Shadow and Light

When it comes to lighting a shot in filmmaking, it's not just the light that matters.

Remember the shadows, too. You don't want all light. (Then again, all dark would be, well, too dark.)

It means that you may have to stray from conventional three-point lighting. That works if you want to make sure everything and everyone can be seen by the viewer. But that doesn't always take the mood of the scene into account.

In our movie, Under Jakob's Ladder, it was prison lighting for us. We needed plenty of shadow. But also enough light to create the right kind of mood. In fact, lighting will do that for you... change the mood of scene. And you want to get the mood just right.

Dark and light. Strike a good balance and you've got a good shot.