Cinematic Lighting Using Windows

Stay tuned to the end for a chance to win a prize!
Commercial and corporate projects are some of the most common gigs you will work on as a professional filmmaker. Knowing how to make the best out of any situation will allow your work to stand out and help portray your client in the best way possible. Today, director of photography Dave Cortez teaches us two different ways to light high key commercial setups, with an emphasis on how to use light from windows in your frame.
In this video, Dave shows us two different methods for shooting high key commercial setups.
In our first setup, he creates separation between the foreground background using haze and leading lines. He also wraps the light from the window around the face to create lighting continuity. In our second setup, he shoots an over the shoulder than can be used in a commercial or narrative setting. In this setup, he exposed for the windows and added light to motivate light from the window.
The main techniques that we will be discussing today are wrapping light with soft sources, adding light to balance the window light, and blooming windows. Wrapping light with soft sources refers to the technique of using large lighting sources to get a soft wrap of light around the subject, to mimic what the light from the window is doing. You want to make a light source that is as close to the window shape as you can. Adding light to balance the window light means that the more light is coming from the windows, the more light you need to add. This way, the lighting levels will be equal outside and inside of the windows. Blooming windows is a technique for making blown-out windows look more pleasing. By added haze, you can get a nice glow from the window, instead of a harsh overexposed frame.
At the end of the day, your lighting should be based on what tells the story best! For commercials and corporate videos, that can often mean making the people or products of screen look their best. But when you have an unexpected element to your location, such as a bright window, you need to know how to handle that. This video will help you feel a little more comfortable in those types of situations. That way you can focus more on the story you’re telling with the video.
Connect with Dave: / davecortez
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Summary:
Aputure's KZbin channel provides free high-quality cinematography, lighting, and filmmaking educational content to help you take your film projects to the next level.

[@aputurelighting]

Tell us about your favorite scene from a movie or TV show that uses large windows as a light source. The best comment will win an SKB travel case for your lights! Note: Winners will be notified via the email address listed on their channel

[@nebvision6839]

Definitely Big Little Lies! The way the entire series is lit is beautiful, those windows not only sell us on the 'beachfront' feel of things but they make for some amazing images.

[@tarheelgarden]

do people really win these?

[@MikeOzmun]

The beginning of The Man Who Wasn't There, where it shows him doing all the different haircuts, convinced me it was lit with just the front window of the barber shop (though I know it probably wasn't). I've searched far and wide for lighting diagrams from that amazing film, only to come up empty. Free case aside, if anyone knows where to find lighting diagrams from that movie, I would be very grateful!

[@DommoDommo]

The ending of Fightclub had huge office style windows in a nighttime scene however I'm almost positive it was all green screen and artificial light.

[@connorpickett9013]

ARRIVAL All the scenes with the aliens.

[@PostColorGear]

The thing I love most about lighting is how natural it ends up looking, but how natural it isn't (if that makes sense). When people watch it back, the first thing they think isn't "wow that person is being lit", but without those lights, everything just falls into shadow or loses shape. Great video, guys!

[@aputurelighting]

Yes! On the keys of good lighting is to make the audience think it wasn't lit at all.

[@burungbaguette]

I know right. You can't get cinematic lighting using Macs. Only Windows.

[@ScribblebytesWorldwide]

Don't give Gates more ammo than he has 😂😂😂

[@scottslotterbeck3796]

Barry Lyndon. Kubrick used massive light outside the large windows during the restaurant scene, mimicking the sun. In a film with stunning scenes, this scene holds its own.

[@DOKOTV]

The best large window like light source I have seen in a movie is in “Oblivion”. Huge light/image projection done to light set instead of doing that in post production which I think is the most amazing thing I have seen till date.

[@kasvandiepen]

Thanks for another great insight. Best window scene is in my opninion in the movie Citizen Kane, No not the one with the kid throwing snowballs but the one where the hear about the great depression. You can learn alot from that one scene about character position, framing and composition. When he hears "they are bust" he walks towards the windows, dissapears in the dark and shrinks in comparison of the other two characters in the front. But when he hears the good news he walks back and towers above the other guys and walks from the dark back into the light. Only when the man walks to the window you get a sense of the height of the windows. Mindblown.

[@ArsenBeglarian]

Your videos got really better, as you now include more wide angle shots showing the set up, allowing to orientate the viewer. On earlier videos I was struggling to orientate myself and imagine the full map of the entire setup.

