why you adjust lights from wide to medium

C

chand

New member
hi,

I'm a film student and I'm having some difficulty on something. Can someone please tell me why you adjust the lights when you go from a wide shot to a close up or medium shot.

I know obviously that you should change the lights when you see them in the frame or you go 180 degrees or you cast your own shadows. But apart from that I don't understand why you should change the lights when you go from wide shot to close up. I've seen many dp's do it and it's quite confusing to me.

Also someone told me that you change the lights from wide shot to close up or to medium to get the same feel than the wide shot. And also to bring out certain elements (shadow, highlight etc) in the close up or to weaken them. I don't really understand that. Can you please tell me if you know what that means?

Can someone please help me out.

Thanks
 
When you move in you need a more detailed brush to paint with, you might not see something on a wide shot that you can now see on your closeup.
 
In a wide shot you are lighting for the whole room, and this may not be the optimal lighting for the faces. So when you move to the medium and close shots, you become more concerned with the "portraiture"...lighting for beauty or for a specific dramatic affect. So you may soften the light or add fill to make it less harsh on the face, move it slightly so you can see a catchlight in the eyes, etc.
 
also the closer the light is to the subject, the more softlight you get. the farther away it's more hard light.
so if you want that hard light look there is no reason for you to move the lights closer, just shoot!
 
You might also want a bit more stop on your closeup, as you might be shooting with a very tight lens and wide open...Sometimes it's just easier on your AC to get a bit more light in there.
 
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