Additionally, when shooting in a large room such as a studio, a fourth light may be used. The Back-
ground Light is used to create flat, even lighting on the background and to intensify the background
illumination level, to balance the picture, to blend with the overall set or create a special mood.
Generally, a lighting ratio of 2 to 1 is desired. In other words, the key light should be twice as strong
as the fill light. However, the best guide for proper lighting is what the picture looks like in the camera.
Even if it’s not practical to set up three lights, consider using at least one light and bounce it off the
ceiling for a natural, diffused look.
Regardless of whether you shoot inside or outside, with or without lights, always keep the primary
light source in front of the subject. Carefully choose your angle with respect to the sun when shoot-
ing outside. If shooting inside, avoid positioning the subject with a window behind them, or close the
shades to keep out unwanted light. When shooting outside in sunlight, use the ND Filter to lower the
light level and keep the iris below F11.
Video Glossary
Acquisition:
Term commonly used for the shooting of raw footage.
Aspect Ratio:
The ratio of height to width. The aspect ratio of a television screen is 4:3 (4 parts wide
by 3 parts tall).
B-Roll:
additional footage that is not synchronized with the main audio of a program. For example, if
we see a person talking on camera, and then cut to shots of what they are talking about, that footage
is referred to as “B-Roll”.
Continuity:
consistency of action from one shot to the next. For example, if we shoot a wide shot of
someone answering a phone, and then want to cut in to a close-up of the phone, we should make sure
they pick the phone up with the same hand in both shots.
Cutaway:
A close up of secondary action. It is a cut to something that is not the part of the primary
action. Cutaways are often shots of an audience, sometimes referred to as reaction shots.
Cut in:
A close up of primary action. This is when you cut to a closer shot of the action, or focus of
the scene.
Depth of field:
Range in front of a camera’s lens in which objects appear in focus. It varies with sub-
ject-to-camera distance, focal length of camera lens and iris level.
F-Stop:
Numerical points within the range of the iris opening that are marked according to degrees of
light transmission. The smaller the f-stop number, the more light the lens transmits. Conversely, high
f-stop numbers mean that little light is being transmitted through the lens. When you open up one stop,
you double the light; when you stop down one stop you halve the amount of light going through the
lens. Also, the higher the F-stop, the greater the depth of field.
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