How to Light for Darkness | 5 Cinematography Techniques

[@blackbird8837]

I love how it's always full moon in every movie.. :D

[@CrQualityPhotography]

This is the kind of content that I find sooo valuable ! The experience she has is amazing ! I'm learning sooo much !! 👏🏼👏🏼👏🏼📸

[@aputurelighting]

Glad you enjoy!!

[@johnnythunder8382]

@@aputurelighting i would light it with using a lcd panel under that desk with a blue tone and limit the brighness to 25 and compensate on the exposure. right now i only have two lights. sadly so i would use geeni lights from walmart and use the internet based app to controll a group of light connected to a light plug that way i can make it seamless transition and use a blue and green gels or i will use my wand light to a light blue to fake moon light. i wanna give this a try now

[@hunterboen6410]

That 120d spotlight into the overhead fluorescent banks was such a great idea!

[@victorhugoeh974]

As an architectural lighting designer myself, this channel is pure gold! There's a lot we all lighting designers need to learn from cinematic and photographic lighting. Thumbs up and subscription!

[@DragonHeir8585]

Cool. I'm a theatre lighting guy, and I'm always interested in seeing how other people design their work, especially in other fields like film and architecture. That's a neat idea to cast light on an actual lighting fixture while it's turned off to make it look like it's turned on. Good video!

[@dillonhudson5615]

I'm light-designing for my second play!

[@aputurelighting]

That's really interesting!

[@scottslotterbeck3796]

Yeah, nice trick. Also using the remote to turn off office lights was a nice trick.

[@JoshuaTimothy]

That was an awesome trick! Those office lights are so hard to film with. I really liked this.

[@wagnervana2000]

This was extremely cool and educational. I really loved how you not only walked us through it, but then would show the shot unlit, and introduce each light one at a time to show the building of the light. Never seen that done before. Thank you.

[@laupemusic]

I never really comment on videos, but I just wanna thank you all for sharing all of this! Truly valuable!

[@HDProsnet]

As a DP myself with a daughter leaning toward following her dad's footsteps I am so glad Aputure chose to utilize such a talented woman for this video. Women are so under represented in this business. Hopefully more women will see Valentina's skill and confidence and realize they can rise in this male dominated field. Because talent is more important than anatomy! You rock, Ms. Vee! And I'm going to order a Nova this month!

[@bakrichodkatwa267]

Who said you MUST randomly bring sex and sexism into every fucking thing? Firstly, Women aren't 'under represented', whatever that's supposed to mean. Women do not CHOOSE to get into certain fields, they choose to get into other fields. It's just like men are terribly under represented in nursing, in teaching, especially primary and pre-school teaching. How's that? Never seen you complain about that? Women are also under represented in any kind of TOUGH job and hard labour, be it working in dirty sewers or dangerous coal mines, or going and dying in wars. Dying and suicides are also male dominated. Ever complained about it? Secondly, who cares if anyone is 'under represented' in anything? People get into fields they wish to, fields that they're good at. Men and women are DIFFERENT and are skilled at different things. Why should we make the 2 different genders equal? That's unfairness. Let's enjoy the diversity and difference. Let's not force anyone to get into any field just to 'make a difference' or 'change the tide'. Tide doesn't need to be changed.

[@jmallenvideo]

@@bakrichodkatwa267 around 20 years ago, I wrote an essay on the glass ceiling in the film industry which would later help me in my application to enrol on a university degree in video and new media production. Here I am at the age of 35, working as a videographer and a qualified film tutor myself, still using great online videos like this to support students and also aid my own learning and development. Having read your angry comments, it seems like my decision to write about the glass ceiling all those years ago is still of relevance today. In 2014, only 5% of women directed the top 2000 US box office films and in 2020 no female directors received Oscar nominations. The industry needs great role models like Valentina if we are to move towards shattering that ceiling and inspire the next generation of talented female filmmakers. Why on earth would a young girl today with the smallest interest in filmmaking decide that this is a career worth pursuing when she has to sit and read the bitter, angry comments that you feel obliged to post in a response to what was nothing but a positive reaction to an excellent video? Go away and educate yourself.

