Light Four Common Types of Film

Beyond the camera and lens, the most important technical and creative skill you can have is learning to use and shape light. A good place to start is knowing the tools you have at your disposal.

Know your fixtures

Before we get into the types of film lights, let’s take a quick look at the two most common types of fixtures.

Open Faced

An open faced lighting fixture is used to create hard light that casts hard shadows. It is not much more than a housing and reflector for the bulb, and provides nothing in between the bulb and the subject.
The commonly known 800W “Redhead” and 2000W “Blonde” are examples of open faced video lights.

Fresnel

A Fresnel lens is a special type of lens that is divided into concentric circles, resulting in a much thinner lens than a conventional lens of the same power. This lens evens out the light and allows for the beam to be varied from flood to spot by changing the distance between the lamp/reflector unit and the lens.

Practicals

A practical light is considered any light source that will appear in the scene such as a table lamp, any visible interior light sources, even a hand held flashlight. Often existing bulbs are swapped out for those of different wattage or color temperature depending on the needed effect and desired contrast ratios within the scene.

Performance Factors

CRI

CRI stands for Color Rendering Index. It refers to the ability of a light source to properly and faithfully reveal the color of an object compared to an ideal or natural light source. The highest possible CRI is 100 and is attributed to a perfect black body (a tungsten light source is a perfect black body, as is the sun).

Color Temperature

Color temperature refers to the “color” of white light emitted by a light source based on that radiated by a perfect black body at a given temperature measured in degrees Kelvin.
White light can be warm (yellow/orange) or cool (blue) and our eyes automatically adjust. However, the color temperature of light sources and especially the mixing of different color temperatures becomes very important when designing film lighting.
Temperature Source
1,700 K: Match flame
1,850 K: Candle flame, sunset/sunrise
2,700–3,300 K: Incandescent lamps
4,100–4,150 K: Moonlight
5,000 K: Horizon daylight
5,500–6,000 K: Vertical daylight
6,500 K: Daylight, overcast
15,000–27,000 K Clear blue poleward sky

Know your light sources

Tungsten (Quartz Halogen/Tungsten Halogen)

Tungsten light sources are basically related to the same type of incandescent filament bulbs which until recently were common in homes and offices everywhere.

The key difference is that these use bulbs that take advantage of what is known as the halogen cycle. The pressurized halogen gas inside the bulb helps to redeposit evaporated tungsten metal back onto the filament. The glass bulb is made from a much stronger quartz or aluminosilicate glass. The lamps operate at a higher temperature than normal incandescent tungsten bulbs, and so they can achieve a higher color temperature, and higher luminous efficiency. They naturally produce a warm light, but blue color correction gels can be used to simulate daylight.
Tungsten lighting fixtures can be open faced or Fresnel up to about 20kW in power and are dimmable. They produce a continuous spectrum of light from near ultraviolet to infrared, producing near perfect color rendition.
When dimmed tungsten lights become warmer in color, so gels are needed to correct the color temperature.

Uses

Tungsten lighting is usually used to light interiors as it matches the warm light associated with domestic incandescent lighting.

Advantages

Near perfect color rendition
Low cost
Does not use mercury like CFLs (fluorescent) or mercury vapor lights
Better color temperature than standard tungsten
Longer life than a conventional incandescent
Instant on to full brightness, no warm up time, and it is dimmable 

Disadvantages

Extremely hot
High power requirement
The lamp is sensitive to oils and cannot be touched
The bulb is capable of blowing and sending hot glass shards outward. A screen or layer of glass on the outside of the lamp can protect users.

HMI

HMI stands for Hydrargyrum medium-arc iodide and is a metal-halide gas discharge medium arc-length lamp.
A HMI bulb contains mercury vapor mixed with metal halides. An electrical arc between two electrodes excites the mercury vapor and metal halides resulting in a very high light output and luminous efficiency. HMI lamps are capable of between 85 and 108 lumens per watt, up to four times that of conventional incandescent lamps.
The specific mix of gases in a HMI bulb is designed to emit a 6000K color temperature light, closely matching natural sunlight. Electronic ballasts produce a flicker free light due to their very high frequency operation. Pulse width modulation can be used to dim HMI lights.

