The Lighting in Movies

Many of us are true blue movie buffs. We rejoice whenever there are new movie releases at a local cinema. It is even sometimes considered a phenomenal event when see exciting and ground-breaking films. But what makes a movie so appealing? Of course the characters, special effects, and the set make the film spectacular. But what are all these without the lighting?

One underrated element in filmmaking is the lighting effects. Unless you plan of watching avant-garde movies that have static images and even blank screenshots, you need light designs to put the dazzle in your favourite movies. And although touted as an easy process, the lighting in films is actually more complicated than it seems.

In filming, we have two basic lighting terms such as hardlight, from a direct source, and softlight, from an artificial source. Hardlight is very helpful in movies. But as climate and natural light can change abruptly, filmmakers should be ready to light up a scene anytime since waiting for hardlight can drastically affect filmmaking schedules.

There is also such thing as the basic lighting set-up which includes the key, fill, and back lights. These light sources are crucial in capturing the mood or theme of the film. This can also be adjusted depending on what the director wants to express on the screen.

So next time you watch your favourite films, make sure to pay attention on the lighting of a scene. You will realise that one reason you actually like or hate the film is because of the consistency of its lighting.