Digital Filmmaking For Kids For Dummies

PROJECT 19

Adding Mood with Lighting

Using lighting in film can be very effective and help to create feelings and emotions in your audience, but using darkness can be just as effective. It’s important for the audience to be able to see your subjects or characters, but using a mixture of light and dark can really enhance your shots.

It’s amazing what lighting can do to a shot. By simply moving a light or using shadows, you can change the mood of your footage. Lighting designers and gaffers spend years learning about light and how it can be used in film, and when you light your scenes, you’ll see why. Next time you watch a film, have a look at how the shots are lit. See if you can work out how they created an effect or a look in a scene.

In this project, I show you how to use lighting effects to add mood and to make your shots look great.

Using lights when filming can create reflections in windows and shiny surfaces. When you set up your shot, check the viewfinder on your camera for reflections from the lights. You can be avoid these by moving the light, repositioning the camera, or avoiding filming towards windows and shiny surfaces.

Using Shadows and Lighting Effects

There are so many ways your can use light and shadows to create a mood in a shot. You don’t always need to light ...