Lighting Direction

1. What do you notice about front lighting? Top lighting? Side lighting?
2. What does the angle of your light have to do with your character and story?
3. How can you incorporate this in your film noir?

Front lighting creates minimal shadows onto the face, creating a flat look. Lighting slightly above the head can define the cheek and  jawlines to create a beauty shot. a Top light will create deep shadows especially near the eyes, creating a mysterious and unsettling mood. Side lighting covers an entire side of the face while illuminating the other. Angle of light can illuminate or darken a specific part of the character, creating different moods. Adjusting lighting can identify which part of the character the audience is able to see. The film noir can utilize different lighting angles to convey different emotional states of the character. For example, a despicable character can have a top light so that their eyes are cast in shadows.

Lighting the Human Face

1. What do you notice about how the angle of lighting affects the human face?
2. Take a moment and pause the video in the article in different parts. What does the lighting to do the ladies face at those angles?
3. How could you start using lighting angles intentionally in your future productions?

The different angles a human face is lit can convey different emotions. For example, lighting from above the head creates dark shadows near the eyes. The inability to see the eyes clearly gives uneasiness to the audience, causing suspicion towards the character. A light source coming from the side can create a dramatic look depending on how crisp the shadows are. If a light source is coming from the center or the light is emitted from a large surface, the person appears to be hopeful or joyous. The color temperature can also tell how the subject is feeling or their intentions. In the future, I can convey the emotional background of the character by correlating it with different lighting techniques.

Using Flags

In a detailed paragraph, please answer the following questions:

1. What are flags used for on set?
2. What are three key things you learned in the video that you can put to use when lighting?

Flags are used to control the spill of light, highlighting the parts of the frame that is most important to the scene. Darkening the parts that are unimportant directs the audience away from such parts. These flags help shape the light in the liking of the cinematographer. Adjusting the angles and location of the flags can alter the darkness and the location of the shadows. I learned that light can be controlled so that the it only affects one specific portion of the frame. This allows for flexibility when shaping the light.

Film Noir Cnematography on a Budget

1. What are some issues you notice that the presenter runs into when lighting his scene?
2. What are three techniques he uses to make the image look more cinematic? How do they affect the shot?

When the presenter is lighting the scene, he runs into the problem that the desk is too bright, distracting the audience from the subject inside the frame. In order to combat this, he tilts the light off to the side. However, this causes a reflection in the background, and thus, he need to add a black wrapper to the side of the light to shut out some of it. This causes the desk to have an unnatural light. He then comes to the conclusion that the reflection can simple be blocked with a paper towel Using a black wrap, covering reflections with a paper towel, and changing the angle of the light all brought upon problems that had to be solved into another way.

Film Noir Lighting

In a detailed paragraph, explain three of the key concepts that the presenter says are important for film noir lighting. How does film noir lighting differ from lighting in other kinds of productions?

Low key lighting is the most common form of lighting in a film noir. This style of lighting can create depth and drama within the image. Three point lighting is the basic lighting technique that is often altered according to the scene. This lighting set up is composed of the key light, fill light, and the back light. In film noir, the fill light is often weak to create a highly contrasted image. A light can either be a hard light, creating a clear shadow, or a soft light, creating soft shadows. Film noir often utilizes cucoloris, or cookies. These are cutouts that create a specific shape in front of the ligting source so that the shadow has a specified structure. 

Sunset Boulevard

1. After reading this article, why do you think Sunset Boulevard seems like such a classic film?
2. After reading this article what are two interesting things that you are interested in seeing in the film?

Sunset Boulevard is a classic film because it highlights the cruelty of Hollywood themselves. This cruelty is established through the casting choices that featured actual stars of the silent era as the "has-beens." These casting choices ultimately embodied the cynicism that revolved around the film. The casting choices had such an impact on the film that it is hard to imagine what the film would have been like the actors and actresses been different. I am interested in seeing the famous dialogue this film features and the actor's performance that emphasizes the overall tone of the film. I wish to see all of these aspects come together has one classic film that is appreciated to this day.

Defining Film Noi P.2

How did societal fears play into the storylines of film noir?

Societal fears were reflected in the movie to have a stronger emotional impact for those who were watching it during the time period. For example, during the World War era, many feared the invasion of foreign countries that would pull them into an uncontrollable situation. The people also distrusted the manipulative government exploiting American citizens. The lower class generally distrusted those in higher power, such as the police force and lawyers.

Defining Film Noir

What are some key defining features of the protagonist in Film Noir? What are some key defining features of the femme fatale in Film Noir?

The protagonist in Film Noir often goes through moral distortion that causes them to be forced from one bad situation to the next. They often lose control of the situation and themselves, ending up in an inevitable fate. Their downfall is mainly caused by choices they made as a result of poor morals, yet they barely have a choice beyond that. The femme fatale in Film Noir is characterized by their ability to seduce and manipulate men into immoral behavior. 

B&W Moves P.2

How can black and white set a mood and create a tone? How can it heighten realism?

Black and white forces the filmmaker to make specific artistic choices with lighting instead of relying on color for emotional impact. This way, the monochromatic film can be made dramatic with harsh lighting or light-hearted with softer, flat lighting. Realism can be heightened in these films if they are portraying a setting in the 1900s where black and white photos were often used. The audience connects the time period to black and white because of the old photos and faded film they have seen. In this way, the lack of color can be used as a tool to make the film closer to the time period. 

B&W Movies

How did german expressionism effect black and white cinema? How did black and white enhance film noir? How does black and white enhance other genre's?