[@HDProsnet]

@@bakrichodkatwa267 It's not randomly bringing sexism in. It's real and evident in the business and somthing the businss knows it needs to address. And there are a LOT of women who want to be DPs and the road is harder for them. Period. I know because I've been in the business for twenty years. The real question is why am I bothering to reply to such an obvious asshole? Must you be such an asshole in your reply? Must you be so insulting? I'm pretty sure what isn't random here is you being an asshole because you do it so well. Take your "hate raging I'm insecure as f@ck so I gotta rage at others to prove to myself I'm not a wussy" asshole self offline.

[@tommiegreen]

This is the first filmmaking tutorial I’ve ever seen by a woman. And I’ve been filmmaking for 20 years. Way to go.

[@patgilmour7263]

you need to get out more. Definitely a good video, but there are tons of creators on here that are women. Checkout fellow filmmaker.

[@danielbeckers77]

Absolutely love this. Never thought I could fall in love with lightning so much!

[@aputurelighting]

Cinematography is the life!

[@LokeyTavs]

Paramount for any video or content creator -- I love the simplicity of how Aputure's lights integrate from one angle to another. Clearly, a must-have in today's content space. Thank you!

[@WonderFilm]

I think for me I would have liked to try overexposing everything by about a stop, not clipping, and then I would bring it all down in post so that the entire scene would barely be lit by the blue moonlight. I think the adjustable aperture lights would have been great for this so I could have the practicals following that same barely lit, super soft look. It would be similar to what you did. Love this video. Great work.

[@patrickmontgomery6076]

Love how you started with the importance of set design. And all the little ticks that add to the overall production. For the close-up of the hacker, at first I thought it was hand-held as he was climbing from under the desk, but quickly realized that wasn't the case as the shot then dollies across. Nice job!

[@zachcronin-hurley1293]

Honestly, these are some of the best breakdowns I’ve seen. I feel like there’s stuff I can use in every video from no budget to high budget. Thank you!!!

[@jacobrempel1037]

I like seeing how you do professional lighting with a reasonable light setup.

[@SeanMisa]

I love the tips and this is very helpful! One of my favorite things to do is when I'm filming a scene with a computer, if I'm not filming the actual screen is to find a nice white image and blast that on the screen so I get a soft lighting that lights them up without the use of mounting another light. Perfect for sets when I'm on a smaller budget.

[@aputurelighting]

That works as well!

[@scottyofeden]

This is so well done. You are so chilled out, no jokes, to the point, interesting and knowledgable. The pacing is perfect, consistent, and the graphics are just right. Thanks!

[@aputurelighting]

Glad you enjoyed it!

[@reginapotts5244]

I find these tips absolutely amazing! Now I see…I am sooooo obsolete! I always thought movies were to be viewed comfortably. And, I thought movies nowadays where you can’t see a bloody thing were an error in cinematography. But now I realize, I’m not supposed to be able to see it! WOW! What a revelation! Maybe I should drink 3-4 glasses of wine, or better yet, Chivas Regal, and then it won’t matter that the movie is so dark that I have not a single clue as to what I’m seeing! Isn’t that just the coolest thing! 😁

[@MyMomDrank]

I love these videos with Valentina, they’re super helpful. I really like how we get to see camera settings too, and her breakdown of the where and why of her placement is great. I know personally I would be grateful to see maybe a histogram or some type of guideline of exposure (especially when lighting for darkness)... I know with lower cost gear I have less ISO to play with and struggle with artifacts in my higher contrast footage (but I’m also not shooting with the bitrate or dynamic range of a C70). All in all, these are invaluable to me.

[@DoctorMthepodcast]

This is simply brilliant. It’s like “live art” .Rennaisance art has a lot such light and shadows that’s recreated using their pastels and brush work. To recreate them with lights and camera is similar to that. I can imagine the amount of story boarding and planning that went behind such a scene creation. In a movie such a scene would be heightened with a very tense background score. Learnt so much here. My current set is a similair study space turned narration booth . Cheers guys

[@valerimartohan]

She’s so professional!

