Framing and Lighting Basics
This domain tests visual grammar and basic lighting control. You should be able to name shot sizes and angles, apply composition rules, keep continuity, and build a three-point lighting setup.
Framing vocabulary
Shot sizes: extreme wide, wide, medium, close-up, extreme close-up. Angles: eye level, low, high, Dutch tilt, overhead. Composition tools: rule of thirds, headroom, lookroom/nose room, leading lines, depth layers, frame within a frame, and the 180-degree rule for screen direction. Eye line must match the story and the cut.
Lighting vocabulary
- Key: main directional light.
- Fill: softens key shadows; should be weaker than the key.
- Back/rim: separates subject from background.
- Hard vs soft: source size relative to subject; soft light wraps and reduces contrast.
- Colour temperature: tungsten ~3200 K, daylight ~5600 K; do not mix without correction or intent.
- Inverse-square law: light falls off rapidly with distance, so moving a lamp changes exposure and mood.
Worked example
A seated interview. Place the key at roughly 45 degrees to one side and slightly above eye level, add soft fill from the opposite side at lower intensity, and a back light to separate the subject from the wall. Set the camera to the lit side, keep the eye line consistent, and check that the background is not brighter than the face. Reasoning: the key models the face, fill controls contrast ratio, and the back light adds depth.
Traps that cost marks
- Confusing shot size (close-up) with camera angle (low angle).
- Making fill brighter than key, flattening the face.
- Crossing the 180-degree line and reversing screen direction.
- Cropping the forehead or leaving no lookroom.