Uses

HMI’s are often used when high output is required and when recreating or augmenting sunlight shining into interiors, or for exterior lighting. Powerful HMI’s can be used to light large areas.

Advantages

Very high light output
Higher efficiency than incandescent lamps
High color temperature

Disadvantages

Relatively high cost, but this is balanced out by increased output
High power requirement
Requires an external ballast for arc ignition (up to 70,000 volts)
Dimming is possible only to about 50% and the color temperature increases in conjunction with dimming, thus creating a bluer light
If dropped while lit an HMI bulb can explode releasing super hot quartz glass and mercury vapor

Fluorescent 

A fluorescent lamp uses the excitement of low pressure mercury vapor to produce ultra-violet light, in turn causing a phosphor coating on the inside of the glass tube to glow giving off light in the visible spectrum.
A fluorescent light is much more efficient than an incandescent light, and is capable of generating up to 100 lumens per watt, similar to the output of HMI.
The spectrum of light emitted is different to an incandescent source and depends on the mix of phosphors used. However a CRI up to 99 can be achieved. The color temperature of a fluorescent can vary also from 2700K to 6500K depending on the phosphor mix.

Uses 

Fluorescent film lighting is most often used in fixtures containing banks of tubes. These tubes are normally either tungsten or daylight color balanced, or the tubes can be mixed within the fixture to vary the overall color mix of the light. They produce a soft and even light and can be used in relative close proximity to the subject. Fluorescent lighting is often used to light interiors and has the advantage of being more compact and cooler in operation than tungsten or HMI lighting.

Advantages

High efficiency
Low power requirement
Low cost
Long lamp life
Cool
Capable of soft even lighting over a large area
Lightweight

 Disadvantages

Flicker can be a problem with domestic fluorescent installations not intended for photographic use. Those designed for film use have electronic ballasts and produce flicker free light.
Fluorescent lights for film use have a high CRI, however the use of domestic tubes may have a far lower CRI and poor color rendition.

LED

LED stands for light emitting diode and is a solid-state semiconductor device. Only recently, LED’s of sufficient power have become available to make practical LED film lighting possible. LED’s are extremely efficient but are still limited in overall light output when compared to any of the other light sources.
LED’s are by nature monochromatic, producing only a single wavelength of light. So the challenge of LED lighting has been in creating a full spectrum white light. This can be done in two ways, either by combining the light of red, green and blue emitting LED’s, or with white LED’s whereby the visible white light is actually created by phosphors that are excited by an ultra-violet emitting LED.
LED lights can be daylight or tungsten balanced, sometimes switchable or having variable color temperature. Some have variable color through the entire RGB spectrum, which is something not possible with any other lighting technology. The CRI rating of LED lighting can be over 90.

Uses

LED’s are becoming more and more common on film sets. They can easily be battery powered making them very portable and requiring no separate ballasts or heavy cabling. Panels made from LED lights can be small and compact, or large for a variety of situations.
LED’s are also powering more traditional Fresnel style lamp heads such as the Arri L-series. Overall power outputs are on the rise, which is good news.

Advantages

Soft, even lighting
Pure light without UV-artifacts
High efficiency
Low power consumption, can be battery powered
Excellent dimming by means of pulse width modulation control
Long lifespan
Environmentally friendly
Insensitive to shock
No risk of explosion

Disadvantages

High cost. LED’s are currently still expensive for their total light output.

Luminous Efficiency Compared

Tungsten Quartz Halogen:   Up to +/- 35lm/W
HMI:                                        Up to +/- 115lm/W
Fluorescent:                           Up to +/- 100lm/W
LED:                                        Up to +/- 150lm/W

There is no Winner

When all is said and done, all of these lights have a specific purpose, and you’re likely to see them all on any film set. Not one of these lights can be used for every purpose and any lighting kit list would be severely compromised if any of these were missing.

Big HMI’s are going nowhere. When you need to manufacture sunlight, the only way to do it is with big power hungry HMI’s. There is simply no other way to generate that amount of light. Yes, this means generator trucks and added crew, but when it comes to lighting big exteriors none of this is about to change. Even on a conservative job I would suggest having a 2K and 5K HMI available.
Tungsten light is cheap and is still the workhorse of interior lighting. LED Fresnel technology may at some point reach a practical equivalence but even with Arri’s most powerful L-series, it’s not going to replace the medium to high output Tungsten lamp heads soon.

