From the course: Lighting Design for Video Productions

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The role of lighting in telling a story

The role of lighting in telling a story

From the course: Lighting Design for Video Productions

The role of lighting in telling a story

The fundamental role of lighting is to establish a time of day, a sense of space, and an emotional cue for the viewer. With the proper tools and techniques, we can alter a plain living room so as to mimic a school library, and make multiple meeting rooms shot on different days and cities, look like a single location. We can create morning light at night, and a spectacular moonlight at noon. Viewers can be manipulated in multiple ways. For example, with the camera's movement, or lack of it. By the lens and camera selection, the composition of the shots, the set design and props used on different scenes. The blocking of the actors, the music and sound effects, the editing pace, and even with the colored treatment of the footage. All the elements can, and are, used to evoke emotional reactions and assumptions. Lighting is the key ingredient in this recipe. Are we using light to create the illusion of a different time of day, or time period? Are we using a very neutral light to simply…

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