How to Light Dark and Gritty | Cinematography Breakdown

[@mochouinard]

I convey danger in my lighting by not using sand bags, overloading my stand, not putting the weight on the tall leg and by using my left hand to tight my gobo head ! Sometime I'll make the stick eye level with no tennis ball if I really feel like it !

[@drewloewen6079]

This is the way

[@cockerjc]

Oh, you a bad boy.

[@BrentHagyVideography]

I like using dramatic hard lighting and reds/greens to convey danger or urgency. Loved the explanation behind utilizing the book lighting so people moving in front of the source don't interfere as much with the shot! My appreciation for sunroofs just skyrocketed as well! Great video!

[@elieh.studio]

Recently, it has become more of a 8MFS or 16MFS, but we like it like that !

[@vishalprakash5584]

Mind blowing tips

[@xasaintx]

I'd use my lighting to silhouette the danger so the audience can begin to slowly understand but not have the reveal all at once. Colour then takes this to the next level.

[@brujodeathmetal]

doing lowbudget taught me to use my phone for a quick light with different filters, it works in a quick pinch. Also using LED flash lights comes in handy

[@JoshGreensVLOG]

I use chiaroscuro lighting to paint outlines of my subject and the background. That way the audience is fighting through the obscurity. Next I use a primary danger color (red - toxic Green) with a complementary color as a minor accent shade. When the subject is still, I'll add some 3D space movement (vs hue or luminance movement). When subject is moving, I try to keep the lighting still.

[@FreshSqueezedLightning]

This was a fun one to AC!

[@CHALADEITALIA]

I've found that a great way to convey danger is is to use dark parts throughout the frame so the audience focuses on the main source of the danger through light values. Once that is done, stylizing the light hitting the source of the danger is a good way to evoke emotion. I purposefully make sure nothing else is blooming or in the same light values as the main focus of the scene. The highlights should be just above midtones but no so bright that its hitting us over the head. A famous example of this is Indiana Jones in which he switches the sand for the golden idol. The idol is the brightest thing there but it's not so bright as to overpower the frame.

[@aakriti9634]

I love how lighting on it's own creates such an amazing cinematic space. Took the whole calm location to badass dark themed scene!

[@neopotrebitel]

I think the classic way to go in thrillers or horror movies is to add a flickering bulb effect and that way your audience is struggling to see the characters well, which adds to the tension of the scene. Plus you can 'hide' characters or things in the dark bits only to then appear when the bulb flicks back on. A more stylistic choice that I really like but is harder to pull off is a strong red light, which you can justify as realistic for the scene if for example the power is off and the emergency lights kick in (or maybe you don't need to justify it at all). It comes off too strong sometimes, but it does a good job of illustrating an evil character's blood lust, or that someone is about to become a victim etc. It can be used in more subtle ways too, of course but its a stylistic choice that doesn't belong in every movie.

[@MarkArnett]

I think the use of dark spaces with slight detail in the shadows piping in and out conveys danger to me.

[@aperturefilm]

I convey danger through lightings by setting up the appropriate white balance to have a cold feel then add one few minimal lights to compensate

[@AshnellStudios]

Awesome Tips!

[@TommysVerden]

As always, great video!

[@DanySalliotPhoto]

Super enrichissant ! Merci et respect de France 🇫🇷 🎥

[@Gambitheart]

Green flourascent tube lights were very common lights few years back..

[@oseuvideomaker]

What a great class! 😃👏🏼👏🏼

[@JusttJC]

defo want to try this for some sort of emotional care scene after a break up or something! but shout to the whole 4mfs team, can really see how much effort goes into videos packed with so many gems, aperture you the goats!

[@kefaspeter234]

I needed this tutorial. thanks Vee n team

[@TheDman510]

INTERIOR DAYLIGHT DANGER LIGHTING : I would start with 'silhouettng' the characters with the window in the background while having a very big diffused light sometimes I study the location and wait for the sun to hit directly into the interior and then use a queen size bed sheet from the outside to diffuse the light .. "cheaper" lol EXTERIOR/INTERIOR NIGHT DANGER LIGHTING : I would use two designs, let's say a car scene and the car is moving I'd use the cyan and reddish sodium color contrast with having the cyan as the night 'moonlight' and the reddish sodium as the street lights with having a two novas mounted to the car while controlling the sodium nova dim to act as the light in the street with trying to convey some "red" lights upon the character from outside if it was the antagonist as moving cars! And I would always try however the scene is to put additional source of light from under the characters to cast some shadows on the face that gives the thrilling vibe!! Wooh

[@rohans4083]

First of all I want to feel the audience to "The Color I'm using is mean danger" for that I want to set a two different color tones for antagonist and protagonist that ways we can feel fear when ever see the color antagonist choose!!

[@aputurelighting]

Great idea!

[@colet5836]

I generally use a more dramatic lighting ratio, as I think that it adds suspense to the scene, by not having everything be fully visible. Combining that with slower camera movement makes things feel more dangerous, as it makes the audience anticipate something to come, and builds that sense of danger.

[@fullbars]

This girl is badass.

