lighting Another newb question on lighting

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jjb

Hi everyone,
In my effort to try and expand my knowledge on lighting set ups(im a complete beginner, have never worked with proper lighting equipment), I've come up with the following question:

Is it usual for the position of the lights to be changed from shot to shot. For instance, they would be physically moved closer to the actor in a tight close-up, but would be further away in a wide shot.- Is it necessary to do that?
Thanks in advance
 
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Yes, maybe, probably.

It's called a "setup". A setup is the camera is here, the 1K is there, the 650K is over there, a flag on a c-stand is the other place. If the lighting looks right when you go in for the closeup without moving anything then you don't have to move it, but many (most) times you will have to.

These are the things that have to factored into shooting schedules. If I have 5 masters that are all shot in the same room with no windows, I may shoot all 5 masters back to back even though they are from all over the script because of the time saved by doing every shot that uses that "setup". That has to be weighed against other factors like forcing the actors into a difficult emotional scene without a build up (for example).
 
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Yes, lights are tailored to the scene/shot. I see it all the time. Try watching only the lighting technique on closeups of dialogues between two parties. You'll see the lights are changed to accentuate the person of focus. Just remember that the angle of the light changes but never beyond the line of symmetry.
 
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Arachnid,
Iv never heard that term before (in relation to film.. ) I think I know what you mean, but Im having a heard time parsing exactly how one WOULD change the angel of the light past the line of symmetry.. can you show an example?

Thanks
 
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Arachnid,
I think I understand what you mean about the line of symmetry, but I am sure I have seen films, when paying particular notice to the lighting, that when there is an over the shoulder conversation, the actors faces are clearly illuminated from opposite sides (meaning that the key must of moved over the line)
 
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I was completely new to lighting setups until recently myself and i've found that yes, you will need to change lighting around if you're going to utilise an array of different shots. It can e laborious and time consuming to move them around so if you know the lighting setups exactly for each shot, granted that you can pull it off effectively. As Gonzo said, if it requires a sudden change in emotion and your actor is unable to pull it off, it may be best to move them around and shoot chronologically.
It can take a long time to get right but, if you do, it can really aid the aesthetic and tone of a film, as i'm sure you're very aware!
 
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Thanks for the diagram, as rough as it is.. In directorial terms this is the line of action, which is what I assume you meant. So the lights obey the ling of action too, though they can start on either side of the line, they must remain on that side for the entire scene.. makes sense.
 
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I think the term he seeks is "lighting continuity." Which is somewhat related to the line of action, although light can come from both sides of the line at the same time. Back/Cross key situations come to mind, for example.
 
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