FIT 361 Logistics of Location: Week #6: 3/12/12 Lighting Part 1

"I knew, of course, that trees and plants had roots, stems, bark, branches and foliage that reached up toward the light. But I was coming to realize that the real magician was light itself..." - Edward Steichen

Grade Folders
A1 and P1 grades

Redo for better grade before end of semester
HW = A1 only - submit missing production materials for better grade. See "Assignment Guidelines" blog post for pertinent information. Also see "Production Materials" blog post for samples.
Extra Credit - Submit work to any contest for +4 Assignment or +2 Project points! (Up to 3 contests max).

Project #2

HW = To be completed in class and/or as homework due next week.
Refer back to Week #3 Notes on light triggering options if necessary

Property and Model Releases

HW = Create your own releases with your business name and logo
See blog post for my samples, or
ASMP sample and information

Property and Model Releases

HW = Get my approval for a final project and begin location scouting!

Lighting Review - Part 1
* A2 is now due Week #8 3/26/12 *

Article on Aperture.com about Gregory Crewdson and his process
along with very informational crew interviews

Properties of Light: Direction | Intensity | Quality | Color

Direction

Use any triggering system (regular sync cord, TTL cord, pocket wizards, etc.) to place flash off-camera in order to light from up/down/left/right/front/back/etc.

Intensity

Power
Distance: Inverse Square Law = light falls off at the square distance of the distance from the subject. 2x distance = 1/4 intensity
Bounce Fill gives the perception of reduced intensity!
Or smaller lighting Ratios reduces perception of intensity

Quality - Hard vs. Soft or Specular/Direct vs. Diffused

To diffuse the lighting use a modifier like softbox/umbrella, or diffusion material like Rosco 3000/toughspun/silk/plexi, or bounce off card/flex fill/wall.
Quality Rule: Larger light source = Softer light (more wrap on subject). *Real secret is close = soft and far = hard because the farther away the light is, the smaller the light source which yields a more focused, direct, and harder quality of light! (Think about how far away the sun is and how small it is relative to the sky).

Color