Low Key Lighting

Why Practise Low Key Lighting?

We decided to practise some low key lighting as we had not really had much experience or previous practise with studio lighting; also we were able to observe and correct OH&S issues in our own studio. 

Brief: To practise low key lighting and demonstrate that we are able to identify and handle OH&S issues on set. 

·      Equipment Used

·      Canon 500D

·      Tripod

·      Small barn doored studio light 

·      Back Drop 

·      Extension cord

·      Experience

            When filming low key lighting I found it very fun. I was comfortable in my environment, as everybody there were aware and knew what we were doing (because they were all participating as well). I also enjoy the footage that we ended up with and how we were able to experiment with the miss en scene more freely than we were able to do when on location. even though this does not completely fit in with new wave techniques, -such as natural lighting, real location and people used and innovative camera movements, to name a few- we did you innovate equipment and cheaply constructed equipment that we didn't have but needed, like a darker back drop made from large pieces of card being taped together; also by compiling all of this footage we were able to practice editing technique, like the Kuleshov effect.

         Footage analysis

  

Lighting

When we were filming the footage of Sammie and Will at the table the small studio light was to bright and lit the scene to much, not only defeating the object of lows key lighting but also the white back drop could be seen and this also took away from the effect. To deal with this problem we used a phone light to reduce the amount of light present and we placed it on the table behind the bowl in the subjects face, this help to light the subject only and not the surroundings like was happening before. 

This clip shows how the small studio light over lit the     This clip shows how we adjusted the barn doors on
scene. Even though a shadow was present on the          the studio light so that the amount of light and the
subjects face the rest of the set and background was     focus of the light was a suitable amount and point in
to bright. Also a shadow is seen behind the subject,      the correct place, in this case on the left side of the  so the positioning of the light is known. I feel the                     dolls face. even though closing the barn doors the
shadow ruins the effect of low key lighting as does        and the light source was reduced that was still a lot of
the back drop being seen.                                           light present, and once again the positioning of the
With this said the creases in the back drop are not        light source is known from the shadow on the back
visible as the aperture is high to only the subject in        drop. the aperture here is the same as before so the
the fore ground is in focus.                                           creased on the back drop are no noticeable; even                          .                                                                           more so because the ISO is the same as before, (a .   .                                                                                   .          low ISO) the back drop is darker so the crease are  . .                                                                                   .            seen even less.
  

Back Drop

 To begin with we had a plastic back drop that was meant to be used for filming and photography like we were practising  however this back drop was to heavy for the stand and kept falling off the roll and causing the stand to become unstable. we fixed this by use a lighter white sheet that we found in the studio. this stayed up fine and did a good job as a back drop, but the sheet was creased and made some shots look unprofessional. when we wanted a white back drop we increased the aperture so that the background was not in focus and the creases were not seen in the shots. 

      Even though the white sheet worked as a back drop, in some shots it caused the scene to be too bright and the low key lighting effect was not accomplished. we tested different ISO settings to see if altering the amount go light entering the camera would make any difference, but this didn't work. So to concur this problem we taped together some black card that we found also in the studio and held them behind the subject when we were filming. this helped to darken the surrounding and helped improve and emphasis the low key lighting effect that we were trying to accomplish. 

 In this clip you can see how the black back drop causes the table cloth and bowl colouring to pop more and stand out. 

  OH&S on set 

       There where a few health and safety problems that arose but we were able to quickly and safety adjust and remove these problems to make the environment safe for the crew.

       The first OH&S was the back drop falling. this was dangerous not only as it was heavy and could fall on to the subject we were filming sat in front of the back drop but also because it caused the stands that were hold the back drop up to be very unstable and liable to fall also. we mended this problem by removing the heavy back drop from the studio and replacing it with a lighter back drop, that didn't fall of the stands or cause hem to become unbalanced in anyway. 

       The second problem was the cable from the extension cord not being secured down. We taped the cable down to the floor and around the chair leg that the cord was on. By doing this any excess cable, that could be tripped over, was removed from the equation in turn removing any dangers from the set, reducing any  harm that to a crew member may come across.

      Finally heat from the studio light was a problem. Most studio lights get very hot when left on for any period time, as we only used a small studio light the amount of heat produce was less than that of a larger studio light, but still needed to be taken into the OH&S account. We made sure that all crew members were aware of the heat from the light and when the light was not in use any more it was switch off and left to cool before packing it away;  this not only decreases the risk of injury and burns to the crew but also prevents and chance of a fire if the light were to be packed away into its bag before completely cooled. 

