Unit 4: Lighting

Question 1

4 major features of lighting

Answer 1

• Source
• Quality
• Direction
• Colour

Question 2

Sources of Lighting:

Answer 2

outdoor/natural light

•indoor/artificial light

Question 3

Lighting quality refers to

Answer 3

the relative intensity of illumination:

Question 4

Hard Lighting

Answer 4

•creates clearly defined shadows, crisp textures, and sharp edges

Question 5

Soft Lighting

Answer 5

•creates a diffused illumination

Question 6

Magic hour

Answer 6

the time after sunset but before dark or the time of increasing light before sunrise.

Question 7

direction of lighting in a shot refers to

Answer 7

the path of light from its source or sources to the

object lit.

Question 8

Direction of Lighting

Answer 8

• Frontal lighting
• Side lighting
• Backlighting
• Underlighting
• Top lighting

Question 9

Frontal lighting:

Answer 9

•Illumination directed into the scene from near the camera.

Question 10

Side lighting:

Answer 10

Lighting coming from one side of a person or object, usually in order to create a sense of
volume, to bring out surface tensions, or to fill in areas left shadowed by light from another
source.

Question 11

Underlighting

Answer 11

•Illumination from a point below the figures in the scene

Question 12

Top Lighting

Answer 12

•Lighting from above a person or object, usually in order to outline the upper areas of the figure
or to separate it more clearly from the background.

Question 13

Backlighting

Answer 13

•Illumination cast onto the figures in the scene from the side opposite the camera, usually
creating a thin outline of highlighting on those figures.

Question 14

Three-point lighting:

Answer 14

A common arrangement using three directions of light on a scene: from behind the subjects
(backlighting), from one bright source (key light), and from a less bright source balancing the
key light (fill light).

Question 15

Key Light:

Answer 15

•The most intense light in a scene.

Question 16

Fill Light

Answer 16

•Illumination from a source less bright than the key light used to soften deep shadows in a scene.

Question 17

Backlight/Rim Light/Kicker:

Answer 17

•An intense light source placed behind a subject that strikes the subject along the edge.

Question 18

Eye lights

Answer 18

•are aimed directly into the eyes of an actor to produce a gleam in the eye.

Question 19

Low-key lighting

Answer 19

•illumination that creates strong contrast between light and dark areas of the shot, with deep
shadows and little fill light.
•often adds dramatic or mysterious effect
•good examples, crime films, horror films

Question 20

how is low key lighting produced

Answer 20

•is produced by increasing the intensity of the key light relative to the fill.

Question 21

in low-key lighting, the lighting ratio (key/fill) is

Answer 21

between 16:1 and 32:1.

Question 22

High key lighting

Answer 22

Illumination that creates comparatively little contrast between the light and dark areas of the
shot.
•refers to a lighting design in which the key to film ratio is 2:1 or lower.
•eliminates virtually all of the shadows cast by the key light
•tends to create a hopeful mood (comedies, cheery scenes)

Question 23

Natural Key Light

Answer 23

• also called normal lighting
• ratio of key to fill light between 4:1 and 8:1.
• fill light is no longer able to eliminate every shadow

Question 24

Day for Night

Answer 24

the practice of shooting during the day but using filters and underexposure to create the illusion
of nighttime.

Question 25

Chairoscuro

Answer 25

•the use of deep gradations and subtle variations of lights and darks within an image

Question 26

Exposure

Answer 26

refers to the amount of light striking the emulsion layer of the film stock.

Question 27

Underexposure

Answer 27

•an effect created when too little light strikes the film during shooting.
•As a result the image will contain dark areas that appear very dense and dark (including
shadows) and the overall contrast will be less than with a properly exposed image

Question 28

Overexposure

Answer 28

•An effect created when more light than is required to produce an image strikes the film stock, so
that the resulting image exhibits high contrast, glaring light, and washed out shadows.