Light Source: Controlling Light

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The other day, I presented some footage to my class to see if it could identify the lighting techniques used during the production. At one point, an on-screen character moved a lamp and the small circular glow above the lamp and the light shining on the wall faded as the lamp moved away. While looking perfectly natural to the eye, the resulting light changes were the result of careful planning and coordination between the actor, a lighting grip holding a flag and the person in charge of lighting the set. What actually happened was quite simple and incorporated the use of two basic lighting designer tools the flag and a snoot. The light designer created the effect by hanging a small lighting instrument with a snoot attached, above the scene.

The lamp actually contained a small 15-watt bulb so that the fixture would not glow too brightly in the scene. A supplemental, soft-gelled snooted light created a small round glow above the lamp. As the actor moved the light away, the lighting grip moved a flag in front of the hanging light. The result was a slow dimming of the light as if it was the lamp moved away. This lighting effect is just one way you can control light. In this column, we will take a look at the various tools you can use to manipulate and control light.

Flags, Barndoors and Snoots
Controlling the lighting on a set often means creating shadows. Keep in mind, when setting up your lighting, that shadows make your scene three-dimensional. Because television and film is a two-dimensional medium, it is up to you to create a three-dimensional world. Three tools that help create this shadowy world are flags, barndoors an…