Lights, Am I Right?

Being inside the industry of show business I am constantly exposed to all forms of lighting. Given my theatre background I am predominantly exposed to the different types of lighting instruments that we have learned about and worked with in class over the course of the quarter. However, I have also been working with acting for the camera this quarter, a class with Andrew Borba, and I've also been in a few student films during my time here at UCI. I have become aware of how incredibly important, but drastically different the lighting for film is. Looking back on our footage from class there were a few scenes earlier in the quarter that we didn't use lighting, outside of the room's fluorescents (yipes), and later scenes where we did use lighting outside of the room lights, and MY GOSH what a difference! The very same acting suddenly popped, seemed cleaner, more professional and more compelling. It's also possible that the acting genuinely improved over time, but I feel more likely the acting was better highlighted by the addition of better lighting and black curtains, providing all of the main focus directly onto the actors. In dealing with both theatre and film acting, I have learned a lot, as an artist and performer, but one of the technical take-aways I have come to especially appreciate and value is the power of good LIGHTING.