SAE Magazine 13-3

98 PRODUCTION & KNOW HOW // THE ART OF FILM LIGHTING But if you are outside in New Zealand on a sunny day the colour temperature will be about 5,400K. This is a blue light. If this seems unlikely, that is because your eyes have a sort of automatic white-balance as your brain quickly becomes accustomed to most common tem- peratures of light. But if you have ever taken a digi- tal photo and wondered why it looked so orange or so blue, it is probably because the camera’s white balance was incorrectly set. When shooting video, things can get a bit muddled if you’re shooting underneath a bright incandescent light near a window – the camera’s auto white bal- ance may not know how it’s supposed to calibrate itself. Quality A source of light can be hard, soft, or anywhere in between, depending on the type of shadow it casts. If you are lighting an actor who is playing a hard- ened villain, you might thi diffusion filter in front of th want to harden the light, e rough skin – and you may posite if you are lighting th tale. The main source of light o Light that falls directly from to any object (actors) is distinctive highlights and travels from the sun and th will diffuse the light and be High-noon sunshine on very unflattering. Cinema up cumbersome overhea perform under during such In conclusion Imagine if the six o’clock n film noir picture, or if The lit like a shampoo comm be very different. A direct closely with a production’ designer to create and ma of a film. And yet, these artists tend obscured by the box office its director. The title Batman Begins is conjures up an image, a q think of Christian Bale o the director, Christopher cidence that Christopher Wally Pfister on each of h Photos:LealButler(SAEAuckland) In this photo, the subject looks a little too blue due to incorrect white balance. Raising the colour temperature from 2,800K to 4,300K would give the photo a more natural, realistic appearance. In this case the subject’s face appears to be underexposed compared to the background. Lighting - and exposing for - the subject would have seen vastly improved results.

SAE Magazine 13-3

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