ferent light sources is the light's hardness or softness. In coming to understand the qualities of a light, a good starting point is to figure out the light's make and model and train your eye to dis- tinguish the quality of the shadow the light fixture produces. Are the shadows dark with sharp edges? Then it's a hard light. Are the shadows gray with soft edges? That's a soft light.
Typical hard light sources are the sun, a clear glass light bulb, a candle, or light fixtures like spotlights. Hard lights are used in film and video production to create a strong statement. Because a hard light casts such sharp and defined shadows, most three- dimensional details, such as textures or engravings in an object
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or even skin imperfections, all become much more noticeable. When overused, hard lights could create an extreme, full-contrast look, almost as though the image is a duotone comic book with lots of dimensionality in the frame.
On the other hand, soft light sources include an overcast day, a light that bounces off any reflective or light-colored surfaces, a Chinese lantern, or light fixtures such as zip lights. Soft lights are used in film and video production to light large areas of a set, allow- ing the actors to move more freely across it. They create a natu- ral look and more subtle statement than hard lights. Because soft lights cast gentle and soft shadows, most three-dimensional details become less noticeable. The light wraps around the three-dimen- sional object, creating a soft, even, and less dramatic look. The draw- back to soft lights is that they are harder to control than hard lights. That's why they are often used in conjunction with flags, which keep light off areas where it's not wanted. When overused, soft lights can create a flat, even look, without much dimensionality in the frame.
On a set, the quality of a light depends on the following: • The lamps' size and output. Light sizes could be as little as
100 watts, all the way up to 5,000 or 10,000 watts (also referred to as 5K or 10K). A small light fixture, such as a 100 watt, will generally create a harder light and sharper shadows than a larger diffused light fixture, such as a 5K.
• The lamps' model and settings, parameters, or accessories. There are a number of models within each brand. Some of the most common brands are Arri, Kino-Flo, Mole-Richardson, Dedo, Source 4 Leko, and Light Panels. There are two main dis- tinctions regarding the light's casing: Fresnel and open face. • Fresnel lights have a built-in lens in front of the light, which
helps create a more even light by containing and controlling its beam. They also create sharper shadows and are focus- able, meaning you can change the distance between the filament and the lens. Fresnel lights have a knob that can be turned to select two different settings: a flood mode (when the filament is closest to the lens and produces a wider spread of light, creating softer shadows) and a spot mode (when the fil- ament is farthest from the lens and produces a narrower and focused light beam, creating sharper shadows).
• Open face lights provide a larger light beam, which is use- ful for creating a soft lighting look. They don't contain a built-in lens, and not all of them are focusable. Some open face lights have lenses that can be placed in front of the light's face, which can further control the quality of light; some lenses are flat or frosted, wide or narrow. The open face lights include the family of soft lights. Some are cre- ated by a lighting manufacturer, and some might be cre- ated by gaffers.
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Chapter 4 LIGHTS, COLOR, AND CLARITY: PREPARING YOUR TITLESOne kind of soft light that lends itself to be hung over a stage to create an even, soft light across the set is a space light. This circular light creates a soft pool light beam and is controlled on its sides by skirts, which can be solid (made out of black solid duvatine, keeping the light focused downward) or silk (creating a silky diffused lighting on the edges), and gels can be added to it.
• Larger and increasingly popular lights include balloon lights, which are typically used to create a soft, even light on large sets, whether interior or exterior, day or night, and can be easily installed without heavy rigging or cranes because they are incredibly light. Most models are self- supporting, with the space light suspended in the middle of a balloon filled with helium. After the balloon is inflated, it can be elevated as high as the model goes and can be fur- ther elevated by a weight-assisted cable.
• The intensity of light. The film and video production world uses the word intensity instead of brightness. The most com- mon tool used to measure the intensity of light is a light meter, which measures incidental light (light that falls on a subject) or reflective values (light that is bounced off the illuminated subject). See Chapter 6 for more on this subject.
Keep in mind that the intensity of light falling onto an object or subject depends on the angle from which you are looking at it. This is particularly important when you're taking a reading with an incidental light meter.
The intensity of light is measured in a couple of units:
• Lumen. A light fixture's output is measured in lumens, which is the luminous energy created by a source. The light output of other items such as light bulbs and projectors is also measured in lumens.
• Footcandle. When light falls on surfaces, the correct unit of measure is footcandles (or lux). This international unit of illumination measures the density of light on a given point on a surface. Its measurement is often accomplished with the aid of a light meter positioned on that given point and pointed toward the light source.
You can manipulate the light's intensity if you modify the following:
• Distance. One instantly gratifying modification you can apply to a light fixture—especially when it's mounted on a light stand—is to change its distance from the subject you are illuminating. The farther you move it, the lower the light's intensity. The closer you move it, the higher its intensity. • Scrims. When a light fixture cannot be moved, a quick solu-
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between the front of the light and its barndoors. A scrim is a metal wire mesh that, when placed in front of a light fix- ture, reduces its intensity. A single scrim has a single layer of wire mesh and a green border and reduces the exposure of approximately ½ f-stop. A double scrim has a double layer of metal mesh and a red border and reduces the expo- sure of approximately 1 f-stop.
• Gels. To manipulate the light's intensity, you could use neutral density (ND) gels and diffusion gels. Neutral density gels do not affect the color temperature of the light fixture; they look gray and they decrease the intensity of light, as though you were putting a pair of sunglasses on. They can be found in a variety of weights, from ND2, which reduces the exposure of 1 f-stop, to ND64, which reduces the exposure of 6 f-stops. In addition to ND gels, you have at your disposal a range of dif- fusion gels. These gels are translucent and they do not affect the color temperature of the light. They can be found in a vari- ety of densities, from light diffusion such as opal gels, which add a slight soft touch to your light without compromising its intensity, to heavier diffusion such as 250. The primary func- tion of these gels is to diffuse lights, but heavier-density gels, which are thicker, reduce the lights' intensity more.
• Dimmers. These are external controllers that you can add to lights so that you can control their output. They generally work with the aid of a knob, which you can mark and turn to reduce or increase the light's intensity. Dimmers generally do affect the color temperature by shifting it to warmer hues. • The angle of light. The angle at which you place a light will
affect its quality. Imagine a camera and a subject. Place a light right beside the camera and start moving it horizontally around the subject. When your light is in the front, you will benefit from the full intensity of the light. The more you rotate it around the subject, the intensity lowers, but you also create more dimensional light. When you position the light behind the subject, you create a back light; only the rim around the subject is visible. Now go back to the first position of the light next to the camera, facing the subject. Instead of moving it horizontally, raise the light higher or lower and tilt it up or down to keep illuminating the subject. High- and low-angle lighting creates more dramatic effects and deeper shadows than a light that is placed at the subject's eye level or slightly higher.