Lighting (Available, Artificial, Key, Fill, Back, Set)

My interpretation of lighting is the lighting arrangement used in any particular scene, whether this be the brightness, colour or contrast of the lighting or the appropriate positioning of it. Available light is light that is present when filming it is also not supplied by the photographer i.e the natural light cast by the sun. Artificial light is the last cast essentially from a man made object i.e a lamp rather than a naturally luminous object such as the sun. Key lighting appears to be the main or primary source of lighting in a scene. Back lighting is when an object or subject is illuminated from behind i.e both the subject and light source are pointed towards the audience. Back Light also can be used to give the illusion of three dimensional space on a two dimensional screen. Set lighting on the other hand is when a light source is used to highlight parts or the whole set.

I believe any and all these lighting techniques are used to highlight specific points of interest, detail of the set, a certain character, a particular action in a scene, as well as attempt to convey a particular mood or atmosphere to the audience.

In the above pictures : artificial, available and back lighting are used respectively each to add an extra visual appealing element to the scene. The addition of artificial lights and effects gives it a more sy-fi feel while the available light gives it a sense of realism. Finally the back light further adds another aesthetic element to the image making it more entertaining to watch.