Summer Task 2 - Camera and Lighting Techniques

How and why lighting affects camera techniques for moving image

Types of lighting

• Hard lighting (direct lighting) - This type of lighting is usually more dramatic and can be used to create defined shadows which can be created with a film light pointing directly at a subject. Because of the intensity that this use of lighting can bring to a moving image, it is often incorporated into the horror genre.
• Soft lighting (bounce & diffuse) - Soft lighting gives a more gentle feel to the shot as little to no shadows are created, this is often used in comedy films as it sets a more light-hearted atmosphere.

Here I have inserted a video that goes into more depth about the different types of lighting and how to create them.

  

Now I will suggest a list of lighting and set up equipment that may be used for the following scenarios:

A small documentary where portability is paramount:

The theme for this small documentary will be a day in the life of an athlete training for the olympics 

Equipment:

• Nikon DSLR that has a neck strap to make mobility easier
• 18-55mm lens
• Tripod (for stability)
• Spare battery pack (in case the first runs out)
• Spare memory card
• Portable light source (such as a barn door light)

Setup:

The setup for this documentary would be to follow a chosen athlete throughout their day to capture how much time they must spend training. The day would start early morning where natural lighting will only be used to capture dusk in all its glory. The only time a barn light may need to be used is towards the evening if the athlete continues to train in dark lighting. Advantages of this set up would be that very little equipment is needed and natural lighting would be a great as my theme is very much the 'real life' of an athlete. Disadvantages would be that the film might look a little armature as I would not be able to carry around a lot of equipment as I follow a person through their day.

"Talking head" style interview

Equipment

•  Nikon DSLR
• 18-55mm lens
• Spare battery pack
• Spare memory card
• Tripod
• Soft box lighting
• Blank background
• Microphone

The setup for this would be fairly straight forward with the camera set up eye level to the subject who would be sat in front of a blank background with a two lights pointed towards them. Advantages of this setup is the clarity and stability, there is nothing complex going on and so less room for error meaning filming should go smoothly.

Night time shoot

Equipment

• Nikon DSLR
• Spare battery and memory card
• Tripod
• 18-55mm lens
• Portable barn light
• Microphone

A disadvantage to shooting in the dark is the risk of grainy footage which may not be fixable in editing, this is why you need to ensure that the set up is done correctly. The video above highlights tips that can be used to enhance the clarity of your image even in very dark settings.