Motion Picture and Video Lighting

by Blain Brown

Motion Picture and Video Lighting explores the technical, aesthetic and practical aspects of lighting for film and video. Written by a professional in the field, this comprehensive book reveals inside information based on years of experience and thoroughly explores the challenges faced by cinematographers, lighting directors, gaffers and grips.

Through a hands on approach which is augmented by insightful diagrams, tables, charts and photographs, the author illustrates the power of light as one of the most important elements of filmmaking. Whether the reader is a professional, or student, a gaffer, grip or cameraman, this book will be a useful reference.
Blain Brown is a cinematographer and lighting director based in Los Angeles, California. He has lit and photographed a range of productions - from macro/table tops to boxing arenas, and from no-budget shoestring productions to large-scale features. Mr. Brown has also worked as a producer and line producer on commercials, music videos and feature films.

Genres: Film, Nonfiction, Textbooks, Reference, School

226 pages, Paperback

First published March 1, 1992

Reviews

[Patrick · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is a good overview of lighting and cinematography, and, as one would expect, goes into more detail about the technical aspects of lighting than other cinematography books. As with Brown's Cinematography book, however, this volume could use a good editor. Too often material is repeated, perhaps with some slight variation, on different pages within a chapter, or one topic is split up over several pages with unrelated material in between (for example, "White Balance" is discussed on page 92, followed by sections on "Transferring Film to Video", "Lighting for Multiple Cameras", and "Monitor Setup", and then "Camera White Balance", which reintroduces the topic and adds a little information with regard to filters, but basically repeats what had been said earlier.)

[Rob · Rating 3 out of 5]

Solid introduction to lighting for motion picture and video. The book covers the fundamentals of lighting, explains and describes basic equipment, and how to light for different effects. This book was great supplemental information for a semester-long lighting course.

[Łukasz Rudy · Rating 2 out of 5]

Na duze produkcje i troche nieaktualna, czytac dla ciekawosci

[Ramesh]

great book to read to learn the nuances of lighting

[Sandesh N · Rating 5 out of 5]

I'm interested in this book because I feel this book will help me improve my knowledge and skills

[Kate · Rating 2 out of 5]

Niewiele jest książek o świetle w filmie. Tym bardziej niewiele w języku polskim. Dlatego bardzo boli fakt, iż tłumaczenie polskiej wersji pozostawia bardzo wieeele do życzenia [wydanie 1]. Nie miałam niestety możliwości przeczytać oryginału - Motion Picture and Video Lighting, ale zakładam, że wysokie oceny tej książki nie wzięły się znikąd. Poza literówkami i niekiedy błędnymi podpisami zdjeć [zdjęcie przedstawia co innego, podpis jest o czymś innym] jest też sporo błędów merytorycznych. A przecież wystarczyłoby zaprosić do współpracy dobrego mistrza oświetlenia, by pomógł rozwiać wątpliwości. Powyższy opis tyczy się wydania pierwszego książki. Być może w kolejnych wydaniach, błędy zostały usunięte. Tego już nie śledziłam.

Natomiast sama książka, jest dobra jako wstęp do wiedzy o świetle w kwestiach technicznych. Rodzaje lamp, moce, podłączenia. Oczywiście wszystko to z czasem i technologią się zmienia, dlatego książkę warto by odnawiać co kilka lat i dokładać nowości, które nie zostały ujęte w bieżącym wydaniu.

Ocena 2/5 dotyczy całokształtu polskiego wydania, dlatego dużo punktów na minus za błędy merytoryczne, które są kwintesencją tego zawodu. Czy możemy sobie wyobrazić błędy merytoryczne w literaturze medycznej?

[Morgan McGuire · Rating 4 out of 5]

An accessible and straightforward discussion of all of the fundamentals of lighting, with emphasis on studio lighting. It is as relevant for the still photographer as for video. I chose this as the lighting textbook for my cinematography course.

It is time for a new edition. The second edition of this classic just squeaked into the digital age, and while a lot has stayed the same about lighting, a lot has also changed in lighting technology and digital capture. RED cameras, high-end DSLR video, VR, modern stereo 3D, LED lights, HDR and 4k displays, lighting for green screen, and recent prosumer tech all would be welcome topics for the 3rd edition.

[Jon Schiefer · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is not for those who are idly wondering what it takes to light a scene. It's nearly a doctoral thesis on light and lighting.