[@FutureGameDev]

That first setup reminds me of a Parker Walbeck tutorial 😅

[@moritzruger4584]

FutureGameDev looks like the same Location

[@diskripanski]

Yes I thought same

[@GsusColliding]

Though a contrasty setup - The brief sequence inside a building of the final Neo vs Smith fight in Matrix Revolutions. It's just badass and the use of lightning strikes as a source through the big windows is great. The Details make it so great. You can still see the rain collecting on the window frames, all while two seemingly pure black figures are artistically fighting each other. Add the lightning strikes and you got yourself a great scene.

[@chiokehart-kelly3481]

Amy Adams character in "Arrival" any scene where she is in her living room and that huge window is backlighting her looks gorgeous.

[@gokulpillai8977]

YOU GUYS ARE GREAT!!!

[@NatesFilmTutorials]

Arrival! Without a doubt the alien ship is one of the best uses of "window" lighting

[@jedupree91]

Titanic's final scene - Not the only source in the room but the large skylight dome letting in the vast amount of daylight to wrap around Jack Dawson as he takes Rose's hand. The atmosphere and softness created gives the audience what they always wanted to see.

[@mauricemcneil8550]

I really love how Bradford Young used the large source in Arrival. PTA uses this technique in The Phantom Thread as well.

[@dmar9636]

Mission Impossible: Ghost Protocol In this film the scenes created outside the Dubai palace are real while the interior scenes are shot with the chroma key. It is interesting to note that the light that enters from the large windows is very natural and soft, does not seem at all to be scenes shot in the studio. Really a great job!

[@jamesmathews243]

Nice and subtle.

[@jerome9391]

I love the big windows light sources in all the office scenes from my favourite movie "Play Time" by Jacques Tati.

[@mattiacono4121]

Great video! One of the films that used window light that sticks out to me was The Godfather Pt 2 during the lake house scene with Michael and Fredo.

[@NeonDarkShadow]

Christopher Nolan deliberately staged whole dialogue scenes next to large windows on The Following to keep lighting costs on his super low budget 16mm debut to an absolute bare minimum. The scene in which ‘Cobb’ confronts ‘The Young Man’ about why he is following him was specifically staged in a cafe at a table against large floor to ceiling windows to exploit natural lighting. No bounce is used and so the contrast ratio is pretty high which only adds to the film’s neo noir stylings. It also helped that the bottom half of these windows facing the street were frosted and further diffused much of the soft overcast London daylight hitting the actors faces as well as blocking passers by and helping with continuity issues between edits. Simple. Cheap. Brilliant!

[@cookingwithglen152]

Thats enough light to give someone a serious tan!!

[@Jones_Media]

🙏🏽 Always useful information 🙏🏽

[@AdamKuzniar]

I love these breakdowns. First shot, I'm thinking "oh yeah, just some hair light, big bounce and thats it" and then I see you using $6000 worth of lights and addons and I'm like "yeaaah I'm not doing this anytime soon" xD

[@honest_noise]

Not to shit on aputure, I'm really excited for the 600D but with a $200 rental budget you could have gotten the same look with one large lamp. Four wide beams through a double break is a cable management and footprint nightmare.

[@poppingZiben]

@@honest_noise 300d is great but not in this huge setup. I bet 2,5k hmi would be more powerfull than 4 300d's

[@gabeplaysreal]

I love you guys!

[@Loqu4]

I love these videos! Can’t wait for the 300dii to be out so I can get more lights! Definitely need to get more modifiers after watching these videos I’m not sure if it’s possible but I’d like to know the reasoning behind using a 300d for rim instead of 120d as a rim. Maybe just the percentage of each light so that I can figure out the power needed and maybe use 2 x 120d instead of one etc

[@brainboxdash2408]

Ur doin a great wrk 👌🏾

[@DIYCameraGuy]

the final fight in the highlander glass wall and a wet floor was great

[@RandomlySet]

Damn the audio is horrendous. So much peaking!

[@JoshuaFortuna]

Netflix’s Daredevil has THE BEST window lighting inside Matt Murdock’s apartment. At night there’s a giant digital ad that gives off crazy colored light for the mood. During the day, the huge windows (plus haze) create beautiful sun rays

[@aputurelighting]

That's a great example Joshua! The neon light at night both sells the city street location and calls back to the character's original color palette. Also a great example of lighting through windows inside a studio setting.

[@Scout0ut]

Minority Report uses large window lighting in the greenhouse scene around 00:56:25. With the all glass greenhouse they use the natural light as the key and use a large light positioned low just outside to add a bit of back light to help separate the actors from the back ground giving them that nice glow around them.

