Lighting For Television The art of control and effect
Mar 31, 2015
Lighting For Television
The art of control and effect
The Principles of Light
• Light is part of the electromagnetic energy spectrum.
X-ray and Gamma rays
Audio 20 Hz – 20 KHz
Radio and Communications freq.
The Electromagnetic Spectrum
Violet
Indigo
Blue
Green
Yellow
Orange
Red
Lighting Terminology
• Color Temperature: The relative reddishness or bluishness of light. Measured in degrees Kelvin.
• Primary Colors: For light the primary colors are Red, Blue, & Green
• Photographic principle: Lighting design utilizing 3 lights to light a subject.
• Gel: A colored filter that allows only certain light to pass through the filter.
• Fresnel: A hard light that is a common type of light fixture for a TV Studio.
Fresnel Light
Lighting Terminology (cont.)
• Hard light: A directional light sources that produces sharp falloff (shadows have edges)
• Soft light: Diffused light that produces few shadows.
• EFP Floodlight: Used for portable lighting situations. Usually consists of a bright halogen bulb – Very hot to touch.
• Ellipsoidal Spotlight: An adjustable lighting fixture that allows the lighting director to focus light where he/she would want it.
EFP Floodlight
Ellipsoidal Spotlight
Lighting Terminology (cont.)
• Flag: Cloth or material that will block light from an area of a set.
• Scoop: A light fixture that has no lens and produces soft light.
• Kelvin Scale: the scale used to measure the relative reddishness or bluishness of light.
• Light Plot: A detailed diagram that shows the placement of lights on the light grid.
• Grid: A support system that lights are hung from
Light Plot
Grid
Lighting Terminology (cont.)
• Raceway: The electrical grid that supplies electricity to the grid. Usually it is a complex array of wires.
• Light board: A control panel that allows an operator to control light intensity to each circuit.
• Gaffer: An assistant lighting director.• Falloff: The intensity of the shadow’s edge
produced by a light fixture
Light board
Lighting Terminology (cont.)
• Background light: The purpose of the background light is to establish a "base level of overall lighting" on the set, and to illuminate the set pieces.
• Barndoors: The flaps attached to the front of the instrument, they are manipulated to prevent light from striking unwanted areas.
• Diffusion: Diffusion scatters light, creating soft, somewhat blurred shadow edges, and less severe modeling.
Lighting Terminology (cont.)
• Scrims: A wire screen used to cut down the amount of light emulating from an instrument. It is inserted between the lens and the barndoors.
• Side light: Side light is sometimes used as an alternative to the standard three point lighting setup.
The Photographic Principle
• Most common type of lighting design
• Or 3 point lighting– Key light– Back light– Fill light
Fill Light
Soft lightBack Light
(hard or spot light)
Key Light (hard or spot light)
The Kelvin Scale• Measures the relative
Reddishness or bluishness of light
Candle light
Incandescent Light fixtureFluorescent lighting fixture
Studio lighting (Quartz/Halogen light fixtures)
Outdoor light on a beautiful sunny day (Approx)
Kelvin Scale
Outdoor light on a cloudy Day
Outdoor light on a stormy day20,000 K
15,000 K
5600 K
3200 K
2800 K
2200 K
1200 K
Light Plot Plan