Lighting For Television
The art of control and effect
The Principles of Light
• Light is part of the electromagnetic energy
spectrum.
X-ray and Gamma rays
Violet
Indigo
The
Electromagnetic
Spectrum
Blue
Green
Yellow
Orange
Red
Radio and Communications freq.
Audio 20 Hz – 20 KHz
Lighting Terminology
• Color Temperature: The relative reddishness or
bluishness of light. Measured in degrees Kelvin.
• Primary Colors: For light the primary colors are
Red, Blue, & Green
• Photographic principle: Lighting design utilizing
3 lights to light a subject.
• Gel: A colored filter that allows only certain light
to pass through the filter.
• Fresnel: A hard light that is a common type of
light fixture for a TV Studio.
Fresnel Light
Lighting Terminology (cont.)
• Hard light: A directional light sources that
produces sharp falloff (shadows have edges)
• Soft light: Diffused light that produces few
shadows.
• EFP Floodlight: Used for portable lighting
situations. Usually consists of a bright halogen
bulb – Very hot to touch.
• Ellipsoidal Spotlight: An adjustable lighting
fixture that allows the lighting director to focus
light where he/she would want it.
EFP Floodlight
Ellipsoidal Spotlight
Lighting Terminology (cont.)
• Flag: Cloth or material that will block light from
an area of a set.
• Scoop: A light fixture that has no lens and
produces soft light.
• Kelvin Scale: the scale used to measure the
relative reddishness or bluishness of light.
• Light Plot: A detailed diagram that shows the
placement of lights on the light grid.
• Grid: A support system that lights are hung from
Light Plot
Grid
Lighting Terminology (cont.)
• Raceway: The electrical grid that supplies
electricity to the grid. Usually it is a complex
array of wires.
• Light board: A control panel that allows an
operator to control light intensity to each circuit.
• Gaffer: An assistant lighting director.
• Falloff: The intensity of the shadow’s edge
produced by a light fixture
Light board
Lighting Terminology (cont.)
• Background light: The purpose of the
background light is to establish a "base level of
overall lighting" on the set, and to illuminate the
set pieces.
• Barndoors: The flaps attached to the front of the
instrument, they are manipulated to prevent light
from striking unwanted areas.
• Diffusion: Diffusion scatters light, creating soft,
somewhat blurred shadow edges, and less severe
modeling.
Lighting Terminology (cont.)
• Scrims: A wire screen used to cut down the
amount of light emulating from an instrument. It is
inserted between the lens and the barndoors.
• Side light: Side light is sometimes used as an
alternative to the standard three point lighting
setup.
The Photographic Principle
• Most common type of lighting design
• Or 3 point lighting
Fill Light
– Key light
– Back light
– Fill light
Soft light
Back Light
(hard or spot light)
Key Light (hard or spot light)
The Kelvin Scale
• Measures the relative
Reddishness or bluishness of
light
Kelvin Scale
20,000 K
Outdoor light on a stormy day
15,000 K
Outdoor light on a cloudy Day
5600 K
Outdoor light on a beautiful sunny day (Approx)
3200 K
2800 K
2200 K
1200 K
Studio lighting (Quartz/Halogen light fixtures)
Fluorescent lighting fixture
Incandescent Light fixture
Candle light
Light Plot Plan