[@tayzar44]

Stanley Kubrick's Barry Lyndon utilized large windows as main light source. They diffused the light to spread all across the room.

[@chuckgomez5233]

Question how did you leverage an iPad as a camera monitor? Also, are you leveraging the iPad as a tool for lighting as well with a Histogram? Thank you.

[@gabrielmachadobsb]

Spielberg's Lincoln, the scenes in Lincoln's office. Janusz Kamiński uses to windows to create a beautiful backlight, and compliments its with augmented practicals to bring just enough detail to his face but still maintain an impressionistic quality to it

[@azlanarainkhan4549]

Good knowledge

[@GabeSheffield_]

Arrival used a huge glass window in the intro shots as basically pure frontal lighting and then a different version of what basically is a huge soft source inside the machine. Bradford Young killed it per usual.

[@victorngfilms]

Skyfall opening sequence room, shot by Roger Deakins! Gorgeous light beam shooting through the blinds! How strong is 4x aputure 300d compared to a hmi with similar diffusion set up?

[@od.skills]

Апучюр гении, конечно - как продать ещё больше света? Надо поместить человека в комнату с огромными окнами и засветить её, борясь с солнцем!) Гениально ваще

[@ramillo22]

The interview scene in neon demon it's a great example, beacuse the windows were really big, and the DP managed perfectly to have in frame perfectly exposed both the talent and the background behind de windows

[@TylerLeeKenyon]

The scene in Alien: Covenant where David is playing the piano for Weyland. The massive panoramic window playing as a key light in the scene gives a natural, pleasant look wrapping around the characters in the scene. The subtle, almost monochromatic color of the images combined with the lighting help lend to the ominous and foreboding tone. Simple and effective at focusing on the content and story being presented at the forefront, without sacrificing beautiful cinematography blending into the background.

[@videocasetteTV]

I want to thank the APUTURE team, for showing to us the wide shot, so now we are able to know where the placement of the lighting fixtures, I have suggestion for the old videos, snice it is imposible to show the wide shot, i suggest adding in the description a link to A diagram showing the placement of the lighting fixtures

[@LangstoniusRex]

I always liked the training scene in Kill Bill Vol 2. Super harsh lighting basically using his clothing as a bounce but the room is mostly in shadow.

[@eddie2613]

How much of this effect could you get by using mirrors, reflectors and diffusers especially given that light coming through windows is quite strong.

[@phillipcowen4]

The fight scene in John Wick Parabellum was an insane use of windows, glass and lighting.

[@bobbydbuze]

Another solution would be to use reductive lighting rather than additive. It's slightly time consuming but using ND gels on the window panes to match the exposure to the inside is much cheaper than using a lot of lights to match the exterior exposure. This way you avoid clipping altogether and make it seem like your camera has way more dynamic range than it does.

[@aputurelighting]

True! Especially for something like the second setup that wouldn't have been a bad idea. The only problem I can see with it in that situation is making the ND job look clean from the inside of the window, because being on the second floor we couldn't gel the outside. But you're right because that would have allowed for less lighting inside. Great idea!

[@brandonpoulin]

Great idea! Another option may be utilizing an ND (in camera or on lens) to bring down the exposure of the windows and then bring in lighting as needed to expose for your talent.

[@RobKristjansson]

Lobby of the Overlook Hotel in Kubrick's The Shining

[@chuckgomez5233]

Hey Aputure Team! I would love to see a segment of your team lighting three actors with one abundant Aputure source. Currently, I am shooting a bunch of "Run & Gun" comedy skits on a Blackmagic URSA mini with on cine lens. Unfortunately, my show is an extremely low micro-budget digital film. Therefore, I am operating art department, camera, grip, lighting, and sound LOL.

[@TheZaco32]

Idk if this would technically count as large windows but the scenes when Amy Adams is inside the alien spacecraft in Arrival are really cool!

[@aputurelighting]

Yeah that's a good question, are those windows? They do provide a very nice soft light which is what we care about!

[@drewh79]

Braveheart, the marriage scene in the church. John Toll used huge diffusion with lights with the light to create an amazingly soft light on the actors.

[@AANasseh]

How about just waiting until sunset! It would take all day to set this up anyway! LOL!

[@jambononi]

That bit in the Matrix when Morpheus jumps onto the helicopter, not very arty but super cool ;)

[@danielthomsen833]

I know that the series is recorded in a studio and therefore they don`t struggle or work with the light from windows in the same way that you guys taught us in this video, but nevertheless Friends has made a whole “character” from the fact that Monica has a big window in her apartment from where the six friends can spy on “ugly-naked-guy” - another awesome way to make use of a window.