[@annayang3236]

To light a scene without too much light in general, I would make sure there is a soft light source serving as ambience light. I'd like the scene to still have enough contrast, so adding in a pop of hard light somewhere that doesn't take up much space (e.g. streetlight, harsh light peeking through cracks). I'd also like to side light or back light the subject for a bit more mood. This video was super helpful! Thank you (: (the bit with using the aputure spotlight to fake the office lights was genius)

[@aputurelighting]

Yes! Ambient light is important in any scene you're doing

[@Andyax]

Valentina, this is great! You are both a good teacher and a great cinematographer.

[@vampiyaz55]

This video is super helpful, I've been watching tons of content re: lighting at night for a short film I'm making next year (ext. scenes, but this is still useful) and this has definitely been my favorite. Thank you!

[@BastianWorrmann]

It's nice to see how the different setups come together to one sequence. Very helpful, thank you!

[@uzoihe5374]

One of the most underated film tutorialist Valentina thank you

[@josephreidhead1639]

Excellent breakdown. I wouldn't have thought to use that MC as the light the boss left on. I would have assumed it wouldn't play but I would have been wrong. Awesome stuff.

[@FitnessArab]

I enjoy all this information thank You ❤ and I like the MC light its really helpful

[@feltonyoung2551]

NBF Film Production up coming feature film has about 60% of it's scenes at night. This tutorial was spot on, and gives us so much needed guidelines for filming at night. Thanks

[@carolmarianunez]

this was great! valentina you are killing it, excited everytime i see a new video from yall

[@felipefuego9436]

DP, Set Dresser, Propsmaster, Production Designer,,, much much more. she does it all

[@JustinEspejo]

I learned so much from this! Wow!!!!

[@novelafilmacademy]

Outstanding tutorial! Your exploration of lighting techniques for dark scenes is incredibly useful for cinematographers.

[@stalman]

The only thing I want more than some B7Cs is that safety hat 😂

[@aputurelighting]

Haha right??

[@adamtubak]

I love the N7 hat though too!! ;)

[@12million]

Great ideas for lighting..actually used some of this info to create set lighting and light our video podcast.

[@tuckerkanderson]

Loved this tutorial Valentina! The only thing I'd probably add is an 85mm tight shot on the hackers face to really milk the city lights bokeh of that location. Great stuff though all around, and thanks for doing a giveaway!

[@valentinavee]

Thanks! I actually wanted an 85 to milk the bokeh as well - but I wanted the frame to be wider to include the screen. However there were a lot of tables and computers in the way of me being able to move my camera back to get a wide enough frame on the 85. And we were already running very low on time so we had to make it work without moving any furniture. Sometimes decisions are made for us based on the limitations we have at the moment.

[@tuckerkanderson]

@@valentinavee totally! Gotta work within your schedule/space limitations.

[@ripsphoto]

Chock full of great tips and ideas, and not so full of gear that it feels out of reach for people on small budgets with small crews, like us. Seems doable, and that's inspiring. Thanks.

[@aebonstudio7193]

Loving the more in depth breakdowns and the lighting plots included.

[@aputurelighting]

Glad to hear that they're helpful!

[@tanayparanjpe9076]

Introducing practical lightis are always helpful as part of the production design, as we can always use them to motivate our key, fill, back light or general ambiance. Therefore whenever I am lighting a dramatic scene I always consider using some practicals as part of my production design. It's always helpful and makes the entire shot more dimensional and has more depth to it.

[@ZekeFaust]

If I was lighting a nighttime computer scene, I would use a real monitor as a practical. It might be harder to control, but you know that the spread and color will be completely authentic. Plus, if your character has glasses or another reflective surface is visible, you'll get a real monitor reflection. As far as the moonlight goes, color, saturation, softness, and intensity are all stylistic things which will be determined by the needs of the story. For example the night scenes in The VVitch aren't exaggerated at all, using mostly natural light. Great video, thank you!

