Y10 Lighting Task

Three Point Lighting

3-point lighting is a fundamental lighting technique that forms the backbone of cinematography and photography. It consists of three distinct light sources: the key light, fill light, and back light (also called rim light). The key light serves as the primary illumination source, typically positioned at a 45-degree angle from the subject to create deliberate shadows and define the main features. The fill light, placed opposite the key light, softens these shadows and prevents overly harsh contrasts, while the back light separates the subject from the background by creating a subtle outline around their form.

While 3-point lighting remains a crucial starting point for cinematographers, its practical application in modern filmmaking often requires adaptation. The technique can sometimes feel artificial or theatrical, particularly in locations with natural light sources or when shooting in tight spaces where three lights simply won't fit. Many contemporary cinematographers use it as a conceptual foundation rather than a strict formula, often eliminating one of the lights or incorporating practical sources like windows or practical lamps. Additionally, the rise of more naturalistic lighting styles and the influence of documentary techniques has led many filmmakers to intentionally break from this traditional approach, creating more organic-looking scenes that may only use one carefully placed light or even just available light.

The Classical Foundation

The standardization of 3-point lighting in early cinema emerged from both technical necessity and artistic convention. Early film stocks required intense, controlled illumination, while the theatrical influence of the era favored clearly lit subjects. This approach became the default during Hollywood's Golden Age, with cinematographers like Gregg Toland (Citizen Kane) and James Wong Howe working within—and occasionally subverting—these established patterns.

The Transition Period (1950s-1970s)

Several factors catalyzed the evolution beyond basic 3-point lighting:

Motivated Lighting Emerges

The concept of motivated lighting—where every light source has a logical origin within the scene—gained prominence through pioneers like Gordon Willis (The Godfather) and Vittorio Storaro (Apocalypse Now). This approach considers:

Common Contemporary Techniques

The journey from 3-point lighting to motivated setups represents not just a technical evolution but a fundamental shift in how cinematographers approach visual storytelling. While 3-point lighting remains a valuable teaching tool and occasional solution, contemporary lighting design embraces a more nuanced, story-driven approach that prioritizes naturalism while maintaining the ability to shape visual narrative through deliberate lighting choices.

More on Motivated Lighting

Motivated lighting is a cinematographic approach that grounds every lighting decision in the reality of the scene. Rather than placing lights solely for technical perfection, each source should appear to come from a logical origin within the story world. This creates both more believable scenes and deeper storytelling opportunities.

For example, in a noir-style interrogation scene, rather than using traditional 3-point lighting, a cinematographer might use a single harsh overhead lamp visible in the shot, creating strong shadows that enhance the scene's tension. In a romantic dinner scene, the lighting might be motivated by visible candles on the table and sconces on the walls, creating a warm, intimate atmosphere that feels natural to the setting.

Common examples of motivated light sources include:

The challenge with motivated lighting often lies in maintaining this natural appearance while still achieving the technical requirements for proper exposure and dramatic effect. Cinematographers might need to augment these practical sources with hidden lights that appear to come from the same direction, or use bounce cards to redistribute existing light in a more favourable way.

Practicals

Practical lights are functional light sources that appear within the frame of a shot—table lamps, chandeliers, computer screens, neon signs, candles, and any other visible light source that exists naturally in the scene. Unlike traditional film lights that are positioned outside the frame, practicals serve a dual purpose: they provide actual illumination while also appearing as natural elements within the story world. This makes them invaluable tools for creating authentic-looking environments and justifying lighting choices that might otherwise seem artificial.

Beyond their technical function, practicals play a crucial role in establishing mood and enhancing storytelling. A character illuminated by a single bedside lamp creates an intimate atmosphere; harsh fluorescent office lights can reinforce a sense of institutional sterility; a flickering TV screen can cast dynamic shadows that build tension. Cinematographers often supplement practicals with hidden lights to achieve proper exposure while maintaining the illusion that all light is coming from the visible sources. This might involve using dimmers to balance practical brightness, adding diffusion to soften their output, or positioning bounce cards to redistribute their light in a more favorable way.

