There wouldn’t be film without film lighting. Lighting is as crucial to cinematic storytelling as a script and a subject, and filmmakers have experimented with different lumination techniques for as long as the medium has existed. In this article, we’ll walk you through everything you need to know about lighting for film, from terminology to techniques. Ready to dive into over a hundred years worth of lighting knowledge?
Types Of Light
Not all types of film lighting are created equally. Light comes in a wide variety of forms, packages and sources. So before you start flipping switches on set, it’s important to know all the options you can work with.
All types of film lighting fall under one of two categories: natural and artificial. Natural light is — you guessed it — light which occurs naturally. This can be illumination coming from the sun, moon, fire, or firefly.
Artificial light, on the other hand, is man-made. Streetlights, neon lights, flashlights, LED panels — these are all artificial. The lights that a film crew lugs onto set and boots up several generators to power? Those are artificial too.