LED’s are also a permanent addition to the lighting department. For space restricted setups and the sheer portability that battery power affords these lights have become indispensible.
Fluorescents provide a lovely soft even light. They offer higher output than LED panels and can be larger in size, although LED panels can of course be tiled. Fluorescents are also very cost effective.
That covers the most common types of film lighting, but it is only the beginning of the story. Creating light is one thing, but shaping and controlling it is the most important skill of all to learn.

CINEMATOGRAPHY CAFE

Cinematography is the act of capturing photographic images in space through the use of a number of controllable elements.  These include the quality of the film stock, the manipulation of the camera lens, framing, scale and movement.  Some theoreticians and film historians (Bordwell, Thompson) would also include duration, or the length of the shot, but we discuss the long take in our editing page.  Cinematography is a function of the relationship between the camera lens and a light source, the focal length of the lens, the camera’s position and its capacity for motion.

THE CAMERA LENS

compiled by Alexander Bewkes & Trey Hunsucker

Deep Focus

Depth of field is the measure that can be applied to the area in focus within the frame.  Deep focus, which requires a small aperture and lots of light, means that the foreground, middleground and background of the frame remain in focus.  In the image below, from Citizen Kane (Orson Welles, 1941), the extended depth of field gives the frame a 3-dimensional quality, showing multiple planes of action at once.  It also allows the filmmaker to demonstrate the largesse of Kane’s dinner party and his personality.  The ability to achieve deep focus was the result of a technological development in the lens in the late 193os and its adoption as a discursive mode is largely attributed to Welles.

Shallow Focus

Shallow focus is a function of a narrow depth of field and it implies that only one plane of the frame will remain sharp and clear (usually the foreground).  In contemporary cinema, shallow focus is often combined with deep space for artistic purposes or to demonstrate subjectivity.  It is typically a feature of the close-up.  The following images, from Rossellini’s Rome Open City (1945) and Sofia Coppola’s Marie Antoinette (2006), respectively, are demonstrative of shallow focus.  Each signals to a pivotal moment in the character’s life – Don Pietro awaits his execution and Marie Antoinette approaches the alter at her wedding.

Racking Focus

Filmmakers can change the focus of the lens to a subject in the background from the foreground or vice vera. This can be used to shift the audience’s attention or to point out a significant relationship between the two subjects. In this sequence from Wes Anderson’s Rushmore (1998), racking focus is used to show the miserable relationship between Herman Blume and his wife.

Zoom Shot

The zoom shot occurs when a filmmaker changes the focal length of the lens in the middle of a shot. We appear to get closer or further away from the subject when this technique is used. In this sequence from Rob Reiner’s Stand by Me (1986), the zoom is used on the writer to emphasize his newfound inspiration for a story.

FILM SPEED

Rate

The standard rate for a film is 24 frames per second. If more frames are added to this second the film will seem to slow down. The film will speed up if there are less than 24 frames per second. Doug Liman shoots this sequence from Swingers (1996) as a reference to Reservoir Dogs. By shooting it in 12 frames per second and then speeding it up to 24, he gives the group of guys a unique look as they leave their poker game to start their night out.

FRAMING

compiled by Trey Hunsucker & Daniel Hurley
Image A:
Orson Welles includes strange people and objects in the frame to reinforce the unsettling quality of his narrative.  The blind woman has no role in the story but her presence in the foreground as Vargas telephones his wife is vaguely disturbing.  Perhaps she serves as a subconscious link or an uncanny suggestion (for Mike and the spectator) that Susan is unsafe.

Mike Vargas telephones his wife.

Image B: Likewise, the inclusion of this sign and its message serve to increase suspense by heightening the viewer’s awareness of the possibility of evil lurking nearby.

Vargas telephones his wife from a general store.

Angle of Framing

When filming from below or above the subject of the frame, it is known as a low or high angle. Filming from different angles is a way to show the relationship between the camera’s point of view and the subject of the frame. In this sequence from Sofia Coppola’s The Virgin Suicides (1999), Lux wakes up the morning after homecoming lying in the middle of a football field. The high angle highlights the desolate field and her feeling of abandonment by Trip Fontaine.

