Tag: photographic

Cinematography in Filmmaking

Posted on by Jane Good

There are many fields in the film industry. Director, producer, lighting and camera crew, script writers and much more. A important job that influences the production in film that also creates and develops the visual narrative is cinematography.

So, what is cinematography?

It is the art and technology of motion-picture photography. This involves the lighting and location of a scene, camera choice, lens choice, camera angles and movements, as well as the involvement of any special effects.

Cinematography is important in film by supporting the overall look and mood of a film’s storyline. A cinematographer manages the camera and the lighting crew. they are responsible for creating the look of the scene, colour, lighting, and the framing of every shot in a film.

Some examples of cinematic techniques in filmmaking are:

  • Long shot

  • Close-up shot

  • Point-of-view shot

  • Bird’s-eye shot and more

These are some camera angles that cinematographers use to capture the story being told through different perspective that also cast different moods.

The 5 C’s of Cinematography

  1. Camera Angles – Vital to the stories narrative and the camera positioning helps to drive the story forward
  2. Continuity – To avoid inconsistencies, continuity must be considered in production and media
  3. Cutting – The order and sequence of shots become key in evoking the desired effect upon the audience
  4. Close-ups – Used to allow the viewer access to the intimate details of a characters emotions
  5. Composition – Plays a role in creating a mood and telling a story. Lighting, colours and spacing, among other visual aspects which are crucial in the co position of an image

Cinematography is used in every film and there are a wide range of motion-pictures that have creative cinematic experience. Here are two examples of cinematography in film.

Blade Runner 2049 – Cinematographer Roger Deakins

The attention to detail in the set design allows for long shots for the viewer to take in the atmosphere of the science fiction world with geometric designs. This angle provides a harsher look to the architecture that seems more imposing and unnerving when the characters are dwarfed by it.

The lighting in the film is constantly in motion, there are hardly any stationary light sources. The shift in light creates dynamic and alluring footage without being too distracting. Since the viewer knows what the source of light is, it enhances the reality of the scene.

Moonlight – Cinematographer James Laxton

Laxton uses bold colours and stunning shots to create an emotional experience. The film is driven by the internal conflicts of the characters rater than the plot. To communicate this in a visual way, the camera frames the subject so that they fill the majority of the screen, thus drawing the viewer into the emotional landscape being created. This would be a close up camera shot, it is used for the audience to see the emotional reactions of the characters more intimately.

During the swimming scene when Juan teaches Little to swim, the frame is set up in such a way that the viewer is not only watching this scene but also experiencing the rush of waves and Juan holding Little about the water. As if we, the audience are right next to them.

This is a brief synopsis of cinematography in film, as well as some examples where cinematographers used their creative and innovative thinking to create beautiful and stunning visuals to capture the heart of the story being told.

Top 5 Lighting Techniques

Posted on by Jane Good

One of the most important tools in staging a scene is lighting. Lighting develops the mood and setting in any production. It captures the audience and draws them into the storyline just by looking at the scene and the lighting techniques that are used.

This post will highlight the top 5 lighting techniques used in film production and their purposes for a scene.

Number 1: Soft Lighting

Soft lighting is commonly used for its aesthetically pleasing effect. It eliminates shadows and recreates subtle shades of light that has no strict definition of a light source. The purpose is to make the subject or object look less harsh. An example of this technique would be in the movie Restless (2011) where you can notice the soft light with no clear distinction between light and shadows, and has a calming effect.

Number 2: Hard Lighting

Hard lighting uses a direct beam from a light source or from the sunlight. This lighting creates shadows and harsh lines. It can also create silhouettes and highlights. An example would be in the movie The Dark Knight (2008) with the harsh tones of the subjects faces and the overlapping shadows to add to the mood of the scene and the intensity of the character.

Number 3: Ambient Lighting

Ambient lighting, also known as “practical” lighting, consists of the lights that are present and natural, so this could be sunlight, lamplight, or an overhead light. Ambient lighting can add depth and dimension to a scene if used cleverly. It can also add a sense of realism to the scene that draws the viewers attention. You need to account for ambient light, especially when shooting outside.

Number 4: Three Point Lighting

Three point lighting is a media standard form of lighting, as in it is highly used in all forms of media such as film, video, and photography. Three point lighting includes key light, fill light, and a back light.

The key light is the primary light source. It is the most intense and direct light in the scene. The key light will illuminate the form of the object or actor. Secondly, the fill light cancels out the shadows created by the ket light. It adds softness to the shadows. Lastly, the back light hits an actor or object from behind. This is used to separate the object or actor from the background.

