ABSTRACT
Despite the great contrast compression of modern video cameras, gaffers are always trying to shape and cut light to create a certain look and atmosphere. Certain genres of filmmaking require specific types of lighting to fit into the accepted traditions and style of the genre. T-stops and f-stops are important concepts in adjusting the camera and lighting to mesh, especially when looking out windows. Foot-candles and lux are measurements of the amount of actual light falling at a given distance. Photometric tables aid in selecting lights for use in filmmaking. Log shooting is becoming very standard with video cameras to compress the video image and LUTs (Look Up Tables) help translate the Log video image back to a viewable video image on a monitor or TV. Waveforms and histograms aid DPs to understand the light levels on set. Rec. 709 is the standard for display on TVs around the world. New modes of recording color with video cameras are under discussion, but the potential issue of creating huge data files and lack of standards is problematic. LEDs complicate lighting because the spectral response of different manufacturers’ LED lights is not the same. CRI (Color Rendering Index) may no longer be an effective measurement of color fidelity with LEDs – TLCI is one new possible standard.
