Lighting

High Key Lighting

•High-key lighting is a style of lighting for film, television, or photography that aims to reduce the lighting ratio present in the scene.

•This was originally done partly for technological reasons, since early film and television did not deal well with high contrast ratios, but now is used to suggest an upbeat mood.

•It is often used in sitcoms, comedies & children's entertainment (non animation).

•This means that it is used a lot in single camera productions, as this type of show is what single camera productions us usually used in.

Soft Lighting

•Soft light is light that creates shadows with a gradual transition from light to dark. There are no hard shadow lines

•It is created from a scattered or diffused light source.

•Soft light is found where the lighting is indirect or where it passes through a diffuser, clouds or some other medium which scatters the light.

•Diffused light can be light that has bounced off one or more surfaces before it hits a photographic target.

•This would normally be found in sitcoms and comedy.

•Being more useful for single camera productions

Low Key Lighting

•Low-key lighting is a style of lighting for photography, film or television. It is a necessary element in creating a chiaroscuro effect.

• Low-key lighting often uses only one key light.

•In cinematography, the term ‘low key’ is used to refer to any moment where there is a high lighting ratio (to find out the meaning click here).

•Low ley lighting tends to heighten the sense of alienation felt by the viewer, hence is commonly used in film noir and horror genres.

•So is not used as much in single camera productions, due to the genre that it relates to.

Hard Lighting

•Hard light creates shadows with a sharp edge.

•Hard light is created by strongly focussed light travelling from a small, single-point light source like the Sun, a focussed beam of light, or an undiffused light bulb (it is used as a way to express the lack of interfering diffusion screen or reflector)).

•Hard light is found where the lighting is direct, undiffused, and is not bouncing or scattered by local objects or conditions.

•The flash on a camera is a hard light source.

•When direct and undiffused by clouds the sun is also a hard light source. A hard light source is relatively small and/or large and distant.

•This would be used more in drama, action or horror movies

•This means that it is less useful for single camera production.

Chiaroscuro Effect

•Chiaroscuro is an Italian artistic term used to describe the dramatic effect of contrasting areas of light and dark in an artwork, particularly paintings. It comes from the combination of the Italian words for "light" and "dark."