Movies for TV - Early Television Foundation

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FUNDAMENTALS
taken as half this to allow for variations, it means that the con-
trast, or release print gamma, should be reduced by
about .3 for
television films. This effect can be obtained by setting up the
proper lighting system in the studio during filming so that a nega-
tive of the desired density is exposed, or by reducing the time of
exposure and/or development when making the positive
a print with the desired lower contrast is produced.
so that
It is obvious that the former is more desirable since it is easier
to make a print with the proper contrast if the original is perfect;
however, sometimes it is necessary to reprint old release prints
which have higher contrast ratios. In this case, the television print
is corrected by varying lighting development conditions.
Although there are many individual ideas as to the proper
manner in which to use light, there are only a few types of light
used with, of course, minor variations. The different main types
will be discussed separately.
Fill or Balancing Light This is used to provide the general
over-all light and in particular to control contrast by softening
shadows which are too harsh or bringing up the illumination on
background objects so that the out as much.
principal features do not stand
Modelling Light
The modelling light is used to bring out some
special feature of the subject which is not properly accented by
the remainder of the lighting. It need not be a very strong light
but is usually fairly sharply focussed to ensure that only the area
desired is illuminated.
Key Light
This is used to point up the highlights of the subject
or main feature of the shot. It is usually placed higher than the
camera to give better differentiation between the upper lip and
nose shadows which so often are present there. The exposure is
generally determined by the requirement of the key light
since it
is this light which illuminates the focus of interest for the scene.