Focus Lecture & Demonstration :: Curriculum

Video Production Model

Units:

Focus Lecture & Demonstration

Part of Lesson Plan: Three-Point Lighting System

Activity Overview / Details

Students are asked to take out their learning journals to take notes during the class discussion and lecture on lighting terms. (Student Learning Journals are notebooks where students can do metacognitive reflection, doodle, and just journal about their learning). The teacher will hand out the lighting diagram, and project it on a large projector screen, and hand-out the vocabulary terms. The teacher then discusses each light and its role in the lighting system.

Using the Internet and a projector screen, the teacher goes to the following website:

http://www.mediacollege.com/lighting/three-point/simulator.html

This site has a flash-based image that allows the teacher to turn off and on the lights within the three-point lighting system while describing each light and it's role.

HINT: it is fun for the students if the teacher randomly turns off and on the lights and asks the students to identify which lights are on /off?? (Teacher will need to hide the area showing the lights being selected on the right of the webpage).

After the lecture and discussion, the teacher then demonstrates the actual use of the three-point lighting system in class on the production stage. With a volunteer, the teacher first films a student using only the ambient lighting from the classroom. Second, the teacher films the student with the classroom lights off, and a single Key Light on the subject. The third step is demonstrating the addition of the second light, the Fill light. After the Key and Fill lights are in place, the teacher adds the Back light. Finally the Set light (optional) is added to the system making it a four-point lighting set-up.

The term Four-point Lighting is not as common as the Three-point lighting system. The fourth light, the Set Light, can be added to help separate the subject from the background if necessary.