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Recommended lighting books?


neil kerr

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I have been photographing stills for the past number of years using a number of manual polaroid cameras and feel that I have learnt a lot about lighting in that time but i am still nowhere near where I would like to be. I am reasonably confident when using strobes, softboxes, umbrellas and the usual stills gear but, given that I have very little experience using continuous lighting, I really feel that I need to improve my knowledge of lighting for film.

 

I have read "Cinematography: Theory and Practice: Image Making for Cinematographers, Directors, and Videographers" and "Motion Picture and Video Lighting" and a number of other cinematography books but would like to read a few more. I understand that reading can only count for so much and am also just getting stuck in and shooting but I'd like to keep learning on and off the set.

 

Any advice on books worth reading or dvd tutorials worth having a look at would be much appreciated.

 

ta'

neil

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Though it is more technically oriented than the other books you cite, I highly recommend Harry Box's "Set Lighting Technician's Handbook." The greatly expanded 4th Edition just came out so make sure the one you get has the cover pictured below:

 

BoxBook.jpg

 

As a bonus, Harry Box has put together a free companion website called "Box Book Extras." The website includes the source material used for the handbook, articles by Harry Box published in other periodicals, related websites, a list of production oriented i-phone apps, as well as more in depth discussion of topics touched upon in the handbook.

 

BoxBookFourmLinkMed.jpg

 

For instance the section on generators (above) includes a detailed description of generator operation from the initial walk around inspection to proper shut down procedure. Other topics include basic troubleshooting of mechanical and electrical problems, grounding, and how to operate more lights on a putt-putt than has ever been possible before. Use this link for the informative

"Box Book Extras."

 

Best of all, there is a photo gallery of on-set photos and videos from all kinds of productions showing some really incredible rigs, cool lighting setups, great applications of technology and ingenuity of all kinds. You can log onto the site at http://booksite.focalpress.com/box/setlighting/ with the pass-code "setlighting."

 

 

- Guy Holt, Gaffer, ScreenLight & Grip, Lighting and Grip Rental in Boston

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I bought Masters Of Light about 4 years ago, lost it and refused to buy it again as it I had never taken it out of the house and so assumed it would turn up. Looks like I have a ghost who aspires to work in lighting. He is also is a fan of terminator 2; he stole my VHS of it years ago. Git.

 

Thanks for all the suggestions, that's my reading list sorted for the next while.

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"Painting with Light" by John Alton has long been a basic text on lighting, though it is somewhat outmoded in that it is very much oriented around very intense lighting setups to meet the needs of the lower speed stocks of the period. By today's standards they are rather overkill, but it is still a definitive primer on lighting technique.

 

Ansel Adam's pair of photography books (The Camera and The Negative) also delve into lighting, and while it is a still photography text, many of the concepts easily apply to the cinema as well.

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