Lighting

The Basics

Soft Lighting 
Soft light is when a light source is large relative to the subject. Things that can effect the softness of the light are : - Distance. The closer the light source, the softer it becomes.
        - Size of light source. The larger the source, the softer it becomes.

Soft lighting is used in photography and cinematography for the following reasons : 
- Shadow-less light is cast.
-  It can be used as fill lighting,  reducing shadows without creating  additional shadows, so doesn't indicate where the supplementary light source is positioned.
- Makes a subject appear more beautiful or youthful through making wrinkles less visible.
- Soft lighting makes the subject very well lit and looks more natural. 

An example of soft lighting is a person (the subject) and the sun (the source). 


 Hard Lighting 

Hard light is when the light source is small relative to the subject. candle light or a concentrated light source  would give this effect. The type of lighting instrument used can effect the hardness. Fresnel lights can be focused so harder-edged shadows are produced, having less transition between illumination and shadow.

Low Key Lighting 

Usually photograph and studio have use three-point lighting, consisting of a key light, a fill light and a back light for illumination. Low-key lighting, on the other hand often uses only one key light, and may be controlled with a fill light or a reflector. 
Low key lighting is a necessary element to create the chiaroscuro effect and is commonly used in film noir and horror genre films as it tends to heighten the sense of alienation. 

Portrait Lighting

There are three main types of portrait lighting; Rembrandt, Edge and Butterfly. All of these lighting techniques only use one light source, this is cheap and therefore, used in new wave, so by practising and using these lighting techniques we are sticking to the new wave style.

Rembrandt

Rembrandt lighting is characterised by an illuminated triangle under the subjects eye of the shadowed side of the face. It's named after the Dutch painter Rembrandt who, in his paintings often lit his subjects faces in this way. to achieve this type of lighting the angle and height in comparison with the subject must be considered and the degree that the light is pointing (measured from a horizontal plane, like the floor).
- The subject must be placed in front of the camera, facing away at a 20 degree angle.
- The main light source is at a 25-35 degree from the camera, about a foot and a half above the subject and tilted down about 45 degrees also. 
- When using a fill light or reflector this has to be at a 45 degree angle from the camera also but on the opposite of the camera to the light. the reflector will lower the contrast. 

Analysis

As you can see from the clips above, we did manage to achieve this technique, not as distinctively as image above, but the signature light of triangle can be seen, more so without the reflector than with. The footage was edited in high contrast monochrome to show the light and dark contrast more effectively, but also by doing this a style from French new wave has been incorporated. 

Edge Lighting

Edge lighting is more drastic, defining and separating one side of the face from the other more obviously. It makes the lights light and the darks dark. To achieve this edge lighting, like with Rembrandt, the angle and height in comparison with the subject must be considered and the degree that the light is pointing (measured from a horizontal plane, like the floor).

- The subject must be placed in front of the camera, facing away at a 20 degree angle, once again.

- The main light source is at a 90 degree from the camera, eye level with the subject and kept at 90 degrees to the vertical stand. 

- When using a fill light or reflector this has to be at a 70-80 degree angle from the camera also but on the opposite of the camera to the light. And once again the reflector will lower the contrast. 

Analysis

The edge lighting technique that we practise was done very well; a stark contrast between the lit and shadowed sides of the face was achieved - as the footage above shows. Once again the footage was edited in high contrast monochrome to show the light and dark contrast more distinctively.

Butterfly Lighting

Butterfly lighting is a classic Hollywood technique that offer a much softer way to light the subject. This lighting technique highlights above and below the eyes, while the eyes stay in shadow. The name of this lighting style stems from the butterfly shadow cast under the nose from the lighting angle. The butterfly  pattern can be quite useful for a variety of faces, but is at its best on lean subjects with high and pronounced cheekbones. To achieve this edge lighting, once again like with Rembrandt and edge, angles and positioning have to be considered. 

- The subject must be placed in front of the camera, this time directly facing the camera.

- The main light source is behind the camera, 2-3 foot above the subject and at a 70-80 degree tilt to the vertical. 

- No fill light or reflector is used with this technique as is would lighten the subject to much and the lighting would not be seen.

Analysis

I feel we mimicked the butterfly lighting technique very well. not only have we achieved the correct shadowing and highlighted the cheek bones, we have stay with the typical use of this lighting in the 1930s to enhance the beauty of female subjects, by using a female subject.