Svjetlo na filmu

• Light is an integral part of cinematography and is largely responsible for the look of the film. It can easily set the tone of a scene and make or break how "good" a movie looks. It can also be used artistically. Light can represent a feeling or a presence. Coloured lights can hold meaning or highlight the tone of a scene.

An example of a creative, artistic use of light. In this scene in Close Encounters of the Third Kind The bright light blinds the characters and keeps the aliens a foggy mystery.

In Silence of the Lambs during this end scene the audience is able to see what is happening in the supposed pitch black basement through the eyes of Buffalo Bill. this is a creative use of light and creates cognitive coherence.

On a technical level positioning the lights is usually about creating a scene that looks good while staying contextual with the environment. However it can also be used artistically. Where are you casting your shadows? What do you want to show the audience or hide in darkness?

This set up is called 3 point lighting, it's the most basic and the most used set up in cinema. It can be broken down into 3 parts. 1. Key light, the primary source of light in a shot. 2. Fill light, the secondary light, fills in the shadows cast by the key. 3. Back light, used to make an object pop from the background. The 3 point system lights objects in a three dimensional way creating a fuller more interesting image. However using it by the book often ends up in a "sitcom" look, most cinematographers us variations on this system using only one light, only two or adjusting the brightness of the lights.

• The key light is the primary source of light in a shot. The complex process of placing the lights for a movie can all be narrowed down to one question: Where is your key? Once you answer that question the rest becomes easy. It's the just looking at the subject and then applying what is appropriate. Want shadows filled? go ahead. No? Okay then don't there is no set rule book, just a set of guidelines. Most of the time the key light should be contextual within the scene, it could be lights from a car, a lamp, a fire etc. If a character is in a dark cave and a bright light is shining on him from nowhere it's distracting for the audience. When placing the key shadows should also be taken into account. The majority of the time shadows will face the audience. Not only does this look better but by having the light come from within the frame it draws the audience in, creating a more 3 dimensional space.

• Once the question Where is your key? is answered focus is put on the shadows. When lighting objects with the key shadows are a must; highlights and low lights are the basis of good photography. So the fill light basically is the light used to fill in these shadows and varies wildly based on the amount of shadow you want. More dramatic movies like The Godfather will have darker shadows while comedies will have almost none. By casting shadows and filling them texture and detail is created with the light. In this still the lamp sitting behind the character is creating back light around the head and shoulders. Back light makes objects pop from the background and prevents them from getting lost in darkness. A back light will also prevent an image from looking two dimensional.

• Here we can see 3 pont in action. Despite the fact that Daniel Day Lewis is most likely lit just fine by just the sun through the clouds (casts no shadows) cinematographer Robert Elswit has placed a key light and a back light on Lewis. Not only does it make him pop, it creates more texture highlighting the sweat and oil on his face.

• In this still we have both strong key light and back light. A dark shadow is cast with little to no fill in place.