Post 13: Advanced Production Skills Workshop 3

The final workshop we did as a class was all on the subject of 'source' and 'colour'. The whole reason behind doing this workshop was to further our knowledge and understanding so when we came to filming for our a2 short film. It would also enhance the quality of the production for our short film by looking at the technical elements of lighting.

The first activity we did was speak about 2 different images taken from the 1994 comedy-drama film Forest Gump. Both shots are from the same location in the film however in terms of lighting both look very different.

Forest Gump - Image 1

Forest Gump - Image 2

After previewing the two images and taking notes the class had a discussion on both of them. After a short discussion we came up with the conclusion image 1 looks a better quality then 2. The natural lighting coming from the sun in the background makes the image feel cleaner and realistic. This gives it a variety of colours in comparison to image 2 which is very dull. The dullness comes from the hard lighting in image 2, while image 1 uses soft lighting helping to bring out the colours. The direction of the lighting in image 2 is going straight down, this leads to bleaching out. I would say image 1 is an atual frame shot from the film while the 2nd looks like a photograph. The photograph look also has a distingtive look to it. This could be because of an added light enhancement like an 85 filter.

Looking at these two images has made me think about our short film we will be creating. I have learnt the colour of a film is an important way of creating a atmosphere. The 2nd image uses an 85 filter making it look cooler. This is a great technique which could help us greatly, for instance when we come to the filming - if the natural lighting is not to want we want it to look like an 85 filter can be added.

3 point lighting
3 point lighting was developed in classical Hollywood film making and is still used in film making today.

The link below shows a quick way of understanding how it works.
http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/b/b8/3-point_lighting.ogv

Key light: Shines directly upon the subject.

Fill light: Shines on the subject however from the side.

Back light: Shines onto the subject from behind. 

The 3 point lighting is a important way to improve the quality of lighting. As a group this could influence when we film for our short film. As we are filming around Febuary, March time we will be cut short for natural light. However after looking at 3 point lighting I have learnt filming at this time of the year may not be as much of an issue. With the lighting easily edited the lighting can be enhanced by using this 3 point lighting. 

Creating an atmosphere

After looking at the 3 point lighting we went on to speaking about how the source of lighting creates an atmosphere for a film. we looked at 2 different images of corridors, looking at the lighting sources used in both.

Image 1

The lights on the walls are facing down to the floor. This leads to light filling up the corridor. We can see the character clearly because of the lighting on the wall brighting up everything. However there is also a natural light source coming from in front of the man. We can see this as the wood is reflecting the light coming from that direction.

Image 2

Image two's light source is only coming from the light on the ceiling of the corridor. This light is heading straight down to the floor creating shadows where there is zero light coming from the ceiling. in turn it creates a mysterious atmosphere so the audience feel uneasy.

For our A2 short film creating an atmosphere will be vital but the power to create one is in our hands. This has influenced me to thinking of different ways of making an atmoshere in a scene. I have looked at our script and have a few ideas of what we can do to help show the genre of our story and grabbed an audiences attention.

Colour Temperature Chart

This chart is a method of describing the range of colours to use in different situations. 

85 filter

The 85 filter can save many dilemmas when coming to filming a scene for a film. For instance if the weather is creating a dull and depressing image an 85 filter can be used to create a warmer tone to the image. The colour can be used to be an advantage to a film creating a unique style.

Warming up image - Orange filter: Without + With

Cooling image down - Blue filter: Without + With

Example of the 85 filter in film; 

Harry Potter

The 85 filter is defiantly a technique i would like to use in our short film. As the camera man it is my role to make sure each shot is perfect, while its also my job to know when and when not i need an 85 filter. As you can see from the Harry Potter image an 85 filter is used to create an atmosphere, something i just looked at, It makes the shot look dark and sinister.

After looking at all the elements of source and colour for lighting we went on to create our own experiment. This was a great chance to put all the skills we learnt into practice. The experiment involved a 10-15 seconds of a corridor with a character leaning up against a wall then walking off. In our experiment we experimented the source of lighting, changing the light in two different clips to see the difference. The first 10 seconds we used a artificial light on the character which can be seen from looking at the characters face. While the second clip is just natural light. This will help me when we come to filming for our short film as I will have a clearer view whether a shot needs enhanced lighting or not.

Source Clip;