SAE Magazine 13-3

F rom an artistic standpoint, the Director of Pho- tography (DOP) must consider how the light falls on and around the actors, how colours bounce off objects and reflect onto faces. A DOP needs to have the skills to control and ad- just these qualities to coalesce with the tone of the director’s vision. He or she must also be aware of the location of highlights and shadows – and choose which areas to expose for. For example, if a DOP chooses to expose for a brightly lit area then the not-so-brightly lit areas will appear darker. Conversely, if the DOP exposes for a dark area, then he or she runs the risk of ‘blowing- out’ the brighter areas. This phenomenon will be familiar to anyone who has discovered that photo- graphing a person outside in the shade may cause detail in the sky to ‘disappear’. Or, if it doesn’t, the subje derexposed, but the dista with detail. Properties of light 1. Intensity 2. Direction 3. Colour Temperature 4. Quality Intensity Intensity refers to a lamp’ uct of a lamp’s wattage an measured in lumens. If yo est lamp available, don’t e – find out how many lume For example, a Dedolight produce 40 lumens per w incandescent bulb might o per watt. Of course, if you want a re should probably look into medium-arc iodide lamp 100 lumens per watt. You h lamps at work at a sports Direction Thedirectionoflightsugge time of day, and type of lo objects in the scene, brin texture, or intentionally o ture. A variety of specialty further enhance the look o PRODUCTION & KNOW HOW // THE ART OF FILM LIGHTING Photo:LealButler(SAEAuckland) High key lighting can suggest an upbeat mood. Harder light may add to the drama, whereas in this instance soft light has effectively done the opposite. 96

SAE Magazine 13-3

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