front of the subject, above their head pointed down towards them. It is characterised by a butterfly shaped shadow underneath the nose due to the light being pointed down towards their face. It was often used by fashion photographers in the 30's because it is a flattering technique for a model's face, and it is also simple to set up.

Lighting Setups

Suggested Setups:

A small documentary where portability is paramount"

-A powerful but portable LED light, maybe one that could attach to the camera

-A fold-able reflector with both gold and silver panels

Firstly, the subject isn't specified so I would think that a powerful light source is a good idea as you might need to shoot some pretty open things. Also, I think having a light that could attach to the camera is a good idea since you don't want to have to carry a light around if you are looking for portability. A fold-able reflector is important because it means you can shoot in harsh daylight without a large piece of equipment. A downside of this setup is that you may need a more powerful light source if shooting something other than portraits so you would have to sacrifice portability.


Talking Head style interviews"

-Three lights (for three point lighting)

Three point lighting is a staple technique where one side of the subject is lit with the main light, then the shadows on the other side are filled with a less powerful light and lastly a light is directed on the surface behind the person so that they stand out from the background. This technique has been used for years and is reliable in producing professional results. A negative of this setup though is it is hard to film an movement in it, as the placement of the lights need to be specific and moving around causes the effect to change.


"A night time shoot"

-A larger light

-A soft box 

-Reflector

-Camera that can shoot in night vision

For a full night time shoot, a larger more powerful light source would be needed, as you're providing all the light artificially. To avoid this light being too direct and harsh, a soft box would help to provide a nice even distribution of the light on your subject. A reflector is a good idea any time using artificial lights, especially if you want to do an interview at night and need to make the person look as good as possible. Lastly, night vision capabilities are a good idea, although not necessary. This would be for somebody looking to film a documentary, maybe a wildlife video in the dark.

New Wave Film

Evaluation

For my new wave short film I filmed in and around Birmingham, and I encoded the conventions that I came across while researching the various New Waves (mainly American). My video does not follow a narrative, which stemmed from the lack of a strong narrative in my studied new wave films. I chose to have a relaxed hip hop beat in my video, which I think worked well because it is simple and doesn't detract from the visuals much. Also, it allowed me to cut on the beat but also off beat. I used this off beat cutting style at various points in the video, such as the very last shot of Lewis smoking. The convention was especially reminiscent of the French New Wave films such as Breathless, which cuts at random points and utilises jump cuts. 

The whole video was filmed in natural light or using artificial lights in stores because the films I studied didn't have the budgets for professional lighting. I think this worked well for my video because it gave it a natural feel and nothing felt staged like a high budget video would. Also another convention I picked up from these films was the use of extended long shots, which further stemmed from the lack of budget and the need to save as much film as possible. However, I don't think this worked effectively in my video because these shots relied on a planned narrative and for the shot to be staged in a way that forwarded the plot, and my long shots were redundant and were of random things like people walking in the street. 

In terms of health and safety, I had to make sure that I was operating the camera in the correct manner and also conduct myself in a way that wasn't causing concern for the public. I made sure that I wasn't blocking the pavements while filming and also I didn't directly film people in a way that made them uncomfortable. Even though it's legal in the UK to photograph people in public places without their consent, if I was filming somebody directly I still think it's a good idea to talk to them and make sure that they are okay with it.

I think my film could have been improved greatly if I had shot with a stronger narrative in mind. In my design brief, I stated that I wanted it to be structured in a free form style, which was a convention of new wave films, but it ended up being a bit too formless for me to really classify it as 'new wave'. 

Aperture Demonstration

Aperture is another element of photography and moving image that determines the outcome of your image. Aperture affects how wide the aperture ring in your lens opens and how much light is let on to the sensor. Aperture is measured in 'F Stops' and they can range from numbers like f1.4 and f3.5 all the way to f20 and f30. When you use a low aperture like the former, it is called a wide aperture because the ring opens up almost all the way, and when you use a high aperture the ring only opens up a small amount. This not only affects the exposure level but the depth of field you get in your photos. The lower the aperture number, the smaller the depth of field is which results in your subject being in focus but the background being blurred. However, if you use a higher aperture number, you get a larger depth of field and more things (if not all) areas of the photo will be in focus. This applies also to moving image, and the aperture affects the opening in the ring for every single frame in the video. This allows filmmakers to make creative choices for their film, such as isolating a person by blurring the background, or having the whole image clear and sharp for establishing shots that require everything to be seen. Below is a diagram of aperture rings and their F numbers along with how this affects the depth of field.

New Wave Film Design Brief

After researching the American New Wave and watching three of the defining films (Bonnie & Clyde, Midnight Cowboy and Taxi Driver), it became apparent that they all shared similar film making techniques and the freedom to express taboo subject matter. These factors stemmed from the reasons the new wave came to fruition. Some common techniques included extended long shots, often of seemingly pointless subjects, a heightened expression of violence as compared to previous films and the subject of prostitution and the sexuality of women.

I plan to film on a day out in Birmingham, using a variety of locations such as the roof at the library, Digbeth and the canal. I want to film at these locations because a common trait of the American New Wave was for the crew to film in natural locations such as the streets of New York City, which gave their films a sense of naturalism. This choice also mainly stemmed from the lack of a high budget, which meant that they could not pay for a custom-made studio lot. As a result, this meant that their films contained random pedestrians and usual activities going on in the background of their shots which is something I want to carry over to my short film. Often the people being filmed were not aware of the camera and so you got real interactions and the sense of realism was heightened.

