MOTION-PICTURE PHOTOGRAPHY 693 



The present trend in motion-picture lighting is to subordinate general lighting to 

 modeling, even to the extent of eliminating the former entirely.^ This is an outgrowth 

 of increases in lens speed from maximum values of from //4.5 to //2.0 and beyond, 

 emulsions having an H and D speed of less than 400 to speeds of 1000, while shutter 

 openings have increased from 90 to 120° to 180 and even 200°, and finally the improve- 

 ments in lighting equipment of recent years. In consequence, it is now felt by many 

 cinematographers that the conception of general flat lighting as the basis of photog- 

 raphy is outdated and that convenience and quality are both served by dispensing with 

 it in favor of spotlighting alone. With this technique the spot lamps are confined to 

 the light platforms above the set and occasionally supplemented with a few floor 

 lamps or a lamp mounted on the camera dolly. The shadows are lighted first to the 

 requisite exposure level, after which the middle tones and high lights are built up. 

 While the scene is being photographed dimmers are used to raise or lower individual 

 lighting units for special effects, e.g., to delineate the features of an actor during an 

 important speech, but these changes are made unobtrusively to avoid distracting the 

 attention of the audience. It is argued that this method not only takes maximum 

 advantage of the close relationship between lighting and composition, but enables the 

 discerning cameraman to exploit the photographic potentialities of a script, both in 

 respect to the decorative utilization of the sets and the personal lighting of the actors, 

 to the highest degree. 



Many cameramen achieve their effects with only a rudimentaiy understanding 

 of the principles of optics, chemistry, and scientific photography. The present tend- 

 ency, however, is toward a more precise handling of the factors involved. For 

 several years after the introduction of convenient direct-reading photometers or 

 exposure meters, few cameramen could be persuaded to take an interest in their use. 

 Now, however, it has become fairly general practice to employ meters, especially of 

 the photronic type, to read light intensities in foot-candles in v^arious parts of the set, 

 so that more uniform results may be achieved, often more quickly and at less expense. 

 This practice has been fostered by Technicolor, whose cameramen are obliged to keep 

 a record of photometric readings of the intensity and direction of light, a procedure 

 which, according to one color cinematographer, has been of great service in matching 

 outdoor long shots of actors with close-ups later made indoors. 



The photometer is used, not only to determine general exposure, but to balance 

 lights on the set. For the latter purpose the light received at the camera is too hetero- 

 geneous, hence the instrument should be read in positions close to the people and such 

 parts of the set as are photographically important, the lights being adjusted 

 accordingly. 



Exterior Photography and Filters. — ^Lighting is the foundation of composition and 

 the basic factor in every photographic operation. In studio photography lighting 

 is under the cameraman's control, whereas in outdoor photography, while he some- 

 times has a measure of control, through the use of reflectors and booster lights, over 

 foreground illumination, he must constantly adapt himself to natural conditions. In 

 this endeavor the cameraman frequently resorts to the use of filters for such purposes 

 as penetrating haze, modifying contrast, enhancing cloud effects, holding down the 

 brilliancy of the sky, and, as already recounted under Films and Film Characteristics, 

 securing special effects such as simulating night scenes in daylight. 



The wider application of filters in outdoor photography has been rendered possible 

 by the greatly increased color range and speed of modern emulsions. Except for very 

 special conditions filters are not needed nor used in studio photography. 



1 Gatjdio, a., a New Viewpoint on the Lighting of Motion Pictures, J. Soc. Motion Picture Enyrs., 

 August, 1937. 