[@ljs7299]

It's always amazing to see how much effort it takes for a professional cinematic lightning setup. Every time I see these videos I'm surprised and I learn much more for my next lighting setup. Thanks a lot!

[@cudenverfilmcage7181]

Thank you Aputure for bringing clarity to lighting scenes of all different skill levels. I am trying to teach my students these techniques, and now you've made it even easier!

[@aputurelighting]

Glad we're able to help!

[@jeromelightbody5155]

This is the first time i have seen a video that shows how to do nigt time shots. Everybldy i ask always says 'light from the windows' but that cant always work work for the story and story is important. I can see that you know that. Great job i enjoyed this very much and thank you. Keep making more of these!

[@darkflamesquirrel]

Love how much the stuff these videos teach can apply to 3D animation.

[@johnnyweissmuller5838]

Thank you so much for sharing! These are always instant watch for me!

[@aputurelighting]

Glad to hear :)

[@rodprod8522]

Opening the scene with a shot of the exterior city plus a moon added would set the tone. I would light his face with a MC in a china ball above so it casts some shadows and adds more mystery and suspense. This is a great video, bouncing the light off the ceiling lights is a great idea - many thanks!

[@ChuckThree]

Valentina, your new look is great n’ all but, like, DAMN MA’AM you just seem so much happier and high energy!! Love these long videos. Thanks Vee and A-Team 🙏

[@RafaelKarosuo]

Hey, I always knew making a scene took a bunch of work, but man, there's a whole world of stuff us regular folks don't get. Big thanks for giving us a front-row seat to the learning show! There's a ton of details, but wow, do they all come together in the end.

[@AtomicPixel]

So good! Love seeing/hearing the thought process. Valentina, you rock!

[@curtisjudd]

Great walk-through, Valentina! Thanks for this!

[@aputurelighting]

Thanks for watching Curtis :)

[@cwTheDrummist]

As what I consider a beginner, I so appreciate these breakdowns! Thanks for making these!

[@aputurelighting]

Glad you like them!

[@WeddingfilmsinfraserValley]

This was the best one yet. The amount of depth you brought to the design choices was so beneficial. I like how you also took the time to explain the artistic motivation behind your choices as well. Keep up the good work.

[@aputurelighting]

Thank you!!

[@JustinOpinionChannel]

Just go my Nova P300c, and while I'm in the infancy of learning to use it - it is super intuitive and an incredible tool. Excellent video, not only to show the 'how-to' of certain techniques but to stimulate the thoughts on other alternative approaches.

[@zeea7982]

I seriously can't decided shud i focus on her or what she is teaching. Man she is absolutely gorgeous, oh yea and what she is saying is very informative and helpful.

[@KevinJacobsen]

Less is always more! I liked the lighting setup displayed here. I would think in an office at least one or two additional monitors were left on. So I would set up a few more lights to reflect screens being left on. Great tutorial.

[@Vampyreheathen]

Love watching these! I like Bradford Young's method of lighting scenes like this, which is mostly using practicals and underexposing. So I would do that but just add key and fills light to extended the practicals!

[@aputurelighting]

Bradford Young is amazing!

[@BrianEHoover]

I would figure out all the character movements first, find the widest shot and turn on 1 light. From there, turning on/moving more lights 1 at a time to ensure I get the coverage needed for the mood and that any visual information is clear in the shot. Love your breakdown here, you did a fantastic job walking us through your thought process and motivations.

[@aputurelighting]

Good tips!

[@BenettGraezer]

Thanks for this. Got a lot of value from it!

[@silvijosabajo7579]

I like how good Vee her presentation is. I always learn so much.

[@peterhall4216]

Great tutorial, to the point without being dry. Looking good Valentina!

[@WillyFoxx]

...aaaaaaand I thought I was good at lighting 😅😅😅😅😅😅. 10/10 Valentina!

[@noamhalaby-senerman6749]

Looks amazing! I learned a lot, thanks for the lesson.

[@cartoune]

Give the hacker guy an award. He really takes the hacker energy up to 1000

[@AliNgarud]

You don't actually type like that without making a ton of errors.

