Lighting II: Motivated and Naturalistic Lighting

Lighting that feels real: motivation and source logic, studying real light, sun and sky, day exteriors and sun control, day interiors and windows, practicals, night interiors and exteriors, magic hour and continuity, large spaces, weather and effects, and designing a lighting style for a film.

CINE-221 Year 2 3 credits 12 lessons · 5 h

Offered by HSM University · Cinematography

This is the Canadian version of this course. See the American version.

What you'll learn

  • Explain naturalism, motivation and source logic, and cheat sources while preserving their logic
  • Observe, measure and describe real light, and build references and look books from painting, photography and film
  • Predict sunlight and skylight direction, elevation, colour and intensity by time, season, latitude and weather
  • Light day exteriors by positioning actors to the sun and controlling it with overheads, bounce, fill and negative fill
  • Light day interiors with windows, balancing exterior and interior with ND gel, exterior sources and controlled fill
  • Choose, control and supplement practicals, including bulbs, dimming, colour, shades and screens
  • Light night interiors in pools from local sources while exposing darkness cleanly
  • Represent moonlight and urban night exteriors with high sources, ambience, wet-downs, existing light and day-for-night
  • Capture and imitate magic hour and blue hour, and maintain continuity of light across shots and weather
  • Light large spaces with overhead soft sources, window shafts, rigging and layered depth, safely and within power limits
  • Create convincing rain, lightning, fire, screen, car and emergency light effects safely
  • Design a coherent lighting style and plan for a film, and communicate it to the director, gaffer and crew

Course content

12 lessons · 5 h total · final exam

  1. 1 Naturalism and motivated lighting 26 min · quiz
  2. 2 Studying real light and building references 25 min · quiz
  3. 3 Sun, sky and time of day 25 min · quiz
  4. 4 Day exteriors and sun control 25 min · quiz
  5. 5 Day interiors and windows 25 min · quiz
  6. 6 Practicals and practical integration 25 min · quiz
  7. 7 Night interiors 25 min · quiz
  8. 8 Night exteriors and moonlight 25 min · quiz
  9. 9 Dusk, magic hour and continuity of light 25 min · quiz
  10. 10 Lighting large spaces 24 min · quiz
  11. 11 Weather and effects lighting 25 min · quiz
  12. 12 Designing a lighting style for a film, and capstone 25 min · quiz
  13. E Final exam 20 questions

Requirements

Recommended background. You can start any course at any time.

Description

Lighting that feels real: motivation and source logic, studying real light, sun and sky, day exteriors and sun control, day interiors and windows, practicals, night interiors and exteriors, magic hour and continuity, large spaces, weather and effects, and designing a lighting style for a film.

Part of the Film & Photography stream, typically taken in year 2.