Level of Framing

This refers to the height at which the camera is positioned in a given shot. Different camera heights are often used to display or exaggerate differences in points of view.  In this scene from No Country for Old Men, as Anton Chigurh approaches his victim, the low level position of the camera creates suspense by suggesting the perspective of an unsuspecting character on the ground.

Canted Framing

Canted framing is where the camera is not level but tilted. It is used in action films and other films with lots of movement. It may suggest danger or disorder. In The Borne Identity, canted framing is used just for this purpose; as the official moves toward Borne, the titled frame signifies the start of an action sequence.

Following Shot/Reframing

A following shot is a shot that follows a character with pans, tilts, and tracking. It is unobtrusive and focuses all of the viewer’s attention on the character. In The Godfather, the camera follows Fredo as he breaks up a party. As the camera follows him, we see his growing frustration with his brother and the slow-moving partygoers.

Point of View Shot

A point of view shot places the camera where the viewer would imagine a characters gaze to be. This is a technique of continuity editing, because it allows us to see what the character sees without being obtrusive. In No Country for Old Men, we see a trail of blood from what seems like Anton Chigurh’s perspective. This gives the audience information about how Anton determines the whereabouts of his enemy.

Wide-Angle Lens

Wide-angle lenses distort the edges of a frame to emphasize the amount of space in a shot. They are used in enclosed areas where space is limited. In Signs, a wide-angle lens is used for the extreme close-up of Graham Hess before a flashback of his wife’s death.

SCALE

compiled by Charles Lennon

Extreme Long Shot

An extreme long shot is when the scale of what is being seen is tiny.  In this sequence from Peter Jackson’s The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring (2001), the extreme long shot is being used as an establishing shot as Gandalf (Ian McKellen) enters the Shire.  It was most likely shot from a crane or a helicopter, and it shows the viewer much of the fantasy world that is Middle Earth.

Long Shot

A long shot is when the scale of what is being seen is small.  In this sequence from Kathryn Bigelow’s The Hurt Locker (2008), Sergeant Thompson (Guy Pearce) takes up most of the screen when upright, and then less when he is knocked down due to the explosion.  The entire background is dust and debris from the bomb that detonated, and the scale of the long shot gives the viewer the image that Thompson was very close to the point of detonation.  This is important to see because the explosion ends up killing him.

Medium Long Shot

A medium long shot is when what is being viewed takes up almost the entire height of the screen.  In this sequence from Sergio Leone’s The Good, the Bad, and the Ugly (1967), Blondie (Clint Eastwood) is seen staring down Tuco (Eli Wallach), and Sentenza (Lee Van Cleef) right before they duel.  Blondie’s gun is visible which is important for the viewers to see for a duel sequence.  This is why the medium long shot was used for most westerns.

Medium Close-Up

A medium close-up is when what is being viewed is large and takes up most of the screen.  In this sequence from Frank Darabont’s The Shawshank Redemption (1994), Red (Morgan Freeman) is seen from the chest up sitting in front of the parole board.  He is fed up with the process of parole and is making a long speech about the penal system while he is just about the only object in view on the screen.

Close-Up

A close-up is when what is being viewed is quite large and takes up the entire screen, such as a person’s head.  In this sequence from Stanley Kubrick’s A Clockwork Orange (1972), the face of Alex (Malcolm McDowell) is practically all that can be seen on the screen.  He has an evil smirk on his face as he sits in the milk bar while the eery music of the opening credits still plays.  The close-up is the perfect way to introduce Alex because by simply looking into his face, the viewer can see just how terrible he is.

Extreme Close-Up

An extreme close-up is when what is being viewed is very large, usually this is a part of someone’s face.  In this sequence from Martin Scorsese’s Gangs of New York (2002), the camera shoots an extreme close-up of Bill the Butcher’s (Daniel Day-Lewis) left eye.  It is made of glass and the pupil is in the shape of an eagle.  Bill has this eye because he considers himself a patriot and a native to America, unlike the Irish immigrants who he is about to fight in the battle of the Five Points.

