If you have a yearning to produce a Hollywood blockbuster or your televisual debut, you may not even have thought about how best to light your set.  With your script written, actors on standby and cameras ready to roll, you may think you are ready for action.  But, in reality, lighting is an integral part of any film or television production, and one that is sadly overlooked by those that are new to the industry.

Whilst we don’t want to stifle your creativity, no production will be worth the paper it is written on if you can’t illuminate the set sufficiently to add atmosphere or simply allow you’re on-screen action to be adequately seen

If you are serious about your first film you will need to hire lighting professionals, but as a quick guide, here are the kind of lighting basics that you will need to consider:

Key Light

This will be the primary light of the scene and will offer the most intense and direct light on set. It will be used to illuminate the main focus of the scene, whether that is a subject or actor.  It will be the primary light in a three-point lighting set up and can be used to create a dramatic mood if it is placed to the side or back of an actor.

Fill Light

The fill light is used to illuminate the shadows created by the key light.  Fill lights are easy to create and can be as simple as a reflector that bounces the light back up onto your subject.

Back Light

A back light hits an actor or object from behind and is usually placed higher than the object it is lighting, giving the scene more shape and depth.

The key light, fill light, and backlight all come together to make up a three-point lighting setup.

Sidelight

A sidelight comes from the side parallel to the actor and is used for creating dramatic moods and revealing texture.This type of lighting uses strong tonal contrasts between light and dark to light three-dimensional forms

Practical Light

These lights don’t light up the set but are actual working lights within the scene itself. It could be a lamp, a TV or even police lights in an action scene.  These increase the depth of the scene and are usually dimmer that stage lights to prevent glare.

Bounce Light

A bounce light is a light that has been reflected using a specially designed piece of equipment, or by simply facing a light towards a wall or ceiling.  Bounce lights are very flexible and you can create a key, fill, backlight, and even illuminate objects in the background simply by using reflective material.

Whatever kind of lighting you need for your filming occasion, Frank Gatto & Associates can provide state of the art lighting equipment for events of all kinds.  We are one of the biggest in the business, but not so small that we don’t remember what it feels like when you are first starting out.

Frank Gatto & Associates, Inc. are specialists in lighting for television events of all kinds.  If you have an event that needs expert lighting, please call us today to see how we can help.

Phone: 561-368-0101

Email: frank@frankgattolighting.com 

We can be found on Social Media at the following links.