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Number 5: Motivated Lighting

Motivated light seeks to imitate natural light sources, such as sunlight, moonlight, street lights, head lights and more. This technique is used to emphasize the natural lights effect to help set the story or scene. It allows the audience to believe the world that is being presented.

Lighting as a whole is complex and broad. There is so much terminology and techniques that even choosing the top most common techniques was difficult because everyone has their own interpretation. This post was a simple introductory article about the diverse world of lighting in media, specifically in film.

Rentals

Posted on by Big City

lighting and AV rentals for film, video, stage , parties and events in Toronto

Pricing and availability are subject to change without notice.
Please call to check availability – 416 894 4025

located at:

2370 Midland Ave – UNIT B9
Toronto, ON, M1S 5C6

Pricing is based on self pick up and return to our location.
Prices do not include taxes, set up, delivery or return pick up.
If you require any of these services, please Contact Us for a quote.

All rentals are based on a 24 hour period or portion there of,  ask us about our weekend rates!

 

Big City Lights is a lighting company that offers services for the film industry, photographers, events, stage shows and parties. We do both sales and rentals. We offer self serve pick up from our location, or we can deliver and/or offer set up in and around the GTA including Toronto, Scarborough, North York, Etobicoke, Richmond Hill, Markham, Thornhill, Vaughn, East York, Ajax, Pickering, Brampton, Oakville, Oshawa, Mississauga and more! Contact us for a quote.

We have been in the lighting business for over ten years, and we offer great customer service in Toronto and the GTA.  Big City Lights works with event planners, filmmakers, photographers, video production companies, DJs, churches, synagogues and other places of worship to create the perfect lighting for your special event, concert, film shoot, photography shoot, party or stage show.  We  currently serve the areas of Scarborough, Toronto, Brampton, Mississauga, North York, Etobicoke, Richmond Hill, Markham, Vaughn, Thornhill,  East York, Pickering, Ajax, Oshawa and Oakville and more!

 

 

affordable rental of lighting and AV equipment in Toronto Canada. We have a large selection of rental lights rental film lighting LED lighting and audio visual equipment. Based in Toronto Canada and we sell to all of Canada and the USA. Video equipment and lights for all events and parties stage shows and concerts we even rent ring lights!

Battery Operated Lighting Options

Posted on by George Mikhaiel

Calling all filmmakers, photographers, hairstylists and party starters! Have you ever needed a wireless light to brighten a subject? To light a party? Well we have the products for you. This video showcases various options for battery operated lights to suit any of your needs. These lights are perfect for when you don’t have an outlet near by, or for on the go shootings. All the links for the battery operated lights we carry are available below.

Links:

Continue reading “Battery Operated Lighting Options” →

Finding the Perfect Light Stand for You

Posted on by George Mikhaiel

Here at Big City we have a lot of stands, all with different sizes and weights. From tall ones to short rolling ones. We have anything to fit you film or photo needs. Links to all the stands shown in this video are below.

All the stands we carry.

 

Ray Tracing Reinvented for New Generation of Video

Posted on by Big City

August featured the reveal of Nvidia’s new line up of graphic cards. They revealed their 2000 series with large upgrades to their 1000 series previously released in 2016. In addition to faster clock speeds, GDDR6 VRAM and a larger amount of CUDA cores – Nvidia has branded their new flagship from GTX to RTX featuring the latest real time ray tracing technology.

What is ray tracing?

Ray tracing is a method of rendering which produces a realistic and completely computer generated light effect. Ray tracing is used by film makers and producers through the industry. Ray tracing combined with the vast improvements of CGI and other graphical technology will make films and other productions look fully realistic.

This video released to demo their real time ray tracing shows the impressive abilities and features that can be used in the industry.

Ray tracing technology has been around for sometime in the film industry and has been in large usage due to the large amount of CGI used in recent films. So why is ray tracing such a surprise to the industry?

How will Ray Tracing cards affect the industry?

Ray tracing in the industry has been mainly done through expensive CPUs and other large server systems. Many companies can spend hours rendering each frame using ray tracing. The addition of the market being diversified by the new tech, we can expect companies to increase productivity and have larger access to these cards. Smaller production companies can now produce CG based films and other projects much more easier than before. Many game developers and small time studios can have better results with the real time ray tracing and can push the limit of what they can do.

How will ray tracing impact the average consumer?

