AudioMedia - January 2009 - (Page 61)

video guide A Sound Pro’s Guide To Video Light & Lighting – Part One The coming of sound once again had a major impact on the Arnold and Richter Cine Technik, better known as Arri, produces cameras, accessories, and camera department, lights for the filmmaking business, and during  expanded its range of luminaires with and the noisy carbon the True Blues. arcs had to go in favour The new lamps are an extension of Arri’s established lighting products from the last  of a quieter source of years and incorporate many features requested by users. In excess of  improvements have light. More sensitive been made, including lighter and more compact housings. film stocks were able to The True Blues, which so far comprise the T, T, T, ST, ST, and ST, are studio, Tungsten work with incandescent models designed to work with Fresnel lenses, just one of many accessories intended for lights (ones that produce illumination by the range. being heated), although Among the upgrades is an enhanced tilt-lock function, made possible by a stainless steel carbon arcs were still friction disc that can be fastened securely to prevent the lamp head tipping forward when needed for early colour heavy fixtures are mounted on the front of the housing. Also included is a stirrup adjustment films, which required a in the centre of the mount that enables the lamp to slide to the point where the centre of vast amount of light. gravity is exactly or close to tilt lock, again taking into consideration what is attached. Initially, the basic The True Blues can be mounted in a variety of positions, including from ceiling grids and tungsten filament bulb, on floor stands. This is made easier by the Stegmaier connector, a cable outlet that can be developed from the rotated to change the angle at which the lead feeds away from the lamp. The barn doors on work of Humphry Davy, the front of the housing have been strengthened to prevent bending, and now can be fitted Thomas Edison, and Sir Joseph Swan, provided vertically without fear of damage while the lamp is on a flat surface. incandescent sources, but were superseded by the longer-lasting tungsten-halogen, or quartz-iodine, lamps. Whatever the source of the illumination, film lights fall into two categories: the floodlight, used to produce a large amount of diffuse light; and the spotlight, a more directional lamp that can focus on a specific part of a scene. A basic floodlight often contains a single bulb with a reflecting surface behind. By adjusting the distance between bulb and reflector, the light can be focused and the amount of Gone With The Wind intensity adjusted. An example of this type Gone With the Wind ( ) or the brooding menace of floodlight is the ‘broad’ of a film noir like Double Indemnity ( ), and you’ll or broadside, which see what well thought out lighting can bring. produces a wide, soft, flat, even beam of light. Lit By G od It is classed as a fill light, During the early days of filmmaking productions which is non-directional, were shot outside. This included the obvious and when one is used it location shoots, but also indoor scenes, which is called a single broad, were sets built outdoors and photographed so or emily, while two make this was not apparent. By having something up a double broad. ‘lit by God’, to use Douglas Slocombe’s grand Spotlights comprise but appropriate phrase, a hard and even light a lamp, a reflector, and a was achieved. condenser lens. The lens Even when purpose-built studios began to is invariably a lightweight appear, some had glass roofs so sunlight could still Fresnel model, which be used. But the enclosed, sealed studio we know has concentric circles today soon became the norm and the first cinema on its convex side. This is lights came into play. These were non-incandescent positioned in front of a carbon arc and mercury vapour lamps, which gave light source and acts as a more natural look to interior shots because the a condenser. When the amount of contrast could be adjusted, highlighting Fresnel is placed close the textures in a scene. to the bulb, light floods This style was used in the first Hollywood out; placed further away productions, notably the collaborations between it becomes a spotter by director DW Griffith and cameraman Billy Bitzer. controlling the amount At the time, the German expressionist directors of illumination in terms were exploiting a darker, moodier way of lighting of area and intensity. directly influenced by the chiaroscuro (light and There are several shade) style of painters like Caravaggio. t y p e s o f s p o t l i g ht . n e ws The senior spot is a large luminaire of around , W that is used as the key light in a scene; the junior serves the same purpose in smaller setups but is approximately , W; and the baby, usually throwing out a wattage of to , . A specialised spotlight is the brute. The name was originally trademarked but is now used in a generic sense, applying to big, high-intensity arc spotlights in the amperes range. It ranks amongst the biggest studio lamps, and became a standard part of colour shooting. Unattrac tive Nakedness A naked light is often an unsubtle, unattractive tool. In the home a shade gives the light direction or can dampen its power to create a warmer, more welcoming effect. In much the same way cinematographers have a range of accessories available to them so that the light produced by the brutes, broads, and whatever else they are using, can be controlled and applied tastefully and artistically to enhance the story. These include barn doors, the flaps fitted to the front of a lamp that can be used to reduce or stop the flow of light to specific parts of a set. Shutters, scrims, nets, and various diffusers can control intensity, while cookies and goboes are used to make shadows, and filters introduce colours. This two-part feature on lighting concludes in the next edition by looking at developments in lighting sources, lighting set-ups, and the future for the humble light bulb. ∫ AUDIO MEDIA JANUARY 2009 61 http://www.richmondfilmservices.com http://www.richmondfilmservices.com

Table of Contents Feed for the Digital Edition of AudioMedia - January 2009

AudioMedia - January 2009 Contents Recording News Post News Broadcast News Geo Focus: India What's Up UK? Special Report: Pimp My Ride AKG C214 Sony Acid Pro 7.0 Final Cut: Mirror's Edge Opportunities in the Reality World She's Got the Look The X-Factor Sadie LRX2 Source Elements Source-Connect 3.1 Buying a Recorder In Control Product Sampler: Trade Shows Video Guide AMSR News Digico SD8 The Last Picture Show File Server

AudioMedia - January 2009

For optimal viewing of this digital publication, please enable JavaScript and then refresh the page. If you would like to try to load the digital publication without using Flash Player detection, please click here.