English 117, Fall 2002
TERMS FOR LIGHTING
backQuality of light:
Key lighting: the primary artificial light source in a shot
high-key is heavily artificial; low-key is mostly natural light
Hard/harsh lighting: unflattering, makes actors less likable
Soft lighting: flattering, makes actors more likable
Backlighting: lights behind a dim or silhouetted figure
Halo lighting: backlighting that brightly outlines the figure
Shadows: a noticeable shadow, esp. on a face, usually serves an expressive purpose
Direction of light:
Top lighting: light source is positioned above the actors
Bottom lighting: light source is positioned below the actors, often casting eerie shadows
Side lighting: light source hits only one side of face; suggests actor’s mixed state of mind
TERMS FOR FILM STOCK AND PROCESSING
Grainy: visible texture of specks on film surface
Pixelvision: video shot on audio tape using 1980s toy camera
Negative: film stock with light/dark values reversed from normal
Saturated color: film processed so hues are brighter than normal
Contrasty color: film processed so light/dark shades are more distinct than normal