Cinematography: The Basic Principles You Should Know

Cinematography: The Basic Principles You Should Know

Cinematography is a big category to cover. So what I’m going to do is split up cinematography into different sections. Lighting/Cinematography is one of the most important factors in filmmaking. Lighting can create the mood of the film. More lighting can create a more positive tone, less lighting can make a more serious or eerie tone. But the thing about lighting is that it can’t really be something you learn, it’s mostly a feel thing. You can learn the basics of lighting for sure and get some ideas. But the art of cinematography is mostly driven by your personal preferences and tastes, in addition to what you know about the basics. So I will teach you some of the basics to lighting/cinematography. If you’re new to filmmaking, cinematography is best defined as the sat of making films. The cinematographer, or Director of Photography (also abbreviated as DP), is responsible for the cameras and lighting while making a motion picture. He is responsible for making every frame of the movie the way the director intended it to be. If the director wants the scene to be dark, the cinematographer will arrange the lighting so that the scene can be dark. If the director wants the scene to be like it’s outside, the cinematographer will make it happen. You get the drift. Now lighting, there are various lighting styles or “keys” that cinematographers use in films. There is high key lighting, low key lighting, available lighting, high contrast lighting, and backlighting. -High Key lighting indicates an upbeat mood. It’s commonly used in musicals and comedies. And it provides bright, even illumination with no obvious shadows. It’s easy to point out this style of lighting in movies. In scenes that take place outside with the sun bright and shining, etc.  

Low Key lighting creates subtle shadows and provides pools of atmospheric light. Low key lighting works well for mysteries, thrillers, gangster movies, and horror films. A perfect example of this style of lighting is all throughout the infamous gangster flick The Godfather. In the opening scene, the only objects that appear to be lit are Don Corleone and the undertaker asking him for a favor. The cinematographer for the film, Gordon Willis, is well known for his use of low key lighting. Something to pay attention to the next time you watch The Godfather. -Available lighting is favored by realists, especially in outdoor scenes. It’s essentially existing exterior light, although it is commonly supplemented with lamps and reflectors to achieve the DP’s desired effect. Unless it is augmented with special lenses or newer varieties of  light-sensitive film stock, it gives the image a grainy texture and absence of tonal balance. It’s also referred to as “practical” lighting. A lot of cinematographers prefer to use practical lighting in the scene so it doesn’t risk showing any equipment in the scene, it can give the camera more freedom to move around.

   -

High Contrast lighting creates harsh shafts of light with dramatic streaks of black. It’s perfect for most tragedies and melodramas. Contrast is showing how something is different from something else. In photography, it means the same thing, but only with the colors black and white. Adjusting the contrast in cameras or in editors will change the ratio between black and white. -Backlighting creates a semi-silhouette in an otherwise well lit scene, which can produce romantic halos or ethereal glows. It can throw a figure or face into total shadow to create a mood of mystery or fear with the aid of spotlights in high-contrast setups. Some examples of this can be seen in The Right Stuff when the 7 astronauts are walking down a hallway together in their spacesuits towards the camera. There is a heavy amount of white light at the end of the hall, putting the astronauts figures in shadows as the get closer to the camera. In Star Trek II: The Wrath Of Khan, Admiral James T. Kirk enters the movie by walking into a simulation room with a bright light behind him and a thick dispersion of fog, nearly 

making his entire body a silhouette.

  

 Color is essential to cinematography. Most films have some sort of color tint that can be noticed if you actually pay attention to the look of the film. A good cinematographer would be able to capture that tint in camera with lighting and filters. But nowadays, the color tints are made in post-production color grading. But it would be wise to know the differences in color schemes if you’re interested in cinematography. There are essentially two types of colors. Cool colors and Warm colors. -Cool Colors include blues, greens, and violates. They often create a mood of tranquility, serenity, or aloofness (Depending on the context in which they are used). These colors tend to recede away from

the eye in a composition

 .  

Warm Colors include reds, yellows, and oranges. They create a mood of tension, stimulation, anxiety, energy, passion, or even violence (Depending on the context in which they are used). These colors 

tend to move forward in a composition. 

Some films will typically used a color scheme throughout the film. These schemes are unwritten rules in color grading, and it’s unknown how these schemes got started (Probably from one famous film using that scheme and other filmmakers saying to themselves “Hey, I like the look of that, lets use that for this film we’re making” and it caught on from there). Summer blockbusters tend to have color schemes of teal and orange. Horror movies look more blue than anything else. Movies centered around the apocalypse and wars have gray and washed out looks. And films where reality seems to be shifted have more greenish tints. Again, I have no idea how these color schemes got attached to certain genre’s of movies, but I have a feeling that the cinematographer did not have full input on the final look of the film (Even though DP’s had final say as to how the film’s look will turn out). Summer Blockbuster (Teal & Orange)

:  

   Horror Film (Blue)

:   

 Apocalypse/War Film (Gray & Washed Out):

 

   Shifted Realities (Green)

:  

 If you’re a photographer, you will most likely be a really good cinematographer. You already should know about the different types of lighting and colors, only thing difference is that DP’s press the record button on cameras instead of snapping single images. But that’s pretty much the synopsis of cinematography, lighting styles and color schemes.    

 _______________________________________________________________________ 

 TAG : Typing on Keyboard, Stock videos Footage, Stock videos Market, Videos, Make Money, HD, Best Stock Footage, Cheap, Low price, stock video marketplace, stock market videos for students, stock market videos, stock market videos for beginners, stock market videos free download, stock market video, stock market video tutorial, stock video market, stock video marketplace, stock market videos for students, stock market videos YouTube, stock market videos for beginners, stock market videos free download, stock market videos for high school students