German expressionism highlighted high contrast and abstract imagery, becoming a great influence to the monochromatic cinema. Because of the lack of color, the brain naturally focused on the shapes and lights used in the frame. This high contrast characteristic of the German expression became later known as Film Noir. Black and white was especially effective in Film Noir because it forced the filmmaker to be more selective in their artistic choices. The unrealistic appearance of monochrome emphasizes the heightened  reality the film is trying to depict. On the other hand, the connection between black and white and the 1900s create a reality that can be very beneficial for science fiction movies. Horror movies are also effective in monochrome in that it can reflect the paranoia of the character.

Rembrandt Lighting

1. What is Rembrandt lighting?
2. What is Chiaroscuro?
3. What is important to consider when you are trying to achieve low key lighting?

Rembrandt lighting is a lowkey style of lighting that allows one side of the face to be lit while the other side of the face is gently filled in with a shadow. This can increase the depth in the image and is relatively easy to replicate for many situations. Chiaroscuro, as mentioned before in the previous blogpost, refers to the light and dark portions of an image. In order to achieve this low key lighting, there must first be a key light that causes the other side of the face to create shadows. These shadow are then filled with either a reflector of a dimmer source of light. Light can be dimmed by adding a diffusion gel or an ND in front of the light source.

Chiaroscuro

In a detailed paragraph, explain what chiaroscuro is. How can it be used to create depth in the images you record? How can you put this into action going forward with your projects?

Chiaroscuro refers to the the highlights and shadows in a frame that creates the allusion of depth in a two dimensional image. This technique can be used to emphasize a specific part of the image by concentrating the highlights of the image on the important subject matter. Lighting emphasis can also be accomplished by incorporating colored lights. Simply angling a lighting source differently can add drama to the image. Going forward, I can use this technique to reflect lighting with the scene's intended meaning. I can also incorporate this technique in creating a shot that emphasizes certain points within the frame.

Lighting Ratios

1. In your own words, explain what lighting ratio's are.
2. What is high key lighting used for? What is low key lighting used for?
3. How can you put this principle into effect with your film noir shoot?

Lighting ratio describe the amount of contrast a certain set of lights create. In simple terms, the fill and key lights will create the ratios. Lighting ratios can be kept with different intensities of light as long as the other lighting sources change in intensity accordingly. High key lighting can be used to create a dramatic look while a low key lighting can be used t =o create a typical, comedic tone to the film. Different lighting ratios can achieve looks from dramatic to undramatic. In the film noir shoot, this principle can be used to associate drama with the lighting. According to the scene's mood, I can alter the lighting ratio.

Measuring Light

1. What is a lumen? What is a footcandle? What is lux?
2. How do you think this could effect your understanding of lighting in the future?

The lumen is a unit of measurement that originates from candle light. This is the most basic measure of light that can identify the intensity of certain light sources such as light bulbs. A footcandle is a unit of measurement that defines the amount of light on a subject. They are the most common field measurement system. A lux is identified as lumens per square meter. Knowing these different units, I now understand the relationship with a lighting source and its surface. Light is a measurable unit that can be calculated to fit a certain situation.

Inverse Square Law

1. What is the inverse square law of light?
2. How does this affect you when you are lighting a scene? What do you need to keep in mind?

The inverse square law of light indicates that whenever a subject falls away from the light source by double the distance, only a quarter of the amount of light will reach the subject. Understanding the concept of of the inverse square law is critical when lighting to create a specific "light fall-off" look. For example, if the shot requires the light to fall off quickly onto a subject's face, it is better to keep the light source close. On the other hand, if the light should fall off less dramatically, the light source should be held far away. In order for the light to be far away, the entire crew including the camera operator must stand far away from the subject.

What is 3-point lighting?

1. What are the three different parts of 3-point lighting?
2. What are three tips that this presenter makes that are different than what you have been taught so far in this class?
3. How can you put this knowledge into use in your future videos?

Three-point lighting is composed of the key light, back light, and motivated light. Motivated light can have multiple sources: slash/kicker, rim, fill, eye light, and catchlight. All light sources other than the key light is motivated. The three-point lighting system is simply a basis for lighting and therefore can be alternated according to the scene. How a scene should be lighted should not be based upon rigid principles, but rather the motivation behind the shot. Having a firm understanding of lighting has a much better effect than fully relying on a cheap "three-point lighting kit."

The Waveform

1. What is the IRE scale? What does it mean on the waveform?
2. What is crushing and clipping? What does it tell you when you see it happening on the waveform?
3. Why is the waveform monitor so important to the digital cinematographer?

The IRE scale indicates the exposure levels. Because precise exposure levels are hard to identify with bare eyes, utilizing these mediums can lead to better image quality for post production. Within the IRE scale, the y axis--the vertical axis-- identify the exposure levels of the image. The higher the line, the brighter the image. The lower the line, the dimmer the image. In the horizontal axis, identifies the position of the image. The left side of the IRE scale will be high if the left side of the image is bright. Anything above 100% is "crushed" and anything below 0% is "clipped." Anything that is above or below the line is not "broadcast legal."

Gain / ISO

1. What does the ISO/Gain sensitivity of a camera mean?
2. Why would you want to increase the ISO/Gain of the camera?
3. What happens when you increase the ISO/Gain on a camera? What are the problems that come into play?

The ISO/Gain sensitivity of the camera refers to the amount of light that is artificially increased. Each individual sensors determine the amount of each color is can detect. The sensor then translates this information to display a specific color. In cases where light is preferred over less noise, the camera operator may consider increasing the ISO. In better cameras, the ISO can increase the noise by a lesser degree, however, it will inevitably increase the visual noise. The quality of the ISO/Gain is determined by the amount of signal interference one is able to avoid.