It was stressed in the lecture that lighting is an essential aspect of the cinematographer’s job. Not only does this equate to whether the subject is properly lit, but also the coverage of the scene; i.e. is the subject backlit because of the camera’s position? This is one of the reasons why location scouting and pre-planning (according to Robin) is key to creating the film. We are also reminded of how lighting is reliant on the location, such as in Australia, the sun begins to head north during winter. It is also important for the cinematographer to be aware of things such as: soft light vs. hard light, key light/fill/back light equation, etc.
An interesting concept that was new to me personally, was the idea of using a “negative fill”, or purposefully blocking out available natural light.
Unfortunately, our edited Lenny ex2 was not available for my perusal before/during the Easter break.
Nevertheless, the experience taught me the importance of pre-planning. In this case, I as cinematographer did create a shot list prior to the filming, as did our producer and coming up with a location. What we did not account for, was the (rainy) weather and the opinions of other group members being shared on the day. Pre-planning requires more than just planning, as it turns out, but includes constant communication (and insistence on it) with the entire group. Due to the time shortage (spent on opinionated students’ satisfaction), most of the planned elements were discarded and slight improvisation was required.