MOVEMENT

compiled by Ryan Smith

Crane Shot

A crane shot is achieved by mounting a camera on some type of crane device. The weight of the camera is countered by free weights at one end where the camera-man (or sometimes a remote control) can control the movement of the shot. Crane shots are often of practical use to the the filmmaker when a scene demands a shot that a normal camera person cannot take, as seen in the photo below.

A filmmaker using a crane to get the desired shot.

The crane enables the filmmaker to move the camera through the air in virtually any direction. Crane shots are often long takes with anywhere from medium to extreme long framing. In the selected clip below, the use of a crane shot with medium framing in David Dobkin’s Wedding Crashers (2005) allows the audience to feel as if they are floating above Jeremy Grey (Vince Vaughn) and Gloria Cleary (Isla Fisher) descend down the steps in the Cleary family foyer. Towards the end of the shot, the filmmaker is able to incorporate a third character, Christopher Walken that previously existed in offscreen space.

SteadiCam Shot

Steadicam shots are used by filmmakers, commonly, for motion tracking shots. A steadicam device is essentially a harness that uses the camera person’s body as the support device for the camera. Steadicam was a novel way to shot a scene as it isolates the movement of the camera person from the camera. Stabilizing mechanisms counter the movements of the camera person to eliminate the inevitable imperfections present in handheld shooting (i.e. shaking).

A filmmaker uses a steadicam at a sporting event.

A filmmaker can adjust the amount to which the camera person’s movement is isolated from the camera. In the following clip from I Am Legend (2007), Francis Lawrence uses an imperfect steadicam shot for the majority of the sequence. The use of steadicam, here, is to heighten the audience’s feeling of Robert Neville’s (Will Smith) surprise when one of the mannequins he has set up around a post-apocalyptic Manhattan has moved.

Pan

A pan shot is a camera movement which follows the action, or reveals previously unframed space, as it moves horizontally. Pans occur in varying speeds for dramatic purposes. Although the most basic concept of a panning shot adheres to the movement below, a pan can also incorporate zooms, tracking of action shots and/or movement of the camera base itself.

The motion of the camera during a panning shot.

In the following climactic clip from Miles Forman’s One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest (1975), a tracking pan follows the action of Chief (Will Sampson) as he breaks free from the mental institution that imprisons him. As the camera moves from right to left the frame changes from showing the dark mental institution to facing out a window where the sunlight (resembling a new day of freedom) is just breaking on the horizon.

Tilt

A tilt shot is essentially a vertical pan, where the camera moves up and down rather than from one side to another. Tilt shots often heighten an audience’s level of suspense as they are unaware what the shot will uncover. Tilt shots, like pans, serve to reveal some previously unseen space to the viewer. These shots may include zooms, tracking of action shots and/or movement of the camera base itself.
In the following clip from David Fincher’s Fight Club (1999), a tilt shot is used to reveal Tyler Durden (Brad Pitt) to the audience. Simultaneously, the tilting shot connotes that Durden is in control of the situation (literally above Marla Singer, as depicted by Helena Bonham Carter). If Durden does not keep Singer awake, she will succumb to the drugs she may have overdosed.

Tracking Shot

A tracking shot follows action through space in a variety of directions. As the action, or character, moves along the screen the tracking shot enables the audience to feel as if they are moving with the action through space. This sensation is achieved by mounting the camera on a track, dolly, or moving vehicle to smoothly follow the action along a choreographed course. Recently, steadicam shots (see above) have made it possible for filmmakers to track more spontaneous action. Tracking shots were originally called Cabiria shots after they were first used by Giovanni Pastrone in Cabiria (1914).

A camera is mounted on a track used by a filmmaker to follow the action through space.

In the following clip from Old School (2003), directed by Todd Phillips, a tracking shot is achieved by placing the camera in the passenger seat of a moving vehicle. This particular tracking shot follows an inebriated and nude Frank Ricard (Will Ferrell) as he goes streaking.

