Need Cinematography/Lighting book
- Thread starter FatBird19
- Start date
I don't know how much knowledge you have already on lighting, but I liked John Jackman's book. It is a easy read and fairly affordable on Amazon. You will definatly learn something from it. Also you can learn a lot from links posted on this site and indieclub just do a search!
Good Luck
Stephen
Good Luck
Stephen
Steve-O said:
He's referring to this:
http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/15...f=pd_bbs_1/002-9869633-0926425?_encoding=UTF8
Another great DV book about camera rigs is this:
www.dvcamerarigs.com
This is probably the most helpful and least helpful at the same time (cuz who here has enough money for 7 cameras?):
http://www.hollywoodcamerawork.us/?dvxuser=1
bighouse
Active member
Jeremy Ordan
Major Contributor
The best lighting thing I have ever seen is from Vasst.com and is called: Light it Right! It is a nearly two hour DVD by Victor Milt about lighting. Really amazing DVD.
-Jeremy
-Jeremy
Jim Brennan
VHS Member Old Skool
And, FWIW, cinnematography and lighting are not really the same thing. They overlap and a knowledge of one is of benefit to the other, but cinematography deals with lighting, but it also deals with framing, composition, lens choice, camera movement, etc.
Jackman's book is good, and covers a lot of the basics of lighting, especially ona budget. Most of what I know I learned there, (or here at DVXuser). Kris Malkiewicz also has 2 books that I have read which are helpful. One is called Film Lighting, and one is called Cinematography. There are things in both books that are beyond me and my little projects, and they both deal a lot with exposing for film as opposed to video, but there is a lot of applicable info in both.
Jackman's book is good, and covers a lot of the basics of lighting, especially ona budget. Most of what I know I learned there, (or here at DVXuser). Kris Malkiewicz also has 2 books that I have read which are helpful. One is called Film Lighting, and one is called Cinematography. There are things in both books that are beyond me and my little projects, and they both deal a lot with exposing for film as opposed to video, but there is a lot of applicable info in both.
Shawn Murphy
Well-known member
Here's another thread on the subject: http://www.dvxuser.com/V6/showthread.php?t=46258
This was what I posted in that thread:
"I actually have a lot of books on lighting and most are ok, but I'm such a visual person that other than the pictures of the actual lights and the related grip gear, I don't get as much out of them as I do from training DVDs like this simple one from dvcreators:
http://shop.store.yahoo.com/dvcreators/dvendvd.html
...it's excellent if you're just starting out as it covers all the basics: hard light, soft light, key, fill, back, and background (3 and 4 point lighting), color correcting mixed light, controlling/shaping, daylight exteriors, bouncing, cutting, cucaloris/cookies, etc:
Of the books I do have, these are my favorites, in order:
Placing Shadows
Lighting for Film and Digital Cinematography
Film Lighting (Malkiewicz)
Matters of Light & Depth
The Five C's of Cinematography (I'm sure some people are surprised that this is last on my list, but it's because the best part of this book covers topics like Cutting, Continuity, Coverage, which I learned much better from the [FONT=Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif]HOLLYWOOD CAMERA WORK DVDs *needless to say the book is a LOT less expensive than the DVDs, but the DVDs are an entire universe of information."[/FONT]
This was what I posted in that thread:
"I actually have a lot of books on lighting and most are ok, but I'm such a visual person that other than the pictures of the actual lights and the related grip gear, I don't get as much out of them as I do from training DVDs like this simple one from dvcreators:
http://shop.store.yahoo.com/dvcreators/dvendvd.html
...it's excellent if you're just starting out as it covers all the basics: hard light, soft light, key, fill, back, and background (3 and 4 point lighting), color correcting mixed light, controlling/shaping, daylight exteriors, bouncing, cutting, cucaloris/cookies, etc:
Of the books I do have, these are my favorites, in order:
Placing Shadows
Lighting for Film and Digital Cinematography
Film Lighting (Malkiewicz)
Matters of Light & Depth
The Five C's of Cinematography (I'm sure some people are surprised that this is last on my list, but it's because the best part of this book covers topics like Cutting, Continuity, Coverage, which I learned much better from the [FONT=Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif]HOLLYWOOD CAMERA WORK DVDs *needless to say the book is a LOT less expensive than the DVDs, but the DVDs are an entire universe of information."[/FONT]
Shawn Murphy
Well-known member
TheYankee said:
I'm intrigued, I'd like to check it out.
The videos work much better for me as I get to "see" what's happening with the light and the setups, and although still pictures can show that, the actual movement of the lights, gels, flags, etc in real time hits it home for me.
Chris Messineo
Veteran
bighouse said:
This book looks great. I just added it to my Amazon wish list.
Chris
HybridCreations
Well-known member
Some others no one mentioned:
Painting With Light by John Alton - It's very old (originally published in 1949) so there's a lot of old lights (which is interesting but not very useful) but he also talks about using light properly and precisely so overall its a very helpful book.
Professional Lighting Handbook by Sylvia Carlson - Reads a little like a manual, but has a lot of information about particular lights in use today and their uses.
The Filmmaker's Handbook by Steven Ascher, Edward Pincus - I just started reading this but so far it's very informative. Lot of stuff you may have already learned in school, but it goes into more depth and is really very interesting.
Stop reading and go shoot
-Ryan
Painting With Light by John Alton - It's very old (originally published in 1949) so there's a lot of old lights (which is interesting but not very useful) but he also talks about using light properly and precisely so overall its a very helpful book.
Professional Lighting Handbook by Sylvia Carlson - Reads a little like a manual, but has a lot of information about particular lights in use today and their uses.
The Filmmaker's Handbook by Steven Ascher, Edward Pincus - I just started reading this but so far it's very informative. Lot of stuff you may have already learned in school, but it goes into more depth and is really very interesting.
Stop reading and go shoot
-Ryan
oneinfiniteloop
Veteran
HybridCreations said:The Filmmaker's Handbook by Steven Ascher, Edward Pincus - I just started reading this but so far it's very informative. Lot of stuff you may have already learned in school, but it goes into more depth and is really very interesting.
Stop reading and go shoot
-Ryan
I own this book and it's great reference. I can always turn to it if I have a question I need answered in a pinch!