[@experiencesforsale]

he doesn't press the keys

[@maxcarmas6039]

Hahaha I really hope he is not a real actor..... Because otherwise he is dreaming of a career that won't happen ;)

[@ASwankyLemon]

This is great! Love all the practicals what with the computer monitor and various desk lamps

[@makestuffmike]

Just bought an MC! Glad to see this tutorial pop up! Can't wait to use my little light and add to my kit!

[@BuddyBearCreator]

#1 Tip don't put nail holes in the walls to hang your pictures / set dressing or you may get a nice refurbishing bill at the end of the shoot day / night happens a lot

[@valentinavee]

Oh yeah for sure! We used removable wall-safe Velcro.

[@naeemashaari]

this kind of long tutorial video is fun to watch, love it !

[@dys3945]

Amazing walk through. This is the most detailed one I’ve seen so far and I love it

[@Insidelifetv1210]

I’m glad I stumbled on this video. I have my shoot tomorrow and I was thinking of how to light up, but I’m glad I have a bigger idea now. Thanks for the lesson.

[@ParkerThompsonVideo]

Thanks for this break down! It's always really cool to see the individual lights turned on at the end of the setup. I especially appreciated that one Aputure MC used in the hacker's lighting setup to continue the practical light from the boss' setup. Those details make a big difference. For dramatic night interior scenes, I like careful backlighting that practically silhouettes the subject if they are doing an activity that is really secretive or private. An Aputure MC light would be really handy for a silhouette like that. Especially with the RGB settings, it could be paired with any interesting colored practical light too in a dramatic interior night scene :)

[@IanPageEchols]

I've got a couple cheap handheld RGB LED lights and they're amazingly useful! I use them to light smaller objects that I'm shooting and sometimes wider shots. As someone who hasn't done a ton of lighting it's great to be able to wave the light around and see the effect in your camera and see in realtime where the light is having the best effect, and playing with contrasting colors. Even for larger shots where these lights aren't powerful enough, I can still use them to get a sense of how I might want to place a larger light. I've also carried them around for night photography, in order to color or just a bit more light to a scene.

[@MarkArnett]

Your videos are so helpful. I love seeing real world narrative film lighting explained. Love your work. Please keep it up.

[@aputurelighting]

Will do!!

[@dorotheaschulz]

I love the spotlight idea to replicate the overhead light! You really got me thinking about how best to create moonlight. Love this! Thanks for sharing Valentina!

[@goodnightmilk3047]

Loved the video, thank you for all the valuable help! Another solution to a harsh moonlight is to make a book light or some muslin to help get a soft feel. Great stuff 👌

[@Bad-Nick]

Love these scene setup vids. They've been common enough scenarios that anyone is likely to shoot at some point.

[@ConciseTechTV]

This goes way above and beyond my KZbin videography needs but was cool to see!

[@TheTMax]

That was a great practical hands on way to learn! Thanks 😊

[@lukeogden8783]

Where appropriate I’ve always liked the sickly orange of sodium vapour street lamps in night work. Something like the Nova is perfect for this. Looks great on its own or (as you’ve said) it’s a great complementary colour for blue/cyan moonlight.

[@BrentHagyVideography]

Great video! I've used M-9's in a lamp to help replace bulbs as well in the past...not as versatile as an MC or a B7c but works in a pinch! Love the spotlight into the ceiling idea! 👍

[@aputurelighting]

That's a great work-around! And thank you

[@alonihill7708]

This is awesome! Thanks for the walkthrough!

[@aputurelighting]

Thanks for watching!

[@danielgrindrod]

Awesome job Valentina and crew! these videos are inspiring me to improve the quality of my own tutorials 😀

[@BrendanEvan]

This was awesome. So much intent goes into well done work.

[@enduraman1]

The story writing can be a little better. If there’s a hacker who’s planning to hide in the dark, I would expect that hacker to have a flashlight. I would rewrite the scene so that when the boss leaves it appears to be an empty office. Then the hacker turns his flashlight on under his face, and then crawls out from underneath the desk.