Whip Pan

A whip pan follows all the same rules as a normal pan. However, a whip pan involves a quicker movement that may momentarily blur the images onscreen. Whip pans are often abrupt and imply a rapid unfolding events (i.e. action movies).
The following whip pan from Martin Scorsese’s Taxi Driver (1976) doubles as a point of view shot. In this clip, Travis Bickle (Robert De Niro) quickly adjusts the focus of his attention from a roadside distraction back to the street ahead of him.
source
https://collegefilmandmediastudies.com/cinematography/

Television & Film - Business

Entrepreneurism Certificate

Program Description

The Centennial College Entrepreneurism Certificate program provides the opportunity to examine the ideology of Entrepreneurism. This includes the concepts of innovation, individual ownership and decision-making related to balancing self-interest and social interests. The program will include the examination of historical perspectives of entrepreneurism, analysis of the impacts of entrepreneurism on human development, and consideration of the ethical aspects of entrepreneurial practices. It will also allow students to reflect on their individual abilities related to this. The Certificate should not be viewed as a program for business start-up but rather a philosophical underpinning for understanding the processes involved in applying human resourcefulness to the creation of value to the individual, organizations and communities, both locally and globally. This program provides an opportunity for students to earn an additional credential concurrently.

Learning Outcomes

• Examine the historical, social, and economic contexts in which entrepreneurial concepts are developed.
• Reflect on personal and professional strengths and abilities that support entrepreneurism.
• Analyze local and global impact of entrepreneurism on humanity and sustainable development.
• Identify ethical considerations, leadership skills and strategies pertaining to successful entrepreneurial practices.

Program Outline

Entrepreneurism: The Evolution

This course provides students with an opportunity to study entrepreneurism as a sociological phenomenon. Students will gain a broad, theoretical understanding of entrepreneurship from a historical perspective. Students will investigate why entrepreneurs startup ventures, the evolutionary change in entrepreneurial thinking, and the need for ownership in an entrepreneurial society. This overview course will enable students to understand how innovation and creativity integrate to make a sustainable economic environment.

Entrepreneurism: The Mindset

Innovation and entrepreneurship are becoming increasingly relevant in the 21st century economy and society. This course will help students understand the benefits of entrepreneurial skill development and inspire their entrepreneurial spirit.  Students will examine their entrepreneurial capacity and identify how this relates to their ability to think creatively, problem solve, persist, act ethically, lead, self-motivate, and tolerate risk. By utilizing theoretical frameworks, students will critically analyze and reflect on their personal attributes to enhance their understanding of the entrepreneurial mindset.

Entrepreneurism: The Impact

In this course, through interactive case studies and debates, students will discover how social entrepreneurs are transforming societies to deliver social impacts on a local and global scale. Students will explore the development of social entrepreneurial enterprise and learn how entrepreneurial concepts (i.e. Stakeholder Theory) are constructed through an examination of historical, social and economic frameworks.  Students will learn about the importance of metrics to quantify social impact to ensure sustainability for social entrepreneurial enterprises and the communities they serve.
formore vist

http://www.centennialcollege.ca/programs-courses/schools/school-of-advancement/programs/stackable-credentials/entrepreneurism-certificate/

FILM SOUND AND MUSIC

Sound, voice and music are integral to most films and/or film viewing experiences. Even the earliest silent films were often shown with live musical accompaniment. Sound enhances the imaginary world, it can provide depth, establish character and environment, introduce a new scene or cue the viewer to important information. We have organized the page according to the following categories: sound source, sound editing and film music.

SOUND SOURCE

Diegetic vs. Non-Diegetic Sound
Diegetic sound is any sound that the character or characters on screen can hear. So for example the sound of one character talking to another would be diegetic. Non-diegetic sound is any sound that the audience can hear but the characters on screen cannot. Any appearance of background music is a prime example of non-diegetic sound. This clip from Edgar Wright’s Shaun of the Deadsimultaneously depicts both diegetic and non-diegetic sound. The sounds of the characters speaking, the records flying, and the zombies are all diegetic; the characters can hear them. Meanwhile, the beats and riffs of the background music serves as an example of non-diegetic sound that goes unheard by Shaun, Pete, and the menacing zombies.
https://videos.files.wordpress.com/qqajEojr/diegetic-vs-non-diegetic-sound_std.mp4


for more read

https://collegefilmandmediastudies.com/film-sound-and-music/?blogsub=confirming#blog_subscription-3