Film Lighting

 

We don’t need to tell you film lighting is an essential part of the cinematic package. What you may not know is that Movie Prop Rentals is not just a warehouse full of props you can rent. We’re a team of art directors, production designers, construction foremen, installation crew, 3D foam fabricators, and lighting experts who can set up your whole scene from design through final product! We found that many of our clients wanted assistance beyond designing a scene with the right props and scenery. They wanted help illuminating sets for maximum effect, too. Our multi-faceted expertise is part of what makes Movie Prop Rentals different than other industry teams you might hire.

 

Types of Lighting in Film

 

Movie Prop Rentals can supply you with equipment to satisfy all types of lighting in film:

 

  • Three-point lighting with key, fill, and backlighting
  • Cinematic lighting to highlight props, characters, perspective, and emotions
  • Soft film lighting with key or diffused overhead lighting
  • Hard film lighting with kicker light and soft fill or low key lighting
  • Motivated lighting that heightens the effect of the scene’s natural lighting sources
  • Practical lighting that uses existing artificial light sources to maximum effect
  • Natural lighting that uses existing natural light from the sun to maximum effect

 

Cinematography Lighting Tips

 

Lighting is one of the most important elements of cinematography, the art of making a motion picture. Cinematography lighting works with the performers, costuming, camera movements, set composition, and camera settings to achieve a desired effect. To enhance the cinematography of your film, you can:

 

  • Highlight using a nice, soft key light to draw viewers in, calling attention to an actor’s face or prop.
  • Use low key lighting to escalate tension, or shoot into the shadows for dramatic effect.
  • Employ contrasting colors to draw viewers’ eyes to an interesting part of the frame.
  • Borrow Christmas lights, flashlights, haze, and fog to create textural effects for greater intrigue.
  • Differentiate subjects from their backgrounds better with depth-adding edge lights.
  • Light the foreground, midground, and background separately to add 3D depth and texture.

 

Hollywood-Caliber Lighting Design for Film Production

 

Lighting design for film production varies greatly depending on the type of look you’d like to achieve. We’ve done it all – even lighting for underwater film sets! Tap us for over 30 years of Hollywood-level experience. Our modern equipment includes all the favorites of filmmakers for decades, including:

 

  • Hydragyrum Medium-Arc Iodide (HMI) lamps –the perfect source of around-the-clock “daylight.”
  • Tungsten light – like warm, yellow, in-home light bulbs (only better!)
  • Fluorescent light – as an economical, eco-friendly interior lighting alternative to tungsten.
  • LED lights – for everything from cool daylight to cozy yellow tungsten, depending on the dimming.
  • Strobes – to add a “punch” to darker scenes.

 

Access top brands: Wyeth, Lowell, Kino Flo, ICElite, Shadowcaster, ArriLite, Joker, Mole-Richardson, and others.

 

Budget Lighting on a Film Set

 

We work with clients of all budgets, including student, indie, and feature filmmakers. Lighting on a film set doesn’t have to bankrupt you. After all, sunlight is provided free of charge! A few inexpensive reflectors can go a long way in bouncing the right in the proper direction, while scrims can diffuse the harsh noon light. There are many ways to work with consumer bulbs to create alternate effects – adding higher wattage bulbs, moving fixtures, adding lamp shades or cleverly hidden gels, and positioning aluminum scoop reflectors and clamps off-screen. Much can be achieved for a few hundred bucks if you know the tricks of the trade (and we do!) If you want to kick it up a notch, we can supply you with Smith-Victor photofloods, Lowell Omnis, and other popular indie lights with stand, umbrella, scrim, grip, and softbox accessories.

 

Contact Movie Prop Rentals to discuss your film project and receive film lighting tips and referrals as an added bonus!