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5 Practical Cinematic Lighting Tutorials

By Caleb Ward

Published: May 19, 2015 Last Updated: May 19, 2015

Learn the basics of practical cinematic lighting with these five awesome video tutorials.

The quickest way to make your footage look more cinematic is to simply spend a little extra time lighting your scene. Even just one light will make a big difference for making your entire film look better. So if you’re in the mood for some creative inspiration, check out these 5 simple lighting tutorials. All of them are easy to understand and, by implementing the techniques listed in the videos, you can quickly make your films look much better.

5 Common Lighting Patterns for a Key Light

Created By: SLR Lounge

This video created by SLR Lounge outlines five basic lighting setups using a single light. The video outlines where the lights need to be placed, along with the overall tone certain lighting setups give off.

Film Lighting Tips and Techniques: Filmmaking Cinematography 101

Created By: TWilson Media

This video outlines a simple lighting setup using two soft boxes and practical light coming from a lamp. While this video is rather basic, it does outline a few nice workflow tips for creating more cinematic lighting including:

No plain white walls.
Background lights are for interest, not attention.
Place key light on the opposite side of the camera (AKA a Reverse Key).

Awesome Directors Project: Cinematic Lighting Tutorial

Created By: Indy Mogul

This fun tutorial by Indy Mogul shows us how to use filters and mixed lighting to create stylistic effects for horror and sci-fi films. The setups in the video are really simple, but they show the power of a two light setup.

Videography Tutorial: Lighting for Video

Created By: Lights Film School

In this tutorial by Lights Film School, we take a look at how to simulate sunlight through a window. While your budget may not be large enough to rent out a sound stage, this same effect can be achieved with lights coming through a window outside of a building.

Great Cinematography with Only One Light!

Created By: Film Riot

Film Riot is amazing. All of their videos are incredibly helpful. In this video tutorial, Ryan Connolly shares a few lighting setups that can be achieved with only a single light source. The result is a few very dramatic lighting setups that can add a cinematic look to your video quickly and easily.

Want to see even more lighting techniques? Well, here you go:

Know of any other great lighting tutorials? Illuminate us in the comments below!