Using Artificial Lighting Correctly in film.

Artificial lighting can be the making or breaking of the aesthetics of a film. Also used in photography (an article I will soon be writing), the use of artificial lighting will benefit your film if you learn to use it correctly. Media students, film students, those who are interested in becoming lighting technicians: this is for you.

When taking the use of artificial lighting into question, as a lighting technician, you must first read the script of the film several times to achieve an appropriate lighting plan. If not, you may clash with the director and writers in regards to their vision. The director and the lighting technician should both be clear about what the lighting plan is, to avoid any conflicts or misunderstandings on set. And let's face it, there is going to be PLENTY of  friction on set already, because...it's a film set. It it advisable to be keeping this in mind when filming, keeping the director in particular aware of any plans the lighting technicians have for the scenes being filmed. 

See these? Learn what they do!

As I have mentioned before, lighting technicians will get the blame for any shot that looks badly composed on green screen. This often applies in other styles of filming as well. Make no mistake, the editor will hunt you down, the director will blame you until the end of time and the DOP will get away with murder, insisting they could not produce aesthetically pleasing shots due to your incompetent lighting plan. The only way to avoid another media hate crime against lighting technicians with you as the victim, is to study the use of lighting extensively.

 

I will not mess up...I will not mess up...

Regarding the practical aspects of the use of artificial light, you will have to take into account any available light if there is any. When possible, you should  use the available light in the most efficient way you can, adding additional lighting when necessary. For each scene, it is a good idea to set up the camera to see what exactly needs to be lit during the shot, this way you could avoid wasting time lighting areas that will not be shown in shot. In doing this, you will avoid the director, the DOP and anyone who wants to get home on time, screaming at you and belittling you even more than usual.

Once you have understood how potent the natural/available light is, you should be able to build your three point lighting system around it. Take photographs of the set to get a clearer idea of what will be seen on film, and how much lighting needs to be added (if any).

 

Extensive: An example of a lighting plan.

 Keep in mind that what appears on film often appears different to what appears to the human eye on set, and that you will use lighting to gain the visual we want for the film.

Despite the possibility that you may need artificial light to brighten the images you record for the film, you must also consider the fact that the artificial light you may employ may be too harsh or too bright to work with. After consulting the e̶m̶p̶e̶r̶o̶r̶ director about this, should the problem arise, the good lighting technician will apply soft boxes to the light heads if the artificial light source in use is too harsh. 

Softboxes to counteract harsh artificial lights

Lighting technicians can also use artificial light to create directional lighting, by putting the barn doors on the light head to point the light in the direction it needs to be shining. Which brings me to my next point; lighting technicians must be trained and experienced, for one reason being that when adjusting the barn doors on a light, gloves must be worn due to the bulb possibly becoming very hot. Also, a lighting technician that is inexperienced could possibly break the lights as well as injuring themselves, which is why those responsible for lighting must be trained and careful with the equipment. 

If you are not a lighting technician, and have, for example, been pressured into taking on the role as lighting technician, by say, a student at your uni who has been producer for all of ten minutes and has already let the power swarm to their head - do NOT take on the role without undergoing the appropriate training to use the equipment. Any responsible university lecturer, or indeed any competent lighting technician will say exactly the same thing.  

Artificial lighting: An unnecessary wound.

A long and arduous task this can sometimes be, to give yourself a better chance of achieving good lighting on set is to simply do it shot by shot. That is, every time the camera is moved to a different angle, the lights must be moved to correspond with the shot and ensure that the subject is lit appropriately. This sounds like a long, thankless task, but believe me it is not. Once you have achieved a scrupulous and workable lighting set up for each shot, it will contribute to the success of your film and if you are a student, notice how other films will get criticized for lazy use of the lights. 

Lighting: even useful outdoors in broad daylight.

There are ways around the time consuming nature of setting up lighting. For example, a lighting plan can save a lot of time on set. Using this will mean that you can shoot in the order of lighting set ups rather than the chronological order of the scripts. If you feel uneasy about suggesting this to the director, just remember, that this will save a lot of time on set and the rest of the cast and crew will appreciate how efficient mindful you are by bringing this up.

Your attention to the precise detail of lighting will be noticed. Although trying to get the best out of the lighting is a main reason why filming takes so long on set, the rewards will be obvious when the finished product is delivered. It's worth it, make the effort.