Cinematic Lighting

The art of dramatic lighting, for cinematographers of independent films

This course is an advanced and in-depth guide to arguably the most important part of a Director of Photography's job: designing the lighting.

Rather than demonstrating techniques in isolation in a studio, this course takes place entirely on location. The intent is to show the realities of creating beautiful lighting while dealing with the usual challenges of real independent film production, like time, weather and equipment, as well as meeting the requirements of the script.

The course consists of four modules: Day Exterior, Day Interior, Night Interior and Night Exterior. Each module follows the blocking, lighting and shooting of a short scripted scene (inspired by the fantasy web series Ren: The Girl with the Mark) with two actors in full costume. Watch experienced Director of Photography Neil Oseman and his team set up all the fixtures, control the light with flags and rags, and make adjustments when the camera moves around for the coverage. Every step of the way, Neil explains what he's doing and why, as well as the alternatives you could consider for your own films. Each module concludes with the final edited scene so that you can see the end result.