Cinematic Lighting: Night Exterior for Film Production

In the final segment of a comprehensive series of courses, we delve into what is arguably the most crucial aspect of a Director of Photography's role: crafting the lighting.

This course aims to provide a comprehensive understanding of the intricacies involved in creating stunning lighting for film production. Rather than simply demonstrating techniques in a controlled studio environment, this course takes a unique approach by unfolding entirely on real filming locations. By doing so, it showcases the practicalities of achieving remarkable lighting while navigating the typical hurdles of independent film production.

Throughout the course, viewers are taken on a journey where they witness the challenges faced by a Director of Photography and their team. These challenges include time constraints, unpredictable weather, and equipment limitations, all while meeting the demands of the script. By showcasing these real-world scenarios, the course offers valuable insights into the art of lighting in film production.

The course documents the entire process of blocking, lighting, and shooting a short scripted scene. This scene, inspired by the fantasy web series Ren: The Girl with the Mark, features two actors in elaborate costumes. Viewers have the opportunity to observe experienced Director of Photography Neil Oseman and his team as they meticulously set up various fixtures, manipulate light using flags and diffusers, and adapt to changes in camera angles for comprehensive coverage.

Throughout the tutorial, Neil provides insightful explanations of his methods and the underlying reasons behind them. He also presents alternative approaches suitable for individual film projects, allowing viewers to gain a deeper understanding of the creative decision-making process involved in crafting cinematic lighting.

The course culminates with the presentation of the final edited scene, offering a tangible glimpse of the end product. This serves as a testament to the effectiveness of the techniques and strategies taught throughout the course. By witnessing the transformation from the initial setup to the final result, viewers gain a sense of accomplishment and inspiration for their own film projects.

This course provides a unique and immersive learning experience for aspiring Directors of Photography and filmmakers. By showcasing the practicalities of achieving stunning lighting in real-world filming locations, it equips viewers with the knowledge and skills necessary to overcome challenges and create visually captivating scenes.

You can also check out the Other Courses in this comprehensive series:

• Cinematic Lighting: Day Interior for Film Production
• Cinematic Lighting: Day Exterior for Film Production
• Cinematic Lighting: Night Interior for Film Production

1. Cinematography students
2. Camera operators looking to move up to Director of Photography
3. Corporate/industrial filmmakers looking to move into drama
4. Indie filmmakers looking to increase their production values

1. So glad to be your student Neil. This is what I was looking for. I have no words. This was the perfect course for me. I am very grateful, I am confident to be a pro DP now. Highly recommended ~ T Tsephel
2. I was confused how to use lighting techniques on set but because of this course I learned a lot from it, how to light with single source and make your composition more better with these lighting techniques that he has taught in this course ~ F Ahmed
3. This is an excellent course and I'd happily take another one from this instructor. The format was perfect for teaching lighting, not just the how but also the why. HIGHLY recommend this to others! ~ J Kelsey
4. This course is great in detail and explanation ~ J Thanyapanich
5. Thank you to Neil and his team for a fantastic course that gives a real insight into the thought process of a cinematographer. If you were expecting this to have the secrets of good cinematography the you need to look elsewhere as Neil gives you the tips and tricks of his approach for your to go out and try on your own set ~ D Baker
6. great education, loads of fun and loads of create and real solutions to real problems, thank you :-) ~ D Lewis
7. Please take this class if you wish to learn the THOUGHT PROCESSES CINEMATOGRAPHERS MUST GO THROUGH JUSTIFYING EVERY LIGHT/SHADOW/ATMOSPHERE THEY MUST CREATE IN SECONDS! As a complete novice to both camera & lighting, I watched every module straight through and allowed myself to simply watch & listen as I had no references to any of the camera/light equipment he would be using, therefore I had everything going over my head while at the same time reinforcing my belief that cinematography and lighting are of the utmost importance in conveying the story to an audience. Cinematographers and Directors with a command of lighting & shadows are magicians. We as audience members do not want to know the truths and so we are fooled willingly that the scene we watch actually is living in real sun/moon/light/shadow/fire/candles/fog etc....making us accessible and LIVE INSIDE THE STORY: BELIEVING the STORY ~ S Bitner
8. This guy knows his stuff and gets straight to the point. A natural teacher! ~ V Gonzalez
9. This course is excellent! It is very informative and engaging! The concepts are explained clearly and demonstrated well. I would definitely recommend it ~ E Yelen
10. It's amazing how many self-proclaimed cinematographers are out there all selling their courses but real cinematographers teaching are few and far between. That's why Neil's course is one of a kind, he's an actual professional and he is actually justified in calling himself a real cinematographer, as opposed to almost everyone else who sell their cinematography courses... no offense ~ G Kozma
11. Excellent!! Very well organized with interesting examples & set-ups. I also appreciated the realistic range of gear and scale of production - a very useful reference for independent filmmaking ~ P Riddihough
12. I highly recommend this course to all those who want to improve their photo skills in a theory and practical way. I'd never been in a set before, but this course felt so lively as same if you were in there by seen all the choices taken by a professional DP, and how those decisions improved the final result ~ E Magallanes
13. Excellent course! IMHO, it provides as much "hands on" experience as you can get from an online course. As you are on set with Neil and he is applying the lighting and changes as he is describing them, you can immediately see what effect the various techniques have on your picture. He is also casually touching other topics like image composition and techniques as he goes on discussing his shots. I also got myself a light meter after this course ;-) (my favourite part is still that the automated subtitles turned "Sekonic light meter" into the "psychotic light meter"...). I definitely recommend this course to anyone who would like to hone their skills in cinematic lighting and I definitely hope that Neil will do additional courses! Also check out Neils blog, which contains additional details ~ P Rüegg

4.1 Setting the Moon

• Observing the blocking with actors Kate and Ivan
• Principles of night exterior lighting
• Creating believable moonlight
• Features of HMI lighting
• Choosing a position and height for the HMI “moon”

4.2 Finessing the Master

• Use of a practical fire source
• Reinforcing a practical fire with an LED fixture
• Colour contrast
• Using a Kino Flo as an additional soft source
• Tackling a difficult shadow
• Reading and adjusting lighting ratios using an incident meter
• Working with smoke/atmos outdoors
• Shooting the master shot

4.3 Shooting the Singles

• Adjusting the existing sources to work for a close-up
• Shooting Ivan’s single
• Diffusing the HMI
• Monitoring exposure using false colours
• Shooting Kate’s single

4.4 Lighting the Reverse

• The pros and cons of flipping the backlight
• Example of cheating the moonlight around
• Using established sources to your advantage
• Adding diffusion vs. a gobo to the HMI
• Creating a “branch-a-loris”
• Shooting the reverse
• Summary
• The final edited scene

1. Students should have a grasp of basic cinematography concepts like white balance and depth of field.
2. A familiarity with the principle of three-point lighting will be useful, but not essential.