Our first event of 2017 was awesome, thanks to all of you that made it out! We had a great time talking about lighting basics to a group of the almost 30 creatives who attended.
We covered the different kinds of lighting instruments and their fundamental features, like color balance, output, and power consumption. We also covered the basic 3 point lighting set-up. In the 3 point set-up, you have a key light that’s the brightest, the fill light which fills in the shadow areas, and the kicker light, or hair light, which pops the subject out from the background. This basic set-up is the easiest and most commonly seen technique for isolating a subject and creating depth within a scene.
We also did a demonstrative workshop discussing the Why? of lighting set-ups, looking at the process of choosing between different set-ups like Paramount lighting versus Rembrandt-style of lighting. By controlling the amount, location, and quality (hardness or softness) of the shadows on a subject, you can add or reduce the amount of drama within a scene. Choose set-ups that are appropriate for your subject and story; if you are telling a dramatic story, go with more dramatic lighting set-ups. If you’re telling a bright, happy story, go with somewhat flatter set-ups that doesn’t make your subject look too moody.
We concluded the night with over an hour of mixing. It was really great to see everyone breaking out of their groups, interacting with other creatives, and just having a great time. We got a ton of great questions, our attendees got a chance to demo different lighting instruments and set-ups, and at the end of the night we nearly had to boot people out of the building so we could close up shop!
So thanks again for all those that attended our first event of 2017! Stay tuned for our next event this coming weekend, Saturday, January 28th, 2017, at Sight and Sound Studios. We have a representative from RED Digital Cinema coming down with a bunch of cool toys for everyone to drool over (and play with!)
Check out our calendar for more details, and for events from other organizations and businesses in Hawai’i!