A common convention in new wave films was the lack of a strong narrative but rather a loose narrative that wasn’t as strict. This is another element that will carry over to my piece, as I plan to just shoot whatever catches my attention and piece it together afterwards, trying to just order it in a way that conveys a sense of storytelling. I plan to film the journey there on the train, which will be jump cut and give an intro to the film.

I also plan to use a lot of cross dissolves between shots to either show the passage of time or to blend the clips into something that might even confuse the audience. I can see this being the case when there are a bunch of clips that are similar in subject matter, and it should create a feeling of disorganization or even be likened to the acid trip scene in Easy Rider. A trait in these films was a self-awareness of the movie being made, and I want to shoot reflections of myself in shop windows and also film the other students with their camera. This breaks the fourth wall and you no longer feel like you are watching a story that has been specially created, and that’s something I find interesting and want to try out.

Shutter Speed Examples

 1/30th of a second

 1/50th of a second

 1/100th of a second

Shutter speed determines the amount of time that the camera shutter is open for and how long the sensor is exposed to light. Having the shutter open for a longer amount of time means you're recording light for a longer period of time, and so you get motion blur in your images. If you want to freeze action, you would shoot on a fast shutter speed so you're only capturing a small period of light. In moving image, shutter speed does the same thing and different shutter speeds paired with certain frame rates give different results. In moving image, the shutter speed determines how long each frame in the video is exposed for. In the examples above, you can see that the slowest shutter speed (1/30th) produces a blurred still, and the video as a result looks quite smooth and blurred throughout. In the opposite extreme, the video with the short shutter speed (1/100th), has very clear lines and images which makes it seem quite frantic and non fluid. This could have practical applications, such as showing somebody as being in a panicked state.

ISO Demonstration

ISO affects the sensitivity of the camera sensor that captures the light. In moving image, ISO does basically the same as it does in still images. Using ISO 100 makes the sensor the least sensitive and lets in the least light, but it also produces the best image with the least noise. On the other hand, using ISO 1600 let in a lot more light but as a result of the sensor being more sensitive, there was a lot of noise which made the image less appealing. In the second clip (ISO 1600), you can see the effects of the grain quite badly, especially when the camera points at the blank surface on the wall. My videos are fairly effective when it comes to showing how ISO affects image quality, but ideally the shots could have been more similar and of more interesting subjects. Both of my shots were fairly shaky as a result of shooting handheld with a 50MM lens that made the shaking worse. To lessen this problem, I used the warp stabiliser to smooth out the movement in the clips.

Pull Focus Examples and Evaluation

The task was to simply shoot a few clips demonstrating your ability to employ the pull focus technique. I think most of my clips worked well in demonstrating it but could have maybe been of more interesting subjects. Also, some of the clips had the foreground and background too close together, so the focus shift wasn't that big and the effect wasn't that noticeable. To improve upon this, I would just use objects that are further apart and get the camera closer to the foreground subject. The last thing that I would improve on would be to shoot in stronger light, as I had my aperture on the lowest setting (f3.5) and it was still too dark and I had to bump up the ISO to 400 or 800, resulting in some grainy examples. Overall, I think the video is fine for showing the technique, and just has a few things that could have been improved upon if I re-shot it.

Light Theory

Lighting is "one of the most important keys in making a quality video" (1). When creating a video, there are several things relating to lighting that you need to consider because they will affect the outcome of the image and as a result, will convey a certain feeling or mood. The first of these is the exposure, which is the amount of light that is entering the camera and hitting the sensor. Three factors affect the exposure, which are shutter speed, aperture and ISO. In moving image, shutter speed isn't generally changed except to compliment the frame rate being used. However, aperture and ISO can be changed based on creative intent, such as setting a low aperture to gain a shallow depth of field.


Next there is lighting techniques, which relates to mostly artificial lighting but can be applied to natural light. If the light source isn't intense, the result will likely be low-key lighting, and can end up "giving a feeling of enclosure" (2) and making the scene feel serious or dark in tone. On the flip side, if you have an intense light source, or flood the scene, the result is high-key lighting which "is used to suggest an upbeat mood" (3).


The position of your lights is also hugely important in terms of creating shadows are texture, especially in close up shots of faces. For example, if you are looking to create mood in your shot, you should consider off-centering your light so that you create shadows in the subject's face. But if you are looking for a more uplifting, flattering outcome then having three lights in a rembrandt style setup will give better results. This technique produces that are compelling but look naturally lit.


Natural lighting is completely different to artificial lighting setups, and is unpredictable. However, with movies like 'The Revenant' using almost entirely natural light (4), it is possible to get really great results. Shooting in the middle of the day tends to create harsh shadows on the face of your subject but earlier in the morning or later in the evening you get 'the golden hour' which is before and after sun rise and sunset, where the light is softer and richer in tone, producing more pleasing results.


1- Knice Creative. 2016. Importance of Lighting in Video Production - Knice Creative.

2- Millerson, GM, 1991. Lighting for Television & Film. 4th ed. Massachusetts: Focal Press.


3- Wikipedia. 2016. High-key lighting - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia.


4- PetaPixel. 2016. 'The Revenant' Was Shot Almost Entirely with Natural Light.