The Different Forms of Lighting in my Piece

By Daniel Withington

So a major factor that I have to consider are the different styles of light I'll be using within my documentary.

There are two different styles of light that I'll be prioritising, natural light during the golden hour, and a 3 point lighting set up.

I intend to film my documentary in two different parts, one part shall be interviews with several of the people involved.

The other part shall be filmed outside in a more explorative style. Both locations shall require different forms of lighting.

1. Natural Light during the Golden

Hour

Why I want natural Light• As I film outside it is widely

known that the best time to shoot is during what people consider the “Golden Hour”

• This means filming just after the sun has risen or just before it sets

• This enables you to film with natural light heading towards the target of your shot from a horizontal angle as apposed from an over the head angle that could make shots look awkward

I intend to heavily implement outside shoots into my final piece and as such I feel it’s essential to understand as much as possible the dynamics of natural light.

In conjuncture with the golden hour I shall also be using reflectors where ever possible to manipulate the light so that I achieve the desired shot.

2. Three point lighting set-

up

The uses of the Three point lighting set-up

Whilst doing an inside shoot it is imperative that you make the target of your shoot as well lit and viewable as posable.

The best way to achieve this is by using three different lights at three different strengths to illuminate a subject.

The red arrows

represent the light

from the key light

The green arrows

represent the light

from the back light

The blue arrows represent the light from the fill light

The key light we placed facing in the directions of the red arrows. This was our main light source, that served to illuminate our targets making them clear and visible for the audience.

The blue light represents the light from the fill light. The shadows cast by the key light are fairly prominent so to soften these shadows we use the fill light.

The green arrow represents the light from the back light. This adds an illuminated sense to the target noticeable around the edges of a target especially on the edges of the hair.

To summarise…

I wish to incorporate both these forms of lighting in my documentary as I feel they’ll both produce positive effects for my work.