[@darwintrinidad5294]

This is really informative, I am learning a lot. Thank you so much for dropping this.

[@besherry8341]

Love this set up! Goes to show how minimal lighting can really sell a scene. I’d love to see a video where ye just use MC lights (that’s if you haven’t done one already) . Steller work as always! To sell the scene of moon light, I would use 1/2 CTB gel and 1/2 CTG gel. It makes moon light look more of a steel colour. I think the cinematographer Seamus McGarvey uses this technique.

[@taomenshuifilmstudio34]

Well Done!!!!! Great instructional lighting setups and all around prep work to shoot a Scene, You are a Great Film Maker and Great Teacher as well.......

[@DanielPiano]

Great tutorial, thank you! This is very helpful and cool in the same time.

[@GaretOMusic]

Great tutorial! I've been using the light of the monitor to light similar things. Must get one of those!

[@EddieBarksdale]

I'm just here to say that N7 hat did not go unnoticed ;)

[@aputurelighting]

Thanks for noticing ;)

[@AllThingsFilm1]

Excellent video. These lighting breakdowns are so invaluable. I always look forward to them. Thanks.

[@PrimeVision-gp7zw]

I am now a fan and subscribed. Loving this it feeds my creative hunger.

[@alienwisconsin]

I loved this video, very informative and imaginative in the use of these lights syncing quickly.

[@aputurelighting]

Glad it was helpful!

[@alexanderashmore]

V for Valentina's victory! I think how you lit the scene was great (a lot better than I could). I enjoyed and wouldn't change the lighting gags and the control over the practicals in the frame. The things I would change would probably be the amount of light from the standing lamp during the first scene with the boss. I would turn that light down some so that the "moonlight" could be more prominent on the back wall and enhance some shadows on the talent's face and in the scene. This might give it more of a night feeling, and the darker setting allowing some uneasiness of the shadows to creep into the audience's mind. The second scene I really liked the moonlight hitting the wall to allow the desk silhouettes to stand out. The only obvious thing is the light being in the shot lol. The third I think is the best of the three shots and I wouldn't change a single thing. Once again, a fantastic presentation by the Aputure Team and Valentina.

[@aputurelighting]

Thanks for the input!!

[@TesseracMedia]

Nice breakdown again. This new format is definitely the way to go.

[@aputurelighting]

Glad you think so!

[@charlottestills]

Amazing video! I know it probably seems a little silly but seeing women so confidently work in this field that I'm looking to pursue is so inspiring. thanks for the info!

[@MattMurnan]

This was a great video and breakdown, great job Valentina! I as well enjoy using these gags for night office scenes, although one thing I do like doing is bouncing my moon ambience off the ceiling or off a greycard taped up to spread it even more, then shoot a bit of hard light from the windows to make that slight direct light from the moon (obviously more difficult for anything above the first floor) across the scene and walls, maybe add some grey sheers or blinds to soften/break up the light. I also add some atmosphere to show off a bit of that hard light. Otherwise, I also enjoy pulling a bit from the pages of Bradford Young for something even moodier and let a lot of the scene fall off into darkness, using very little ambience and light only from practicals and additional lighting that motivates the practicals (so for this, the hacker would be slightly backlit from the cityscape and filled from the boss' lamp, then the gag from the monitors would pop on lighting him from the short side and wrapping to the front side). Depends on the feel desired. Just a couple additional ways to light the scene that I've done.

[@kylekeller4689]

Round chinese lantern can provide a real bang for buck lighting option. They're available in many colors and great for dynamic lighting. Wes Anderson used them on the Grand Budapest Hotel for a few shots.

[@YeshiLhendupFilms]

Thank you for this 😍 Love from Bhutan 🇧🇹

[@aputurelighting]

Thank you for watching!

[@ChuDrex]

It's a great lighting tutorial video... I don't have that gears but thanks for teach us about get the best shoots. Thanks very much guys 👍🏼👍🏼👍🏼

[@LuchianComsa]

Nice to see how the different setups come together to one sequence 👏