The addition of these new graphics cards affects mainly the industry as it allows developers and producers to utilize a strong graphics cards with real time ray tracing. If you are not into a developing or producing, the card’s strong performance will increase speeds, improve texture quality and even use ray tracing in programs or games you might use. Many game developers have already begun integrating real time ray tracing into many upcoming and trending games.

Below are examples of Battlefield V an upcoming game using real time ray tracing technology.

Should people still get the newly released cards?

The Nvidia RTX cards are the top of the class as of right now for both having real time ray tracing accessible and strong gaming potential.  Real time ray tracing is still a new technology being reinvented but gameplay and recent renders from the new RTX cards shows a lot of potential. AMD has been rumoured of making their new GPUs with ray tracing technology and NVIDIA has the trend of releasing improved cards a year later of release. If you are planning to get a ray tracing card, it would be best to wait out for AMD’s release and other potential upgrades. If you want to wait till the prices are lower, you may have to wait over 5 years for it to become the norm in graphics cards.

So when will real time ray tracing be accessible?

The RTX cards have released on September 20th of 2018 with AMD coming out with their own rumoured around 2019. The market for RTX has opened up dramatically with these releases. Don’t get your hopes up too quick. Ray tracing is still a high end technology. The RTX cards will cost between 800 CAD to 1500 CAD depending on the model. NVIDIA explained that the Star Wars render shown was run on 4 high end GPUs that costed 60,000 dollars USD. The price difference will obviously result in a downgrade in quality but given the upcoming years the prices will go down – all thanks to the start of the competitive market between AMD and Intel for both GPUs and CPUs.

 

US Prices for the RTX cards

 

What is the final verdict on the new the new ray tracing cards?

The new ray tracing cards are a sign of rising technology being more advanced and more accessible to the consumers. Many can be put away due to high prices but due to a competitive market, prices are actually decreasing. A high price results in realistic graphics and high performance in games, fast video related tasks such as rendering and the ability to use real time ray tracing technology. The new cards give us a glimpse of what to see in the future as ray tracing and even faster tech will be available for consumers and for those in the industry. The large rise in growing technologies is giving tech companies competition to see how will grow more successful.

– Benson Lam

100w LED Studio Flood Light with 18x Fresnel Spot Lens

Posted on by Ogo Eze

The 100w LED studio flood light with 18x fresnel spot lens is an effective tool in providing both film and photographic solutions. This light gives you full control over its brightness level, flood and spot focus through its digital control panel and adjustable (rotating) lens. This light also comes with a diffusion dome to produce a broader flood light effect. It is power efficient, with a power consumption rate of a 100 watt, and it emits a colour temperature of 56ook daylight. This Light can be mount on any Bowens’ mount and works with Bowen’s accessories. You also get free shipping on this item anywhere in Canada.

 

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The GoPro Hero5

Posted on by Carlos Jochico

As technology becomes much more advanced every year, it helps companies such as Go Pro to create better action cameras.

Introducing, the Go Pro Hero 5, with it’s release on early October 2016. The Go Pro Hero 5 is a much more improved upgrade comparing to it’s older model, the Go Pro Hero 4. With a similar model to the Hero 4, The Hero 5 has much more features to offer.

First, let’s compare the Hero 4 Black to the Hero 5 Black.

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The Hero 5 has it’s own waterproof casing, meaning you don’t need to buy an extra case and it comes with a little more reinforcement. This means, with both cameras naked, the Hero 5 is quite bigger comparing to the Hero 4 without the waterproof case. The waterproof housing can allow the Hero 5 to be submerged unto 33 feet underwater, and can protect the camera against dust and sand. But comparing to the old waterproof case on the Hero 4 (which can go up to 131 feet) it’s relatively better. If you are planning on going below 33 feet with your Hero 5, then you can purchase a “Super Suit Housing” for your Hero 5. This also means that the Hero 5 will weigh a little bit more than the Hero 4 without the waterproof casing:
Hero 5: 4.2 oz (118 grams)

Hero 4 (without case): 3.1 oz (87 grams)

Hero 4 (with case): 5.3 oz (150 grams)

But what makes the Hero 5 a major improvement, is it’s new built in LCD touch screen display. But comparing it to the Hero 4 Silver (which also had an LCD display) the Hero 5 has a much more sharper, brighter and easier display. Also, as it is waterproof without a case, you don’t have that back door panel, which makes it more responsive. This makes it much better when trying to control and adjust your camera’s settings.

The way to control the two cameras are still roughly the same, with three customizable buttons and an LED display in-front (which was improved on the newer model), but now on the Hero 5, you also have a voice activation feature which can be very helpful depending on what you are doing. So if both your hands are occupied, with the voice activation feature of the Hero 5, you can say simple commands such as: “GoPro start recording” or “GoPro take a photo” to control you camera. There is also a waterproof remote that you can purchase to control your camera from a far distance.

