Lighting Portfolio: Heavenly

Out of all of the TCF classes offered to students, I find that 444 is one of the most useful. I do not say this with the slightest hint of exaggeration. This class is beneficial to anyone that is looking to make a career out of media production/film. Without knowledge of lighting, a scene will lack cinematic aesthetics regardless of how well thought out the plot of the story is. I am the type of person that feels the need to teach myself everything. I am mostly successful in my attempts to learn whatever it is that I am pursuing without an immense amount of problems, but this class was a huge help in further expanding my skill set in regards to film. A person can Google, watch YouTube videos, and read about lighting as much as they’d like, but without hands on experience, they cannot truly say that they have mastered the art of lighting. This class provides an abundant amount of opportunities to gain hands on experience. I have learned many new facets of lighting that I had not thought of prior to enrolling in the class. I consider myself a fairly skillful photographer, and I approached this class with the same mindset as I did when thinking of photography lighting. I soon found out that this was a completely different ballpark. I learned the importance of positioning, reflecting, etc. I also learned a lot about the various lighting tools and equipment needed to successfully light a set. I did not realize how time consuming lighting a set could be. I also did not know of the procedures that have to go underway in order for the functionality of the set to operate in a smooth, non-hectic manner. In 201, they briefly touched over these topics, but in 444 these subjects were covered more in depth. Now that I have acquired a more in-depth knowledge of lighting in film through this class, I feel as though the next filming endeavor that I come across will be greatly enhanced. I have retained much valuable information, and I hope that they continue to offer this class in the future to further better the skill-sets of upcoming filmmakers at The University of Alabama.

Still-Shots