THEORIES AND TECHNIQUES OF LIGHTING:
There are dozens of books in recent decades that have been considered “standard” configurations. Lighting for interviews, discussion programs, dramas and countless other productions. This ARRI lighting manual is designed to help you create the best possible images with your new Arri lighting kit and help you use these tools for on-site lighting or studio productions.
- Arri kits contain a variety of reflectors and accessories.
- The two basic types of reflectors are the open reflector (ARRILITE) and the fresnel lens (FRESNEL).
- Both types of light sources provide an adjustable focus.
- A uniform beam field that can be used to create a wide variety of light qualities and lighting environments in your productions.
LIGHT QUALITY
The quality of light can be characterized by the? Hard? or & quot; soft & quot; of how the shadow produced by a reflector appears. The quality of light produced by a reflector is determined by the physical size (not intensity) of the light source. In general, the larger it is, the more diffuse the light or the softer the quality of the light. Typically, a diffuser material, such as “frost” or silk, can be placed in front of a reflector to increase the performance (physical) size of a light source. (When light passes through a scattered material, the material lights up and becomes the operating light source. )
A sketched outline (cut) or a well defined shadow edge (strong light), such as from the sun, is usually produced by a small light source, such as one of the reflectors included in the kit. cut) or a less defined shadow edge (soft light), such as on a cloudy day, is most often produced by a larger, diffuse light source, such as a Softbank (available in some Arri kits).
If you don’t have Softbank, there are many other ways to create a softer light with the accessories included in this kit. Putting a frost on the bar door will soften the light a little. Placing a large (painted) panel in front of the source or directing the light to a white polystyrene, wall or ceiling will produce much smoother light quality.
Again, the physical size of the light source is directly related to the quality of the light produced, so ideally consider the appropriate type of light for a plane or scene before defining the type of lighting. light cannot be considered natural for many interior scenes (such as an office with four white walls and fluorescent lighting).
HARD LIGHT VERSUS LIGHT
There is no rule of thumb for using hard or soft light for a shot or scene. Creating a particular quality of light is subjective and there is no right or wrong method. However, certain characteristics are inherent in hard and soft light and you should always weigh the pros and cons of each before lighting a scene.
In general, hard light is easily controlled through the use of doors on the device and can be used to produce dramatic shadows and attractive lighting effects for movies or videos. When turning people on for interviews in bright light, you must carefully consider the location of the light source to produce attractive results for the camera.
An out-of-place Fresnel or Open reflector can produce unpleasant results even for the most photogenic people. Fresnel light produces attractive light quality and a uniform lighting field, which is the most popular choice when intense lighting is required for studio and rental work.
While Arrilitas also produce a uniform field of light, these reflectors are generally not used to directly illuminate people. The arrilite is most commonly used to create a filler light source by reflecting light on walls, ceilings, or fleece (on site); for use with a diffuser or behind a Softbank, or to illuminate the background areas.
When used as a direct (non-emitting) source, a Fresnel glass produces a more pleasant quality of light than an open reflector. Also, its open light can create various shadows from reflection angles that are slightly different from direct light from a lamp.
The use of softer light sources may be more tolerant to illuminate people, but softer, diffuser light sources can be much harder to control. In a special scene, the uncontrolled light leak from a diffuse source can ruin even the best scenes.
Much of the lighting has to do with the direction of the viewer’s eye around the screen and when a light leak from its main light sources pollutes the background of your photo, the lighting may seem casual and lose its visual impact. Again, careful analysis of reflector positioning will greatly improve the result.
When working with a Softbank, fuzzy light control can be achieved with a product called?Beehive? (manufactured by LightTools). This folding fabric product can be quickly placed on the front of a Softbank. The use of the hive on a Softbank gives the user immediate control of the light beam with a small loss of light.
LIGHT SOURCE INTENSITY
The intensity of the light source you choose for a scene is an important decision. Brighter is not necessarily better. The depth of field (f-stop) and f-stop selection of your camera should be a conscious decision every time you start illuminating a scene.