Hard vs Soft Lights

Hard light creates sharp, defined shadows and tends to emphasize texture and form, coming from small, concentrated sources like direct sunlight or focused spotlights. Soft light, produced by larger sources like overcast skies or large diffusion frames, wraps around subjects and creates gentle shadow transitions, often appearing more flattering on faces. The distinction isn't binary though—it's more of a spectrum that cinematographers can control through various means.

The relationship between distance and light quality follows the inverse square law: doubling the distance between a light and subject reduces its intensity to one-fourth. But beyond brightness, distance affects the relative size of the source to the subject, which in turn affects how hard or soft the light appears. A small light placed very close becomes relatively larger to the subject and thus softer, while the same light moved far away becomes relatively smaller and harder. Similarly, the angle of light relative to the subject dramatically affects modelling—a front-on light flattens features, while increasing the angle creates more dramatic shadows that reveal form and texture. This is why cinematographers often start with light placement rather than intensity when crafting their images.

Cinema Lighting Best Practices

Key principles of cinema lighting revolve around creating depth and serving story through deliberate choices. Cinematographers typically avoid flat, even lighting because it makes images appear two-dimensional and often feels artificial—instead, they create contrast through lighting ratios and strategic shadow placement. This might mean letting one side of a face fall into shadow, using rim lights to separate subjects from backgrounds, or allowing some areas of the frame to go darker than others to direct viewer attention.

Shadows aren't just the absence of light—they're active storytelling tools that can hide or reveal, create mystery or clarity, and establish the emotional tone of a scene. For instance, a bright comedy might use soft, wrapping light with minimal shadows to create an open, energetic feeling, while a thriller might embrace harder sources and deeper shadows to build tension. Most importantly, all these choices should feel motivated by the reality of the scene—if there's a window, the lighting should appear to come from it; if it's nighttime, the quality and direction of light should match the practical sources visible in the frame. This attention to matching both the narrative tone and the practical reality of a scene is what separates sophisticated lighting design from mere technical illumination.

Dynamic Range and Camera Perception

The human eye has a remarkable ability to simultaneously perceive detail in both bright highlights and dark shadows—we can see someone's face clearly even when they're backlit by a bright window. Cameras, however, have a much more limited dynamic range (the span between the brightest and darkest details they can capture simultaneously). While modern digital cameras can capture around 14-16 stops of dynamic range and film stock about 13 stops, the human eye can perceive approximately 20 stops or more. This technical limitation requires cinematographers to carefully control contrast ratios in ways that might look artificial to the naked eye on set but translate beautifully to camera.

This difference between human and camera perception means lighting setups often need to be adjusted specifically for the camera's limitations. What appears to be subtle modelling to the eye might read as completely flat on camera, while what looks like extreme contrast on set might capture perfectly on screen. Fill lights that seem unnecessarily bright to crew members watching a scene might be essential for retaining shadow detail in the final image. Understanding this disparity is crucial for cinematographers, who must learn to "see" through the camera's perspective rather than trusting their naked eye, using tools like light meters, false color, and waveform monitors to make precise lighting decisions that will translate effectively to the recorded image.

Set-A-Light 

Set-a-light is a previsualisation tool, which you will use to design the lighting in your next task.  Before you start your task, watch these introductory videos.

Lighting Task

Step 1:  Choose one day (indoors), and one night film scene with motivated lighting.

Step 2:  Recreate the lighting in Set-a-Light software, exploring different setups and practical light sources.

Step 3:  Recreate your chosen scenes using available household lights and practicals.

Step 4:  Post-process your image to get it as close as possible to the original.

Step 4:  Present your recreated scenes, comparing them to the original, explaining your lighting choices, practicals used, post-production and any challenges faced.