Filmmaking 101: Lighting Continuity
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If you’re a filmmaker, you’ve probably heard of continuity. This is something that you have to be aware of when you’re shooting and editing to make sure the props or wardrobe in a scene are consistent. But lighting continuity is equally important. This refers to the way the lighting on someone’s face changes or remains the same throughout a scene. Today on 4 Minute Film School we’re going to light a scene and show you how we think about light continuity as we shoot.
In this video, Valentina from the A-Team will walk you through lighting a three-setup scene with a wide shot and two over the shoulder shots. First she sets up the wide shot using a combination of existing light in the space as well as artificial lighting. As the master shot of the scene, this will influence the look of the other shots. Next she pushes in on one of the actors for an over the shoulder shot. For this shot she is able to adjust the lighting in order to present the actor more cinematically. Lastly, she shoots a reverse angle of the other actor. Because she’s flipping the scene, she has to take special note of the lighting in order to keep it consistent.
The main aspects addressed in this video are existing light, key light, and sweetening. Existing light is any light that was present on your location before you added anything. This could be natural light, but it could also be light coming from a sign or something else that is permanently part of the set. The key light is the main light source lighting the subject in the scene. Because it’s the main light source, you need to make sure that the key light stays consistent throughout the scene. Sweetening refers to adjusting the lighting when you push in for a close-up. This is an important step because you want the actors to look their best when we see their faces close up.
You can shoot a scene a million different ways, but no matter what look you decide on, you need to make sure it doesn’t change throughout the scene. Having inconsistent lighting is any easy way to distract your viewer and pull them out of the experience. With just a few simple principles, you can ensure that all of the shots in your scene will match no matter when and where you shoot them.
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0:00 - Introduction
0:34 - Lighting a Master Shot
3:21 - Sweetening The Close-Up
6:28 - Shooting a Reverse Shot
8:19 - Lighting Breakdown
9:25 - Recap
10:00 - Closing
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