[@sk8marjw]

Film: “HIGH FLYING BIRD” DIR: STEVEN SODERBERGH DOP:PETER ANDREWS Shot on a iPhone I love this film bc of the use of natural light. And to see that they used big widows as a source and built around that is amazing. One scene that sticks out is Ray (Andre Holland) is trying to convince his client over lunch to create his on opportunity right in front of a big widow.

[@girafingo9280]

I remember this scene - issue I had with it was for first part of that scene the windows were clipped and the roll-off was distracting and then for the latter part of the scene, the light seemed to be more under control.

[@BrianHickmanMilitaryBrat]

One of the best use of large windows for light is in Blade Runner

[@funnymanisharora2168]

I want to know y u put the light nwxt to the wi dow when the window was throwing already alot of light n y not that fill light is used .i m confused.

[@disicaray5495]

answer - Hollywood movies usually shoot inside the studio sets with green screen , artificially create the window key source light, or films like the tree of life. they built multiple similar sets in different directions to shoot with natural light from window (to consume time by match light direction at different time of day),

[@JosephElliottMusic]

For window lighting, I always think of Gordon Willis’ work in The Godfather: Part 2 when Michael and Fredo talk in front of the snowy waterfront. In the wide they’re in a near silhouette, but in the close-ups they have a beautiful, contrasty wrap. Was anyone better at dark, moody interiors with window light? I doubt it.

[@christopherbrown7884]

Roger Deakins the office building fight in Skyfall

[@BryceZed]

The best use of a large window light cinematically is undoubtedly (in my humble opinion) Conrad Hall’s evocative use in the rain confession scene of the film "In Cold Blood" best near to it’s ending. Pairing the stirring pathos of Robert Blake as Perry Smith describing a heart breaking story while the light of the window shines the rain trickling across his cheek that adds a level of sadness that not having would never achieve. 🖤🖤 Link to scene: kzbin.info/www/bejne/i5usdaV9YrKEqcU

[@girafingo9280]

Thanks for that link - incredible lighting effect and the acting is even more incredible.

[@kasvandiepen]

The fun part is that it was a happy accident : theasc.com/magazine/may03/cover/page2.html

[@daylight5500]

what is your workflow for using an iPad as a floor monitor?

[@valentinavee]

daylight5500 Dave actually has a fascinating answer to this. The monitoring system is actually the only piece of kit he doesn’t rent, he owns if and brings it to every set. Ask him on IG, it’s worth it.

[@danielharvey1472]

Can you go into more detail about light intensity and camera settings when doing these setups? There's a lot more to this than just placing light and turning them on. It would be a lot more informative for those that are wanting to learn this industry.

[@JustinPhillip]

It's not an actual window, because of the time period, but in There Will Be Blood, when they're in the Oil Tower, and there's all the vast desert sunlight coming in around them, when Daniel Day Lewis is sitting at the big table and they're going over the blueprints. I don't know if Elswit even used any lights to compensate, it looks like they were just softening/diffusing the light from the outside and bouncing/wrapping from the inside.

[@DIYCameraGuy]

He did use lights and yes that is a gorgeous film

[@SonicSinema]

"The Social Network" used 'windows' as a light source when having his laptop screen act as the key :)

[@TracyDavis904]

For the final setup how are they using an iPad to see the frame?

[@aputurelighting]

The iPad is connected to a wireless video transmitter from the camera designed for mobile devices that the DP Dave Cortez uses as an on-set monitor

[@justincrawford7655]

Original Robocop - (Mr. Kinney's death scene.) The conference is full and everyone is evenly lit but the only light we see is a small practical on the wall. If you look out the window you can still see the city skyline so the windows are not actually blown out all the way giving the illusion that the sun is filling the entire room.

[@JVCKFLVSH]

Would be cool if you included a floor plan or something similar. So you can see where the camera(s) were placed in relation to the lights.

[@moritzruger4584]

How did you used your iPad as a Monitor in this shot? Like seen in 3:58

[@aputurelighting]

That was done using a Teradek transmitter called Serv Pro that connects directly to the iPad!

[@oliventuresome490]

The Revenant, basically all the interior scenes

[@jambononi]

Yeah and makes me think of the Assassination of Jesse James... can't actually remember if there are many window light scenes but that warm interior look.

[@sungkim465]

so to summarize, Expose for the window and then light the subject?