Most of the newer video cameras are extremely sensitive to light. Lighting a scene with bright light requires that you close the iris very closely, f-stop (f-8? F-11) for adequate exposure of the scene. This creates a very large depth of field (depth of field) in your scene. Selective focus is not an option unless you are using a longer telephoto lens on your digital video camera.
Selective focus is a simple method of focusing the viewer’s attention on a particular topic or area of framing. By using smaller reflectors and less light, it allows you to expose your scene with an f-2. 0 or f-2. 8 diaphragm. Shooting with an open diaphragm (opening) creates a smaller depth of field and allows you to use selective focus as a creative tool to take an image.
Also, you can use low-voltage lamps. For example, in the Fresnel Arri 650 it is also possible to use a 500 or 300W lamp. This provides a more open beam from a larger Fresnel while operating with less energy. Many videographers now choose the more compact, smaller and less energy efficient ARRI D Softbank kits.
Shooting in low light levels with the new cameras allows the use of reflectors as small as a 150W Fresnel Arri. Used in conjunction with proper lighting techniques, shooting with a shallow depth of field will allow you to create a look and film when shooting with your video camera.
A NOTE ON COLOR
The color temperature of the tungsten fittings in your Arri kit is 3200 degrees on the Kelvin scale. While the lights from these reflectors may appear as white light in videos or movies, it is actually very warm colored light compared to the color temperature of daylight. Choosing a type of tungsten film or setting your camcorder to tungsten (3200K) will provide you with an appropriate color balance when lighting with these reflectors. Pay attention to the white balance of your camera, do it with the light of your action area. A proper white balance will ensure accurate skin tones in your productions.
Sometimes, it shoots in an area with ambient light and the color of ambient light can differ significantly from the light generated by the reflectors in your Arri kit. The color of fluorescent light in offices, commercial or industrial stores and daylight environments differs greatly from the color of light created by its tungsten lamps.
In these cases, it may be necessary to correct the color of the reflectors to match the color of the ambient light in the scene. The light of your Arri reflectors can be corrected with the use of color correction gels, which can be placed directly on the floor of your reflectors.
Just keep in mind that the use of jellies in your reflectors can significantly reduce the light output (i. e. gelatin?Full? CTB (daylight) correction can reduce power by up to 85%). In addition, jellies can burn when they are too close to the lamp or lens of their reflectors. Careful use of corrective gels can help you manipulate and combine the color of light in the scene.
There is a lot of information available on the subject of color correction gelatins and you should know this topic if you want to improve your lighting practices. Apart from that, you can consider add-ons to complement your lighting set with new Arri reflectors specially designed for production use in daylight environments. Arri IHMs (Daylight Balanced Light) are reflectors used daily in film and video production jobs around the world.
SOME BASIC DEFINITIONS
THE THREE MAIN LIGHT SOURCES: MAIN LIGHTING (KEY LIGHT), FILLING (FILL LIGHT), SEPARATION OR AGAINST LIGHT (SEPARATION) and BACKGROUND LIGHTING IN THIS SECTION, EVOLUTION OF LIGHTING?THE IMAGES SHOW THE UNIQUE EFFECT OF EACH OF THESE FOUR SOURCES ON A PORTRAIT OF A PERSON.
NEW LIGHTING TECHNOLOGIES:
The lighting instruments of most film and television productions have remained largely the same for many years. Fresnels and open have been the backbone since its inception. Soft studio lights were also a great addition to the lighting industry. Over the past 30 years, HMIs and fluorescent lamps have had an impact on film and television and have changed the way our business operates. More recently, LED spotlights are another new lighting tool for creating a professional image.
? The camera (today comes in many ways) and digital technology opens the way to the future of image capture. The latest technologies used in the design of a lighting reflector have also allowed the development of new tools: High output power for HMI and compact LEDs from ARRI Lighting. Reflectors. These new projectors create a new chapter in ARRI’s legacy in the film industry. This ARRI lighting manual is designed to help you better understand the HMI and LED technology and ARRI lighting equipment available to you and your production needs.
If you want to download the complete ARRI lighting manual, simply click on the link below:
Fernando Rozzo