COM 402
Media Aesthetics

Lecture #2

light & shadow

mise-en-scène

•      French, for “putting into the scene”

•      term originated in the theater

•      in film studies, everything that appears in the film frame

       Every visible element within the film frame communicates meaning.

Four aspects of mise-en-scène

•     setting

•     costume and make-up

•     lighting

•     staging: movement and acting

Lighting

•      Lighting “is the direct manipulation of light and shadows for a specific communication purpose.”

•      Lighting is a major part of each shot’s composition, guiding viewer attention to certain objects and actions.

Lighting

•      Lighting can shape objects through highlight and shadow.

–  highlight = “a patch of relative brightness on a surface”

–  highlighting can articulate textures (smoothness, roughness, shinyness)

Four Features of Lighting

•    quality

•    direction

•    source

•    color

Lighting Quality

•      the relative intensity of the illumination (depends on the situation)

•      hard lighting = more intense, creating defined shadows, crisp textures, sharp edges

•      soft lighting = a more diffused illumination, edges of objects not as sharp

Hard Lighting

Soft Lighting

Lighting Direction

•     the path of light from its source(s) to the object lit

•      

•     Five general types:

•     frontal lighting

•     sidelighting

•     backlighting

•     toplighting

frontal lighting

•      object is lit from the front, producing a flat-looking image with no shadows

sidelighting

•      object is lit from the side, suggesting dimension and creating attached shadows

backlighting

•      object is lit from the back, producing a silhouette effect or, when used with other lights, unobtrusive contour to the object

underlighting

•      object is lit from underneath, tending to distort an object’s features/can also suggest a realistic light source (i.e., a lantern or fire)

toplighting

•      object is lit from above, suggesting contours and depth

Chiaroscuro Lighting

Lighting for high light/dark contrast, often used to give characters or scenes an expressive quality.

Lighting Sources

•      available light (sunlight, moonlight, or preexisting light sources on the set

•      extra light sources include:

•      key light = provides the dominant illumination and creates the most shadows

•      fill light = provides less intense illumination, softening or eliminating shadows created by the key light

•      key and fill light are usually combined

Three-point Lighting

•      combination of key light, fill light, and backlight

•      the dominant technique for television and Hollywood films

Lighting and Color

•      Generally, only white light is used, allowing the illuminated objects to contribute color.

•      Filmmakers sometimes use filters and gels to change the hue of the shot.

–   sometimes to enhance realism (i.e., orange for firelight)

–   sometimes to stylize a shot (i.e., blue to suggest depression)

Shadow

•      lighting’s counterpart is shadow.

•      Two types of shadows:

•    attached shadow

•    cast shadow

Attached Shadow

•      (also called shading) = when an object or person’s features result in partial illumination

•      inevitably fixed to its object

–    i.e., someone’s hat creating a shadow on part of their face

•      helps to reveal the basic form of an object and its texture

•      Light objects from above or the side if you want your viewers to perceive protrusions and indentations as “normal.”

Cast Shadow

•      when an object or person is partially illuminated because another object is blocking the light source.

–    i.e., a door casting a shadow on an intruder

•      can be connected or disconnected to the object

•      helps viewers to locate an object in relation to its surroundings

•      can suggest locale

•      can create a mood

•      can reveal time of day

Falloff

•      the degree of contrast & rate of change from light to shadow

•      fast falloff = very quick (even abrupt) change from light to shadow

–   caused by a bright, highly directional light source (spotlights/bright sun)

–   can suggest a defined edge

•      slow falloff = gradual change & little contrast between illuminated and shadow sides

–   caused by diffused light source (scoop/filtered)

No Falloff

when all sides are
equally bright

Summary

•      mise-en-scène

•      definition of lighting

•      four features of lighting (quality, direction, source, color)

•      chiaroscuro lighting

•      attached and cast shadows

•      fast and slow falloff