[@NadimElie]

The first scene of arrival

[@andrewemad7773]

the last scene of david fincher's fight club

[@paramedialab]

So, you had all these beautiful lights, and this is the best you could do with them. And Aputure actually thinks that this video is an advertisement for their lights?

[@Lufe_Siqueira]

Great thinking but unfortunately 4x 300Ds are not enough to confront the power of the sun, leaving the windows overexposed still. There should have been a couple of powerful HMIs there, but I understand the purpose is showcasing Aputure LEDs as well (which are amazing) but counterbalancing sunlight is a challenge and more powerful. 4x 600D (which were released way after this video was filmed) could have done a much better job, especially with Fresnel attachment in all 4 of them. Great teaching of light science, though. Keep it up!

[@ratt57]

No explanation here of what "blooming" the windows is, can you explain?

[@futurebrighter]

It would be great if you could feature a setup using windows that doesn’t require such expensive and large setup. Majority of viewers don’t have this type of budget for production. I guess we got KZbinrs for that

[@shaynearcher6020]

Albeit a timely exercise, you can use something like CL210 ND Gel and line the windows with it, even placing the gel in a large frame and flying it from outside if possible. Initially the gels are expensive but can be a viable way to manage exterior light on a budget if you choose to roll with that approach regularly. You could punch an arri M18 into the roof/6x6 ultrabounce to raise the ambiance of the room, and then shape with smaller lights. rentals on m18's are not out of reach for short term low budget shoots.

[@VadimPioneerTV]

What is the key point of wag flag? What does it give and what is the reason to use it?

[@aputurelighting]

The Wag Flag has a lot of different uses, primarily to control spill from the a soft light source. It was designed to flag light off of a wall from a light mounted on the ceiling. It's long, narrow shape allowed it get up close to the ceiling and not hang down in frame, while still covering the length of the wall. In this example it's used to cover up a specific part of the large soft source so that the light on the face was really soft, but it didn't fill the entire scene with light.

[@tiegomoagi6419]

Teen Spirit when Vladimir visited Violet's mother for the first time. the light coming from the windows was used to create a silhouette.

[@itsBritss]

Oblivion used big windows and projections of the sky to light all the House scenes.

[@_o__o_]

"that was just rimming her..."

[@kubolor1234]

that's where they lost me.

[@adamfrench2337]

In Blade Runner 2049, the one and only Roger Deakins did a great job of letting subjects silhouette themselves (as he is such a master at doing) against an all-window source. (kzbin.info/www/bejne/f2XCcpR7lt-WmM0) He added lots of haze for environmental effect and I know he's a big fan of baking as much of the look in camera as possible, so I'm not certain, but I'd hazard a guess that most of the color and look were close to final on the shoot day. Such a brilliant mind and eye!

[@TechnicalSupportss]

Blade Runner 2049 using large windows for key light

[@DIYCameraGuy]

everything in that movie looked fantastic.

[@davidcarroll3993]

Hitchcock’s Rear Window utilized a large window for the entire film.

[@tallguytrav]

This may be cheating but in Arrival, they basically had a giant window that separated them from the aliens where they learned to communicate with them. HUGE soft source for the talent.

[@honest_noise]

tallguytrav wasn’t a window. It was maxi’s pushed through double diffusion. Bradford talked about the breakdown in a video Cooke put out.

[@KynnMusic]

Does this also work on Apple?? 😝😝

[@aputurelighting]

If it's a really big Apple!

[@KynnMusic]

@@aputurelighting 🤣🤣🤣

[@StansStuff]

Anyone else think they were on about the Operating System when they clicked on this?

[@ProRedHD]

Yeah, was just about to comment "Mac version soon?" just as a joke

[@almagama1471]

But why it still looks under exposed? 🤔

[@kubolor1234]

Let us all agree on using the term "backlight" instead of "rim"....t for thanks.

[@mubaraksuleiman5227]

Did anyone think the set up without the wag flag really make the subject stand out from the background

[@BaselTafour]

Anne with an E

[@lghjsdtugfkgfjgtru]

next: how to get cinematic lighting using cmd

[@amitghadigaonkar6243]

Do vedio without window.

[@FreeDreamStudios]

When I think high end commercial and Corperate this is not it

[@David-ud9ju]

"And that was just rimming her," is possibly the most unfortunate turn of phrase I've ever heard. Although, this guy does describe himself as a DP, so he's probably use to double entendre. Edit: I was wrong. "Giving a bit of a rim from behind," is probably worse.

[@martinjohnson2992]

Talent? Being pretty is a talent?

[@shotbymatias9324]

I know right. You can't get cinematic lighting using Macs. Only Windows.