Different types of lighting

As a lot of our thriller opening will be filmed in the dark lighting (or lack of it) is very important. Therefore I have done some research of different types of lighting used in films.

3 point fill lighting

This technique uses three lights to fully illuminate the subject. The key light is the main light which is usually placed to one side of the camera to create a small shadow on the other side of the subject. The fill light is usually placed on the opposite side of the key light ad is used to fill the small shadows created by the key light. This light is usually softer and not as bright as the key light. The back light is used to create a subtle but noticeable highlight around the subject, separating them from their background.

Chiaroscuro lighting

This technique creates large contrasts between different colours in films. It is mostly effective with shots shot in black and white, as the contrast is a lot stronger. It contrasts the light and dark parts of the films, as shown in the image above. The technique originated from Italy where it was used within oil paintings.

High key lighting

High key lighting is where the shadows created by the subjects are suppressed by the lighting in the scene, as shown in the image above. This creates a very light picture, which can someotimes be edited to look natural in lighter areas.

Back lighting

Artificial and natural lighting