STUDIO SHOOT | researching and creating lighting boards

D.O.P (director of photography)

The DOP selects lenses, filters, lighting, etc

I began to do research on lighting and colours to help me visualise how to light the scene and what would be most effective. I mainly watched videos as they were the most helpful.

This was a really cool and useful video to introduce me into more cinematic lighting to get a more dimensional look on the scene to not make things look flat and dull. To the left are the notes I made while watching it. The different types of lighting really helped me when thinking of the positioning of lighting and how it would shine and affect the characters to connote certain atmospheres/mood changes.
It didnt mention a lot about colour and said i had to join his website or something so i searched colour lighting on youtube and found these videos:

 In this video, he mentions Goethe somebody and then i was like... wait?? is that the Faust Guy(Johann Wolfgang von Goethe)?? and guess what??.. yes it is the faust guy. I didnt know he did color philosophy too, but I decided to research 'briefly' which turned into watching multiple youtube videos and reading an article. Although I dont fully understand the theory, I picked up a lot of useful things about colour and colour lighting.
https://www.brainpickings.org/2012/08/17/goethe-theory-of-colours/
Video on his theory:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QnfVlENcHbU
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=C6MI0FG8Pc4
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3m86vEfgRBE
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rnCEEgP9C7I
In one of the video it talks about different shadow colours which is interesting, and I didnt really understand that concept fully until i saw this video https://www.khanacademy.org/partner-content/exploratorium-ddp/light-and-color/colored-shadows/v/colored-shadows-introduction-1

I then remembered this video I watched in the summer:

When I was thinking about lighting the set, I knew it was supposed to be quite dingy and not super bright as it is in a basement after all. I didnt know how to light for a dull scene as there's obviously always the issue of it being too dark and making the footage grainy or the shot being extremely flat. I then researched this and I learnt about the use of shadows and how to use silhouettes, hair lights, etc in the article below that had an attached video. This video was extremely informative and clear.
https://nofilmschool.com/2016/10/4-ways-light-scene-so-it-feels-dark-actually-isnt
I also found this video which was cool but the one above i would say was the most helpful.

The video above gave me a good insight into making lighting and creating a natural source, as when I was thinking about the lighting I obviously wanted to make it quite stylised and effective, however I was confused as to how to do this without making it look fake. I was confused as to whether you always needed an explanation for the light source and if you didnt would it break the verisimilitude to the audience?
The video below was also super useful as it showed how effective the use of one light can be, compared to the previous video where it uses quite a lot of different light sources. This reminded me of the existence of reflectors and how we can use this in our film if we need a slight fill light that isnt super strong and fits into the scene.

I then drew out an overall rough lighting plan and also lighting plans for each of the shots taking into consideration the stuff i have learnt about and how it would encompass the mood and atmosphere.

I used the storyboards that had been created previously, however I added some slight changes/ideas to make the shots more aesthetically pleasing to compliment the lighting as to get the dim lighting effect we need to work with shadows and how they are shot in contrast, if that makes sense. I also had an idea to add a Vertigo effect, as I had been thinking about it but didnt know if it would be relevant and obviously we wouldnt want to force something that doesnt work.
In this main overall plan, you can see lights. Near the door, I thought about using a direct orange light to represent a street light and possibly use this to create a blue shadow with the other blue light of the 'moonlight'. I thought of this after reading and looking into colour theory by Goethe and the colour of shadows. Although I dont yet fully understand all the theories, I thought it would be interesting to try and create a blue shadow that stretches into the room. The red fairy lights were added as Chloe and I had previously discussed of having a redish light, so i decided to give this a source and have it around the sofa as that was where the girl would be sitting; this would light her slightly as most of the light illuminates him and also foreshadows the narrative. This was also intended to act as a background light to create the contrast of the light on one side of the face and one side of the background/wall, which was explained in the first video I watched as you can see in the thumbnail.

I used the storyboard done by Cecily and Jasper to draw the shots and lighting shots, as well as adding in details like lenses and other ideas i had to help the shots compliment the lighting and lens in that particular shot. I added the shot 2 with the silhouette as it creates instant mystery from the beginning and I wanted to try create a blue shadow on the floor with the Goethe theory I had learnt. I think the outcome of this idea will depend on the floor and how we can get the shadow to be cast, but I am excited to try it on our pre light on Wednesday. On the 3rd shot, i decided that a higher lens to create a shallow depth of field would create layers and allow the main character to come into the frame. As well as this, he would begin as a shadowy figure and his face would be lit and revealed by the light of the TV. I also wrote some notes around about possibly other establishing shots of objects in the room and we also didnt know how many windows there would be at that time so i wrote possibilities and placement of the lamp to balance the blue light.

Because we didn't fully know the set and how the lighting would exactly work, I left a few 'options' as obviously we can move things around if they don't work or look quite right as we're setting up or even when we're going over plans before the shoot.
Shot five I put that we could use Paramount lighting as this would make her look feminine and almost angelic to juxtapose the oncoming twist and evil side to her character. As well as this, we could create a catch light in her eyes to add even more to this effect. I feel i still dont understand how to fully do this, but I think it's fairly simple enough, im just wondering whether the lighting will be strong enough to create this effect. By accompanying these things with a wide lens it will create a dreamy, almost fake and hyperbolised, look.

In these shots, the blue and red almost battle over dominance as it grazes both of them. Shot 7 was one that i thought of where her silhouette/hair light is shown my the flashing TV, creating a warning light around her and the lamp will light her face from below giving her this menacing look as the camera is from the mans POV and so looks up at her. This is also with a wide lens.

Shot 9 is where the contrast of lighting on the face vs on the background will be shown and also the vertigo shot to build suspense and realisation he has of his lack of power and of whats going to happen/impending doom. Shot 10, I wasn't sure if the lamp was going to be on before she closes the curtains so i added this incase as to refer this to the rest of the group to see their opinion as the yellow in the previous shots would create contrast yet at the same time the blue with the darkness would create a more jagged effect. I chose the blue light to come from the curtains as it was the most evident source and also the metaphorical aspect of her closing the curtains and cutting this off and having control. no more blue only red/orange.

These shots switch between higher mm lenses and lower to show the secluded bubble around the two characters yet at the same time but the audience in a good perspective of seeing the whole scene and the characters in the room. The brightness of the red light dims as it shows that although the peak of the narrative has died down, the glowing red and her lingering presence is still there. I thought having him submerged in blue light when he reopens the curtains creates a sense of solitude and openness in his character as well as creating a lonely mood, as I think a large wash of blue heavily connotes the ocean or sky which are both very large, consuming things, making the character seem quite small.

Harley, Chloe and I discussed the storyboards and went over plot changes, etc to clarify everything so a schedule and shooting list could be made. I thought this was extremely productive as we came up with ideas that we didn't have prior to this to develop the visual aspects even more to compliment the narrative. I also after the meeting compiled a list of things we thought we should test on Wednesday during the prelight.


I created some sheets for me as DOP as I wanted to be able to have all my notes,etc together while shooting so I could see the shots, lighting, and lenses all on once.


Set Building went well and I helped sand and paint walls as well as sort the door hinges. The prelight went quite well, however the set was too dark so extra fill lights were added which softened a lot of the shadows.
the shoot went smoothly and some things were changed due to factors like the lighting being different etc so some of the shot ideas got changed. The lighting didnt represent the same as I planned in compliment to the narrative and meaning, however it still created an atmosphere for the scene.  I also filled in the sheets for the camera takes.