Movies for TV - Early Television Foundation

160
FUNDAMENTALS
show. But this can be used for shots which come in on a separate
camera and for film work where the show is made in short
sequences.
Since television work consists mostly of close-ups and two-
would be more
shots, it is probable that some notes on this aspect
useful than a general discussion. The continuous nature of live
television may make many of these suggestions impractical, but
even so they will be usable in film work and in any case will present
germs for ideas which may find their way into modifications of
the original.
The following applies equally to exteriors as well as studio
shots, the only difference being that for exteriors it is necessary to
use the sun for the combined light source unless the organiza-
tion copies Hollywood and has its own exterior lighting equip-
ment. Therefore, a device known as a gobo is used (they are also
useful for interiors). A gobo is used either to prevent light from
reaching certain places or to assist it to do so (although in Hollywood
it is more often used for the former purpose). In general,
it is used to eliminate unwanted shadows and increase light on
subjects that are in danger of being shadowed out through the
strength of light on other parts of the set. For instance,
in some
outdoor sets where the scenery is authentic background, the light
from it may be so strong that it prevents
people in the foreground from showing
the details of faces of
because the lens has to
be stopped down so much that it reduces the amount of reflected
light from the foreground faces to a level insufficient to register
on the film. In this case, reflectors are used to reflect additional
light to bring the illumination of the faces up to the same level as
the rest of the scene.
The reflectors used may be either hard or soft; the terms describe
the kind of light reflected. Hard light is sharply defined and
usually concentrated in one spot, soft light
is diffused and tends to
smooth out the features of the object illuminated. The former is
produced by hard reflectors, such as a mirror or a sheet of polished
aluminum. Aluminum paint may be used on a sheet of smooth
cardboard or wood ; sometimes gold paint or leaf is used in the same