Question 7

Please outline some points that you took away from the Lighting Lecture. Points that excite you, something that was completely new to you, perplexes you or even one you take issue with.

I am not familiar with lighting at all. I know we need to make consistent light shades, shadows and color tones throughout the film but I do not really know what to consider in designing and setting up the lights. It is a basic concept, yet I have always forgotten that we cannot shoot without changing any lights. Or it is very hard to just rely on the natural sunlight we have at a location since the weather is changing every minutes. One main idea I took away from the lecture is that lighting is more related to the situation when we film, that is, what lights we have and how we place our camera and the subject to the light to get the visual effect we want. I became aware how important it is for us to learn about our filming location. We also have to know, for example, shooting indoor with windows, how the sun enters the room at different periods in a day earlier on. It is as well very interesting to learn about ways to create amount of light we want artificially. By bouncing hard light sources off the wall or a white reflector, we get a softer light which is more diffused and creates a shadow with soft-edged. Softening light can make the actors look more natural. With the use of silver reflector, light becomes a lot harder and a hard, dark shadow will be created which can make the subject’s features more prominent or provide a dramatic effect. The concept of ‘negative fill’ is new to me, which is when we take away some light and it is great to create certain moods in the scene. For example, we cover the window with black cloth to reduce the sunlight entering. Since light is all around, what I understand from the lecture is that negative fill helps to control the contrast between key light and shadows by reducing the lights caused by reflections. I found it quite intriguing that by adding different colored gel we can create different colour temperature. For example, if we cover the camera lens with blue gel, the set shown on the camera will very much look alike in daylight. I suppose lighting is so important that what seems natural and making sense on the camera is actually constructed in our eyes.

Question 8 

Please insert the link for your Lenny ex2 here. (use insert link tool) List the things that you learnt from this experience – this could be things that went well or not so well.

Link for Lenny Ex2: https://vimeo.com/92134409

Lenny exercise taught me so much about group cooperation. To be honest, we had not prepared much before the shoot. Therefore our filming is rush. It was raining that day so we were restricted from only shooting indoor. We got to change our filming location at the time right before we shoot. And unfortunately at the moment we were going to begin shooting, the sound mixer and recorder weren’t working. We also did not have enough time to cover all the shots we wanted. Still I am impressed with us come up with the low angle shot up the stairs and how we manage to edit the shots together coherently. I don’t have much experience on set yet I guess planning is crucial. I suppose it will be so much better if we know well about the filming location. Then we do not need to spend extra time dealing with the people and noise that poped up suddenly. Communication between crew members are also important. Everybody has to pay full attention on set, to the director and their roles while shooting.