Analysis of lighting in a scene

Three point lighting 

Three point lighting is used in visual media. For example in film and television. It forms the basis of most lighting and it is key in understanding lighting in general. The three point lighting technique uses three different lights. These lights are called key light, fill light and back light. One light becomes the key and two then becomes the backlight or the fill as its known.

The key light is the main light and it is usually the strongest most poignant and influential light on the scene. The key light is placed on one side of the camera/person so that one side is well lit and the other side has some shadow.

The fill light is the secondary light and it is positioned opposite of the key light. The purpose is to fill the shadows which are created by the key light.

The back light is placed behind the subject and hence lights it from the rear. Instead of providing light from the front like the key and the fill it provides the highlights of the location around the subject. The purpose of this is to help separate the subject from the background and this in turn helps to create a three-dimensional look.

Hard and soft light

Hard light is created from a single point light source so this means that light rays are hitting the subject at the same angle. Because all of the light is travelling from the same angle it creates what is known as a definitive or hard edge on the shadows. So therefore a hard light source is developed. Hard lights are often used if film and TV to fake daylight.

There is hard light and then there is soft light. The effect of soft light is that it creates a soft shadow on objects. This is created through the use of a broad light source because light is being sent through from all sorts of angles. The edge of the object or subject is hit from the light at many points at once hence causing a soft roll off of light all at once.

My analysis of lighting in a scene - Star Wars Episode IV A New Hope

I analysed a scene from Star Wars - A New Hope because I felt that lighting was used effectively to portray atmosphere and mood while creating an engaging narrative. The first shot of this scene opens up with a medium shot of a door and there is a big flash of light red. This instantly engages the audience and draws their attention towards an oncoming threat on board the spaceship. This shows the use of a fill light.

After this shot the camera turns to the action of the characters under attack by lasers and it shows them covering and firing back. This shows a hard light and the lighting is a little bit darker. This a expressive piece of lighting because it shows the scene to be dark and dangerous. It also creates a scary atmosphere because us as the audience fear for the characters safety. This use of lighting also relates the character because it shows them living in a hard futuristic society fighting in a new century. We feel for them because it shows how they have had to adapt to what they have grown up around. After the shots in the hallway on the spaceship the characters are then engulfed into a trash compacter. The lighting in this is more naturalistic because it shows the environment which they are in. The lighting is more of a soft light and it is a lot lighter. There is also a red tint to this shot making it look more dirty than it is.

If I was to recreate lighting for myself in my own film lets say for my proposed short film Lose Your Mind then I would choose to use  naturalistic lighting so to expose my character Luke as a lazy person who has no goals and is addicted to the video game Law Breaker. I would also choose to use a key light on Luke. The reason that I would do this is because it would show him to be lonely and also so that it can symbolise that something is missing in his life.