[@AlexMinor]

I think it’s less about using LIGHT to convey danger than about the strategic placement/use of shadow. Really setting the mode and tone by deciding where you can see and where can’t. Then you can subtly accent that with colored pops of light that relate to the mood you want.

[@rdthrthth]

Fun fact, the colours in the La La Land scene were inspired by a scene in Vertigo

[@aputurelighting]

Thanks for this cool fact!

[@MsYano26]

Nice video! Thank you for sharing lighting breakdowns, we need more of these!

[@BestBBQShow]

With enough MC's I could make any mood I want with the lighting

[@jonjoy-gaba315]

I’ve never filmed for danger, but I would try to emulate (spoiler alert) the scene where Han Solo is killed by Kylo Ren. There’s a sense of light vs dark side with the blues and reds strategically placed in the background. We (the audience) feel Han is talking to his son Ben, but then the scene turns red with even a little of red casted onto the character’s face signaling his shift back to Kylo, where he then kills Han This scene is so beautiful: kzbin.info/www/bejne/npmQq3qGYrGWh7M

[@sindsaw3602]

With love from Bulawayo in Africa

[@jonnybigmuff]

Nvm about Haze. If you really want to motivate danger in-camera then use A/B Smoke.

[@cockerjc]

I wish they would also include the intensity setting of each light. So I could imagine if my lower wattage Aputure lights could be swapped in replacing one of theirs. Great video!

[@shaneharrison4172]

maybe.. it also has a lot to do with camera / lens and over all ambience

[@danielolayiwola3746]

Yess

[@CameraPanda0717]

I use shadows and my depth of field to create danger. Have movement in shadows to show something our subject doesn’t and having things move in the background so you don’t know what it is

[@JackMajor]

I like to use flashy red lights to convey danger; sometimes by spotlighting or keying a certain object of importance in a scene.

[@MariaGarcia-qr9je]

Like it

[@leeentertainmentchannel247]

Mmm give more of Natalia. That my baby 😍🥰 could lose the mask tho

[@AndresLopez]

I would definitely use the color red to give the viewer a sense of danger, working high contrast on the characters' faces and complementing very softly with yellow temperatures that subtly fill in the silhouettes. I hope to win the Aputure MC

[@olivermitchell4968]

Boujee Grips leveling the entire track on apples, does the US not use Pags?

[@mitchmedmedia5386]

Lots of good info from a solid crew 🙌

[@obangamuzik]

Yesssss 🔥🔥🔥

[@moritzdoetsch9702]

I use for the feel of danger colurs that were not comen so the audience feel strange because they not familier with that

[@kaleel_ko]

Mercury vapor lights are actually green

[@Nex5Network]

I really wish no one would say gritty when describing lighting. That word should be reserved for production design. I would described the final result as hard and contrasty lighting, but not gritty.

[@Rani-hano]

❤

[@sanilalkuttimon1755]

❤️❤️

[@mouadbaalla1648]

Using a one colour in every shoot that make fell it like orange colour in film godfather when that colour show in the shoot someone death.

[@Leo-rn7lq]

My appreciation is that it is far too lit, giving it a look like for TV adventure series work, undestandable that if you wish to advertise lights.. yo need to "light the scene", not bad.. just too lit for my style.

[@naziflatheef1066]

Its really helpful 💯🙏

[@aputurelighting]

Thank you! Glad you liked the episode.

[@thomaswindfeld728]

Finaly!! :-D

[@dam55ian]

by using hard contrastfull lighting and backlighting to create silhouettes

[@anniebreeze_]

Shadow, shadow, shadow...especially on faces!

[@rochesaur4589]

genial!!!

[@bibhuranjandutta470]

Silhouette and underneath lighting or only back lighting the talent...

[@markiavelli]

If you guys ever need a gear tester, I'd be happy to review and try out whatever you send me :P

[@kameramanhv]

The 4 minutes film school is not 4 minutes film school anymore.

[@johnrossi8862]

Well I guess the simple answer would be to use color as a way to convey danger. The obvious being a red light illuminating the killers face or something like that. But personally, I would have most of the lights off. Keep it simple, draw the viewers eye to the one or few things illuminated, and let the danger play in the darkness.

[@aputurelighting]

Darkness can be really effective for this!

[@johnrossi8862]

@@aputurelighting the key to lighting is knowing when not to, and what not to light

[@jonnybigmuff]

Haze.

[@danielolayiwola3746]

Always the red and sodium vapor to convey danger

[@aputurelighting]

Totally!

[@AaronArtOKC]

Always gotta be careful using gaff tape shooting on location

[@bennisa8102]

Why the cars always gotta be wet man

[@LeoArmenta]

How many kelvins???

[@codebus]

I made danger by tripping over stuff in my apartment after the lights were turned off.

[@vikram9812]

SUPER #yuvarajempire

[@kimkrohnberle]

Resident Evil

[@collaborativekiwistudios1191]

Strobe cause there’s a possibility it could kill someone.

[@osoriony]

I like to convey danger by flickering the lights in random fashion.

[@aputurelighting]

Our "Faulty Bulb" FX is a must.

[@JWS1968]

Wearing a mask outside says it all really.