CHAPTER 11Lighting for Video

High definition television (HDTV) does not require a fewer number of lights. While HD is more sensitive to lighting, the number of lights is still required to create the tone and mood of the scene.

Geoff Dunlap, Director of Photography

Many times the difference between a good show and a great show is the lighting! Good lighting can transform a routine, uninteresting shot into an attractive, appealing image that draws the audience's attention.

Lighting allows the camera to record a quality image and is usually needed to increase or reduce depth of field. However, lighting is also a great manipulator of the audience. The eye is drawn to the brightest portion of an image. That means that the audience can be subtly directed ...

Get Video Production Handbook, 4th Edition now with the O’Reilly learning platform.

O’Reilly members experience books, live events, courses curated by job role, and more from O’Reilly and nearly 200 top publishers.