By Dr. J. Robert Burull, William Schweizer, Morton J. Fink
Television lighting usually poses daily challenges to the imagination and the professional skill of the experienced lighting technician and various producers and video engineers. However, most technicians and aesthetes work from a simple basic lighting formula--base, key, back, and fill. This is called the photographic principle with the key, back, and fill generally establishing base light level minimums. The basic technical lighting objectives are providing enough base ·light and limiting the contrast between highlight and shadow so acceptable pictures can be produced. Nontechnically, lighting and production personnel continually attempt to enhance form and dimension and to create an illusion of reality or nonreality, as well as mood.
This paper is an attempt to provide general information for accomplishing the above objectives. It is directed towards the beginning professional, you who have had relatively little experience in television studio originations, and who do not have the time to study and practice at great lengths perfecting the art of television lighting. Many of my suggestions and much of the information-content are not original. My concepts are a composite gathered from contacts with many instructors, authors, and some experience.