Cinematography-Theory-And-Practice

Figure 7.9. (top) Hard light createssharp, well-defined shadows.Figure 7.10. (bottom) Soft light createssoft shadows that fall off gradually.ASPECTS OF LIGHTWhat are the variables when we work with light? Given its nearlyinfinite possibilities, the number of factors are surprisingly few:Although understanding light is a study that lasts a lifetime and thereare nearly infinite ways to light a scene, when we boil it down to thebasics, there are really only a few variables that we deal with in lighting.These are the aspects of light that we work with as we work ona scene.Hard Light and Soft LightWhat makes hard light hard? What makes soft light soft? How do wedistinguish between them? There are many ways to light any scene;the variations are endless. The styles and techniques of lighting arenearly infinite. Oddly, there are really only two types of light (interms of what we are calling quality of light) when you really boil itdown to the basics: hard light and soft light. There are all sorts of subtlegradations, and variations between completely hard and fully soft,but in the end there are just these two types that exist at oppositeends of a continuum.cinematography110