In lecture 7, lighting was the main topic of discussion. In the lecture, Paul and Robin discussed how lighting can work to illuminate the subject in a variety of different ways. Using Will as the model, the light was reflected on one side of his face, creating a very harsh contrast between the illuminated side and dark shadow side of his face. In order to eliminate the harshness of the straight on light, the white board was strategically placed so that the light would bounce off it. This technique was identified as allowing us to create softer light on the subjects. It utilized the key lighting by bouncing it back onto the subject.

Other areas of lighting which were covered included a discussion on three point lighting, as well as the differences between artificial and natural lighting. Lighting can greatly influence the theme of the film, as dark dingy lighting creates a parallel dark mood, but bright, sunny lighting communicates a happier feeling. Similarly, lighting can compliment the communication of a characters personality or emotion. We also learnt that we must also use sand bags and that the lights can get quite hot.

Lighting was an area production which I have very little experience with dealing with. Usually the short films/videos that I have done as an ‘amature’ rely solely on lights which can be easily accessed (i.e. just the sunlight or house lights). This lecture, and the accompanying tutorial explaining all the uses and benefits of the different types of lights, was extremely helpful for our project. One is able to creatively influence majority of the film through lighting, and so it is a crucial element of our project which shouldn’t be overlooked. After the lecture I was enlightened in the area of lighting and had ideas as to what we could utilize for our short film. Mainly I was keen to use the white and black boards in order to cut off or diffuse light, as we knew we would be working with natural sunlight and so had to be prepared to bounce light or create shadows.