COLOR

LIGHTING

  • Composition – cinematography Cheat Sheet

    https://moodle.gllm.ac.uk/pluginfile.php/190622/mod_resource/content/1/Cinematography%20Cheat%20Sheet.pdf

    Where is our eye attracted first? Why?

    Size. Focus. Lighting. Color.

    Size. Mr. White (Harvey Keitel) on the right.
    Focus. He’s one of the two objects in focus.
    Lighting. Mr. White is large and in focus and Mr. Pink (Steve Buscemi) is highlighted by
    a shaft of light.
    Color. Both are black and white but the read on Mr. White’s shirt now really stands out.


    What type of lighting?

    -> High key lighting.
    Features bright, even illumination and few conspicuous shadows. This lighting key is often used in musicals and comedies.

    Low key lighting
    Features diffused shadows and atmospheric pools of light. This lighting key is often used in mysteries and thrillers.

    High contrast lighting
    Features harsh shafts of lights and dramatic streaks of blackness. This type of lighting is often used in tragedies and melodramas.

     

    What type of shot?

    Extreme long shot
    Taken from a great distance, showing much of the locale. Ifpeople are included in these shots, they usually appear as mere specks

    -> Long shot
    Corresponds to the space between the audience and the stage in a live theater. The long shots show the characters and some of the locale.

    Full shot
    Range with just enough space to contain the human body in full. The full shot shows the character and a minimal amount of the locale.

    Medium shot
    Shows the human figure from the knees or waist up.

    Close-Up
    Concentrates on a relatively small object and show very little if any locale.

    Extreme close-up
    Focuses on an unnaturally small portion of an object, giving that part great detail and symbolic significance.

     

    What angle?

    Bird’s-eye view.
    The shot is photographed directly from above. This type of shot can be disorienting, and the people photographed seem insignificant.

    High angle.
    This angle reduces the size of the objects photographed. A person photographed from this angle seems harmless and insignificant, but to a lesser extent than with the bird’s-eye view.

    -> Eye-level shot.
    The clearest view of an object, but seldom intrinsically dramatic, because it tends to be the norm.

    Low angle.
    This angle increases high and a sense of verticality, heightening the importance of the object photographed. A person shot from this angle is given a sense of power and respect.

    Oblique angle.
    For this angle, the camera is tilted laterally, giving the image a slanted appearance. Oblique angles suggest tension, transition, a impending movement. They are also called canted or dutch angles.

     

    What is the dominant color?

    The use of color in this shot is symbolic. The scene is set in warehouse. Both the set and characters are blues, blacks and whites.

    This was intentional allowing for the scenes and shots with blood to have a great level of contrast.

     

    What is the Lens/Filter/Stock?

    Telephoto lens.
    A lens that draws objects closer but also diminishes the illusion of depth.

    Wide-angle lens.
    A lens that takes in a broad area and increases the illusion of depth but sometimes distorts the edges of the image.

    Fast film stock.
    Highly sensitive to light, it can register an image with little illumination. However, the final product tends to be grainy.

    Slow film stock.
    Relatively insensitive to light, it requires a great deal of illumination. The final product tends to look polished.

    The lens is not wide-angle because there isn’t a great sense of depth, nor are several planes in focus. The lens is probably long but not necessarily a telephoto lens because the depth isn’t inordinately compressed.

    The stock is fast because of the grainy quality of the image.

     

    Subsidiary Contrast; where does the eye go next?

    The two guns.

     

    How much visual information is packed into the image? Is the texture stark, moderate, or highly detailed?

    Minimalist clutter in the warehouse allows a focus on a character driven thriller.

     

    What is the Composition?

    Horizontal.
    Compositions based on horizontal lines seem visually at rest and suggest placidity or peacefulness.

    Vertical.
    Compositions based on vertical lines seem visually at rest and suggest strength.

    -> Diagonal.
    Compositions based on diagonal, or oblique, lines seem dynamic and suggest tension or anxiety.

