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It's interesting that light was the first thing created. And as the sun is central to life on earth, so is light to filmmaking because without light, there would be darkness. In filmmaking we capture images with camera's which are devices with sensors that detect light.
Lighting was the first topic I researched in my quest to become a filmmaker. I really wanted to understand how to create the beautiful images I saw in international films. I wanted to know why, in the past, our local Nollywood movies looked quite different from international films. So I Googled it.
There are lots of websites and YouTube videos that explain lighting for filmmakers from the physics of light to the the types of light s in the movie industry, the quality of light and how to light for different styles in filmmaking. The research helped me to understand what types of light I needed as a filmmaker and it helped me in practicing different lighting setups after I bought some lights. My experience on this topic is that I learned more when I was able practice and experiment using daylight and man -made lights.
I am grateful to the community of creators online that have shaped my understanding and I'd like to share 3 sources of information that revolutionised my understanding of light in filmmaking.
The first is the book "Light for Visual Artists by Richard Yot". This book taught me how to observe light in nature in terms of natural light and artifical lights. It taught me about the physics of light in the natural world and helped shape my understanding of the principles of light simulation in the virtual world. Principles like reflection (diffuse and specular),, translucency, transparency and colour. It also helped me understand creative lighting.
The second source I'm sharing really helped me with experimenting with lighting setups. It's the YouTube channel ANDBERY which specialises in teaching cinematic lighting techniques. The free videos have been awesome and I look forward to taking his paid course to improve further.
The third source is another YouTube channel Wandering DP. This was a treasure trove. Wandering DP breaks down lighting setups in commercials/films and teaches how to analyse the lighting setup in a shot. This has changed the way I watch films. I find myself pausing videos to analyse the lighting setup when I see a shot that inspires me.
I'm still learning and practicing daily with lights. I'm experimenting with daylight and artificial sources. Below are shots from 2 of my practice sessions. One was shot with daylight and the other with artificial lights.
Shot with only natural light from a window
Shot with Amaran 100x Bicolor light with a soft box
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