How To Make Your First Movie - Phase 5: Lighting

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Novice filmmakers tend to focus on the script and filming, but proper lighting lends a professional quality that can't be beat.

To complete this How-To you will need:

Lights
Stands
Gels, filters, and flaps
A power source
Extension cords
Reflectors

Step 1: Work with what's there

Before you start hauling lights around, take note of where you're filming and see if it's possible to work with what's already there.

Tip: Always set up the camera and block the scene before you start lighting—otherwise you'll waste a lot of time if you discover you have to move the shot and then redo all the lights.

Step 2: Attach filters and barn doors

Before flipping on the lights, attach scrims, "barn door" flaps, and diffusion gels (with clothespins) as needed. These will help you control the quality and quantity of the light.

Tip: Be careful with barn doors—they can get extremely hot very quickly! Wear protective gloves, if necessary.

Step 3: Position the lights

Position the lights in the room. For a good multipurpose setup, use three lights in a classic arrangement know as "three point lighting."

Step 4: Set up key light

Put one light in front of and slightly above your subject at a 45-degree angle. This is the key light.

Step 5: Add a back light

Add a second light behind and above the subject. This is the backlight, and it helps separate the subject from the background.

Step 6: Add fill light

Add the third light on the opposite side of the key light. This is the fill light. The light from this source should be indirect or diffuse, so consider reflecting it, or shining it off a wall or at the ceiling.

Tip: If you're shooting on the fly and don't have time to set up three-point lighting, turn on every non-fluorescent light in a room, bounce light onto the actors, and add a light or two.

Step 7: Avoid extremes

While lighting can vary wildly, it's generally a good idea to avoid extremes—too much light and everything looks bleached; not enough light and things look grainy and colorless.

Step 8: Experiment and practice

Proper lighting is hard work and takes a lot of practice. Experiment on your own, and when its time to shoot you'll be well prepared.

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[CrappedATriangle]

@SuperLuvLPS Because their brains aren't fully developed, and because stupidity is "knowing what not to do and doing it anyway," and is a learned skill, they probably daily practice it.

[SuperLuvLPS]

@sasukex125 STUPID LITTLE KIDS?! SERIOUSLY?! WHY ARE THEY STUPID?!

[kontube00]

lov it

[sasukex125]

i need something simpler than that... my bro and his friends "wrestle", and they wanted me to record and put it on yt, but stupid little kids kept bugging us, so we moved to a new area, but it was darker. i need light sources that are good in pitch black darkness please.

[DKC1011]

awesome vid, loved it :)