    -> Binary. Binary structures emphasize parallelism.

    Triangle.
    Triadic compositions stress the dynamic interplay among three main

    Circle.
    Circular compositions suggest security and enclosure.

     

    Is the form open or closed? Does the image suggest a window that arbitrarily isolates a fragment of the scene? Or a proscenium arch, in which the visual elements are carefully arranged and held in balance?

    The most nebulous of all the categories of mise en scene, the type of form is determined by how consciously structured the mise en scene is. Open forms stress apparently simple techniques, because with these unself-conscious methods the filmmaker is able to emphasize the immediate, the familiar, the intimate aspects of reality. In open-form images, the frame tends to be deemphasized. In closed form images, all the necessary information is carefully structured within the confines of the frame. Space seems enclosed and self-contained rather than continuous.

    Could argue this is a proscenium arch because this is such a classic shot with parallels and juxtapositions.

     

    Is the framing tight or loose? Do the character have no room to move around, or can they move freely without impediments?

    Shots where the characters are placed at the edges of the frame and have little room to move around within the frame are considered tight.

    Longer shots, in which characters have room to move around within the frame, are considered loose and tend to suggest freedom.

    Center-framed giving us the entire scene showing isolation, place and struggle.

     

    Depth of Field. On how many planes is the image composed (how many are in focus)? Does the background or foreground comment in any way on the mid-ground?

    Standard DOF, one background and clearly defined foreground.

     

    Which way do the characters look vis-a-vis the camera?

    An actor can be photographed in any of five basic positions, each conveying different psychological overtones.

    Full-front (facing the camera):
    the position with the most intimacy. The character is looking in our direction, inviting our complicity.

    Quarter Turn:
    the favored position of most filmmakers. This position offers a high degree of intimacy but with less emotional involvement than the full-front.

    -> Profile (looking of the frame left or right):
    More remote than the quarter turn, the character in profile seems unaware of being observed, lost in his or her own thoughts.

    Three-quarter Turn:
    More anonymous than the profile, this position is useful for conveying a character’s unfriendly or antisocial feelings, for in effect, the character is partially turning his or her back on us, rejecting our interest.

    Back to Camera:
    The most anonymous of all positions, this position is often used to suggest a character’s alienation from the world. When a character has his or her back to the camera, we can only guess what’s taking place internally, conveying a sense of concealment, or mystery.

    How much space is there between the characters?

    Extremely close, for a gunfight.

     

    The way people use space can be divided into four proxemic patterns.

    Intimate distances.
    The intimate distance ranges from skin contact to about eighteen inches away. This is the distance of physical involvement–of love, comfort, and tenderness between individuals.

    -> Personal distances.
    The personal distance ranges roughly from eighteen inches away to about four feet away. These distances tend to be reserved for friends and acquaintances. Personal distances preserve the privacy between individuals, yet these rages don’t necessarily suggest exclusion, as intimate distances often do.

    Social distances.
    The social distance rages from four feet to about twelve feet. These distances are usually reserved for impersonal business and casual social gatherings. It’s a friendly range in most cases, yet somewhat more formal than the personal distance.

    Public distances.
    The public distance extends from twelve feet to twenty-five feet or more. This range tends to be formal and rather detached.

    , , ,
    Read more: Composition – cinematography Cheat Sheet
  • LUX vs LUMEN vs NITS vs CANDELA – What is the difference

    More details here: Lumens vs Candelas (candle) vs Lux vs FootCandle vs Watts vs Irradiance vs Illuminance

     

     

     

     

    https://www.inhouseav.com.au/blog/beginners-guide-nits-lumens-brightness/

     

     

    Candela

     

    Candela is the basic unit of measure of the entire volume of light intensity from any point in a single direction from a light source. Note the detail: it measures the total volume of light within a certain beam angle and direction.
    While the luminance of starlight is around 0.001 cd/m2, that of a sunlit scene is around 100,000 cd/m2, which is a hundred millions times higher. The luminance of the sun itself is approximately 1,000,000,000 cd/m2.

