Lighting Theory - Thomas Herd

The most important piece of information to remember in terms of lighting, is that every shot we do, we must light it - even if it is outside.

Three Point Lighting System

There are three different lights which light up the scene are used for different reasons (shown in the diagram to the right). Therefore they are called different names; Key, Fill and Back light. This system is the most used to light up a scene because you can use it for many different effects.

There are two examples of this; 'high key' and 'low key' lighting. They are used for different genres. As we are producing a thriller, our lighting will be 'low key' because this tends to create atmosphere and tension in scenes as it has been used in many different thriller in the past.

In contrast, 'high key' lighting will be more likely to be seen in musicals, comedies and teen movies. This is because they are more likely to be 'happier' movies and therefore, they don't need to create that tension that thrillers need to.

As the diagram on the left shows, if there are two people in the scene - like an interview - the light will obviously show up both characters, however if used well, it can represent different things such as one character having more significance or power over the other character. This can help give the audience more detail about that specific character or their relationships.