ABSTRACT
In our work in motion picture and television, we can identify five properties of light that we manip-
ulate to create compelling images. They are: color, brightness, shape (or pattern), quality of light
(hard or soft), and movement. The techniques used to manipulate and control these five properties
represent the central knowledge required of a lighting technician working on set. Mastery of the prin-
ciples that govern the properties of light is the very core of the expertise a director of photography
and gaffer bring to a project. Our understanding of these principles deepens with experience, but it
begins with the essentials discussed in this chapter.