     

    NIT

     

    https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Candela_per_square_metre

     

    The candela per square metre (symbol: cd/m2) is the unit of luminance in the International System of Units (SI). The unit is based on the candela, the SI unit of luminous intensity, and the square metre, the SI unit of area. The nit (symbol: nt) is a non-SI name also used for this unit (1 nt = 1 cd/m2).[1] The term nit is believed to come from the Latin word nitēre, “to shine”. As a measure of light emitted per unit area, this unit is frequently used to specify the brightness of a display device.

    NIT and cd/m2 (candela power) represent the same thing and can be used interchangeably. One nit is equivalent to one candela per square meter, where the candela is the amount of light which has been emitted by a common tallow candle, but NIT is not part of the International System of Units (abbreviated SI, from Systeme International, in French).

    It’s easiest to think of a TV as emitting light directly, in much the same way as the Sun does. Nits are simply the measurement of the level of light (luminance) in a given area which the emitting source sends to your eyes or a camera sensor.

    The Nit can be considered a unit of visible-light intensity which is often used to specify the brightness level of an LCD.

    1 Nit is approximately equal to 3.426 Lumens. To work out a comparable number of Nits to Lumens, you need to multiply the number of Nits by 3.426. If you know the number of Lumens, and wish to know the Nits, simply divide the number of Lumens by 3.426.

    Most consumer desktop LCDs have Nits of 200 to 300, the average TV most likely has an output capability of between 100 and 200 Nits, and an HDR TV ranges from 400 to 1,500 Nits.
    Virtual Production sets currently sport around 6000 NIT ceiling and 1000 NIT wall panels.

     

    The ambient brightness of a sunny day with clear blue skies is between 7000-10,000 nits (between 3000-7000 nits for overcast skies and indirect sunlight).
    A bright sunny day can have specular highlights that reach over 100,000 nits. Direct sunlight is around 1,600,000,000 nits.
    10,000 nits is also the typical brightness of a fluorescent tube – bright, but not painful to look at.

     

     

    https://www.displaydaily.com/article/display-daily/dolby-vision-vs-hdr10-clarified

    Tests showed that a “black level” of 0.005 nits (cd/m²) satisfied the vast majority of viewers. While 0.005 nits is very close to true black, Griffis says Dolby can go down to a black of 0.0001 nits, even though there is no need or ability for displays to get that dark today.
    How bright is white? Dolby says the range of 0.005 nits – 10,000 nits satisfied 84% of the viewers in their viewing tests.
    The brightest consumer HDR displays today are about 1,500 nits. Professional displays where HDR content is color-graded can achieve up to 4,000 nits peak brightness.

    High brightness that would be in danger of damaging the eye would be in the neighborhood of 250,000 nits.

     

    Lumens

     

    Lumen is a measure of how much light is emitted (luminance, luminous flux) by an object. It indicates the total potential amount of light from a light source that is visible to the human eye.
    Lumen is commonly used in the context of light bulbs or video-projectors as a metric for their brightness power.

    Lumen is used to describe light output, and about video projectors, it is commonly referred to as ANSI Lumens. Simply put, lumens is how to find out how bright a LED display is. The higher the lumens, the brighter to display!

    Technically speaking, a Lumen is the SI unit of luminous flux, which is equal to the amount of light which is emitted per second in a unit solid angle of one steradian from a uniform source of one-candela intensity radiating in all directions.

     

    LUX

     

    Lux (lx) or often Illuminance, is a photometric unit along a given area, which takes in account the sensitivity of human eye to different wavelenghts. It is the measure of light at a specific distance within a specific area at that distance. Often used to measure the incidental sun’s intensity.

     

    , ,
    Read more: LUX vs LUMEN vs NITS vs CANDELA – What is the difference