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The Hero 5 has also a much more improved video shooting features compared to the Hero 4 Black, even though both can record 4K at 30 fps, 1080p at 120 fps and 720p at 240 fps, the Hero 5 won’t eat up all that memory card space compared to the Hero 4. Also with it’s new video stabilization feature, which can reduce the shakiness of your video. It also comes with more linear FOV, which removes the fish-eyed view of the camera. Both shoot in NTSC or PAL formats and both produce H.264 MP4 videos.

The Hero5 also adds three new options that can be useful:

  • manual exposure where you can set the shutter speed
  • a raw audio track option which creates a higher-quality WAV file
  • an auto mode option that lets you put it in a mode that reduces the effects of wind noise

Both models have an image size of 12MP (4000 x 3000 pixels) and can take similar images, but the Hero 5 can produce much more clearer images and can be seen when viewed at 100%. The Hero 5 comes with HDR, GoPro calls it WDR for Wide Dynamic Range and it aims to capture extra details in shadows and highlights. Another thing is; RAW image format. Shooting in RAW mode have pros and cons. The main reason why, is for the for better image quality. The downside of shooting in the GoPro’s RAW format is that the images need to process and convert to JPG before sharing.

Like the older models, the Hero 5 has the ability to take time lapse of images and video. The first is old way of shooting a sequence of images, downloading those images from the memory card, and bringing them together on your computer using a separate software. Like previous models, the available intervals are 0.5, 1, 2, 5, 10, 30, and 60 seconds. You can also have the camera compile the video to create a time-lapse video. The new model adds a new option, and it’s a lower resolution which is 1080p. The reason for this, is it has been added is to make it easier to share the time-lapse video without dealing with the massive files from 2.7K or 4K video. With the smaller 1080p video it’s much quicker to take the footage from your camera, to your phone then upload straight to social media.

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The Hero 5 can also take external microphones, but  unlike the old model you’ll need the new USB-C mic adapter.

The battery life on the Hero 5 has improved and is using a higher capacity battery at (1220mAh vs. 1160mAh). With the new USB-C  port, the Hero 5 allows fast charging. There is a slight problem though, the new USB-C port isn’t USB 3.0 it still uses a USB 2.0 for data transferring. Which means, you can’t have that fast transferring speed. If you’re using an external microphone, you’ll need a new mic adapter. It also has a micro HDMI (Type D) socket to connect to a TV or display device.

There are a bunch of things that have also been tweaked and improved, which are:

It automatically detects which way is up.

You can turn off the LEDs selectively.

The longest auto-off setting is now 15 minutes rather than 5 minutes.

In the end, the GoPro Hero 5 can do what the previous models can do, but with a lot  more features and higher quality camera. As for now, the Hero 5 is still very limited to new accessories, unlike the Hero 4. Overtime though, that will change because of how advanced technology can become.

If you’re looking to buy a GoPro Hero 5, you can find them at various different websites and stores such as Amazon, Sport Chek, Best Buy etc.  with a price of: $530.00 CAD

– Carlos Jochico, Big City Lights

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Exclusive Behind the Scenes Video of a Pro Photo Shoot Using Big City Lights!

Posted on by Big City

Calgary, Canada, halifax, LED, LEDGO, lighting, lights, ringlight, Toronto, Vancouver

Hello ladies and gentleman today we bring you an exclusive, behind the scenes, look into a professional photo shoot by Toronto photographer Clint Adam Smyth. As an acknowledged photographer/videographer Clint needs to have the best, most reliable, equipment at his fingertips to provide his customers with what they need. In this video you will see how he uses Big City Lights to attain beautiful, incomparable results. This was a calendar shoot That will be coming out in 2011 to promote a makeup, hair and wardrobe stylists work It featuring a gorgeous model and a luxurious ride (needless to say, they were very excited and completely satisfied with the final results).

Clint uses a single Big City 110, two Big City 220’s and a ringlight for this particular shoot. The two large light banks perform the duty of filling and brightening the set, they are very powerful and effective. The 110 is used to add a slightly softer touch of light in a focussed area and finally the ringlight is used for the glamorous and stylistic effect it is so well known for. The video also demonstrates the growing love for continuous lighting and the needlessness of using strobe lighting. Continuous lighting provides consistency and makes it easier to get that specific look you’re trying to achieve.  Video of shoot is below.

Written by Hash Patel