# Cinematography ## Goal - Understand and be able to create and control lighting & shadows, camera(s), and to render final images with a good aesthetic sense. ------------ # 1- , 2- , and 3-point lighting ## 3-point lighting components  [Standard 3-point lighting applied to a mannequin, Image from Advanced Maya® Texturing and Lighting]  Image from Toth Edina's Blog. ### More reference - [Rembrandt](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rembrandt) - [Caravaggio](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Caravaggio) - [flickriver:3pointlighting](http://www.flickriver.com/photos/tags/3pointlighting/interesting/) - [MISE-EN-SCENE from College of Film & Media Studies Blog](http://collegefilmandmediastudies.com/mise-en-scene-2/) - [Cinematographer Matthew Scott blog](http://mattscottvisuals.com/lighting/) **Key light** The most intense light in a scene. The key light's source is generally identifiable (the sun, a lamp, and so on). The key light usually produces the strongest shadow in the scene. **Fill light** A secondary light that is less intense than the key. This light "fills" in the dark areas of a subject and the shadows produced by the key. Fill lights often represent light from a key that has bounced off a surface, such as a wall. **Rim/Back/Hair light** An intense light source placed behind a subject that strikes the subject along the edge. Rim lights are commonly known as backlights or hair lights.  Image from Maya ® Professional Tips and Techniques ## Using 3-points lighting #### 1-Point Lighting The 1-point lighting scheme is dramatic, sometimes stark, and often foreboding. The lighting involves a single, easily identifiable key light source, with no significant supplemental sources. #### 2-Point Lighting The 2-point lighting scheme matches many of the lighting scenarios we encounter in our everyday lives. The scheme often involves a strong key and an extremely diffuse fill. #### 3-Point Lighting The most commonly discussed and applied lighting technique is 3-point lighting. In the standard 3-point lighting scheme, a strong key is placed to one side of a subject (approximately 15 to 45 degrees off the camera axis). A fill light is placed on the opposite side and is at least half the intensity of the key. A rim light is placed behind the subject so that it grazes the subject's edge. #### 4-point Lighting Four-point lighting simply adds a fourth light to illuminate the background or set behind the subject. ______________________________ ## Light sources in Maya Maya has a number of light sources that let you achieve a wide variety of lighting effects. By default, Maya scenes do not contain light sources. However, Maya’s default lighting helps you to visualize objects via Shaded display in the scene view (press 5). If you turn default lighting off and have no lights in the scene, the scene appears black (see Default lighting in Maya for more information). By controlling its intensity, color and direction, light becomes a key factor in creating a scene in Maya. With Maya, you have much more control over the placement, intensity, and characteristics of lights than you do with real-world lights. Shadows, specular highlights, diffuse, and glow all contribute to how light affects a scene.   ## Light attribute editor  ### Absorption, reflection, and refraction of light (Lighting and Shading > Lighting > Basics of Lighting > [- Maya help](http://help.autodesk.com/view/MAYAUL/2016/ENU//) The color of the objects we see in the natural world is a result of the way objects interact with light. When a light wave strikes an object, it can be absorbed, reflected, or refracted by the object. All objects have a degree of reflection and absorption.  [Image from TutorVista.com](http://physics.tutorvista.com/light.html)   ### Light Decay (Lighting and Shading > Lighting > Basics of Lighting > Direct light sources > ) In the real world, a light’s brightness is strongest at the light source and decreases or decays further away from the light source. In Maya, a light’s brightness decays only if decay is turned on (see Decay Rate). The light’s color, however, remains the same no matter how far it is from the light source.  You can also create decay effects not seen in the real world (only for a Spot light in Maya). For example, you can use a custom Intensity curve to make a spot light’s brightness increase further away from the light source, or you can use a custom Color curve to make the color of a spot light change with distance.  ________________________________ ## Creating Shadows - Define from light sources.  ## Creating Soft Shadows  Example of a depth map soft shadow: increase the filter size. Or you can turn on raytrace shadows (it is more computationally expensive). _______________________________ # Virtual Filmmaking ## The virtual cameras in Maya. >*As with all filmmaking, the story is told through the camera.* Although the technical aspects of using the cameras are not difficult to learn, mastering the art of virtual cinematography can take years of practice. ## Inspiration - [Limbo](http://playdead.com/games/limbo/) ## Camera properties:  _______________________________________ ## Render Settings - **Render view** window (Windows / Rendering Editors / Render View)  - Render Settings (Windows / Rendering Editors / Render Settings) - Common and specific renderer settings - Common: file name, image format, choose camera, choose Image Size..  - Specific: Maya software rendering - quality, anti-aliasing, raytracing, motion blur...  __________ ## Reference [Maya 2016 online Help](http://help.autodesk.com/view/MAYAUL/2016/ENU//) - Art of Maya [pdf link](http://web.cse.ohio-state.edu/~parent/classes/682/MAYA/art_of_maya.pdf) - Digital Cinematography. p.69~73. - Rendering. p.75~79. - Book: Advanced Maya® Texturing and Lighting, Second Edition. - Book: Mastering Autodesk Maya 2015. _______________ # Review ## Assignment - [Lab 1](http://2016datt2500.tumblr.com) - [Lab 2](http://2016datt2500lab2.tumblr.com/) - [Lab 3](http://2016datt2500lab3.tumblr.com/) - [Lab 4]((http://2016datt2500lab4.tumblr.com/) ## What is Polygon modeling? - [digital-tutors video (1:51).](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lAf1HbnVESs) ----------------- # Lab ## To do list - Lab practice A: Scene preparation - Lab practice B: Practicing lighting & cameras - Project 1 ------------------------------- ## Lab practice A: Scene preparation ### Example studio  ## Lab practice A: Scene preparation 1. create a pedestal (a box or a cylinder). 2. create a suface back-wall (Create Curve & Loft). 3. **import an object** (you can download them from [GettingStarted2015LessonData](https://knowledge.autodesk.com/support/maya/getting-started/caas/CloudHelp/cloudhelp/ENU/123112/files/maya-advance-techniques-html.html) or here ([low resolution toad](obj/toad_low.obj) and [high resolution toad](obj/toad.obj)) ). ***obj file is good to use when you export and import your polygon object in Maya.*** 4. lay them out in your studio environment as you like. _______________________ >- tip: 1. using grid snap (key x) 2. modify center pivot (using grid snap and key d) 3. using Modify / Freeze Transformations to create new local center (see what happens to the transformation info) >- Obj file > 1. Open 'Toad_hi_res.mb' file from [GettingStarted2015LessonData / UVmapping](https://knowledge.autodesk.com/support/maya/getting-started/caas/CloudHelp/cloudhelp/ENU/123112/files/maya-advance-techniques-html.html) folder > 2. **Export** (File / Export Selection..) as [obj file](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wavefront_OBJ) (if you can't find obj file format, you can load objExport.bundle from Windows / Settings / Preferences / Plug-In Manager) > 3. Save the obj file in the Data folder in your working Maya project folder. _____________________________ ## Lab practice B: Practicing lighting & cameras ### Creating lights and rendering 1. Applying a key light and make a shadow and render to verify the result. - Once you make any light, the default Maya light will be turned off. - You can start with spot light. - In the attribute editor, change **Cone Angle** and **Penumbra values** to see the effect. - Turn on **Depth Map Shadows** (Resolution: 512, Filter Size: 4) to create a shadow in the same attribute editor. - Render a test view to check. 2. Applying a fill light. - You can start with ambient light. 3. Applying a back/rim light. - You can start with directional light. 4. Experimentation to create your own style to fulfill your aesthetics and goal/intention. ### Lighting practice tip #### Lighting by light attributes (using light Attribute Editor): - You can turn on or off *Illuminates by default*. - You can change the light Color to distinguish between different lights. - Position the key light using **Look Through Selected** from a view panel menu (Panels / Look Through Selected).  Changing colors.  Look Through Selected. #### Change more attributes in the spot light attribute editor. - Decay Rate, Dropoff, and more other than Cone Angle, Penumbra Angle.  #### Let's practice more!    --------------------------- ### Creating your custom camera and render from it 1. Create a camera with an aim (Create/Cameras/Camera and Aim). 2. To display objects, you can switch the camera from: (View panels: Panels / Perspective / or Panels / Orthographic /) 3. Adjust the position of the camera (View panels: Panels / Look through Selected) 4. Move the camera and its aim separately. You can turn on snapping. 5. Change the camera's attributes: (View panels: View / Camera Attribute Editor... or using the outliner window) - Angle of View, Near and Far clip, Film Gate.. 6. From the Render View window, you can switch cameras (Render View: Render / Render / your custom camera) 7. Render to check. ### Depth of Field (DoF) rendering #### Scene preparation 1. Create three planes and five balls on a Cylinder (Create/Polygon Primitives & Edit/Duplicate Special) and align them. 2. Create a camera with an aim (Create/Cameras/Camera and Aim) and check it via the Outliner (two plane mode -> at the left panel or panels/Layouts/Two Panes Side by Side). 3. Choose the camera and transform Snapping the Aim to the main focus point of the object). 4. Adjust the position of the camera (panels/Look through Selected) - Choosing Camera properties: (select Camera -> Attribute Editor) - Angle of View, Near and Far clip, Film Gate  5. Measure the distance between main object to the camera (Create/Measure Tools/Distance Tool) 6. Use this distance for the Focus Distance in the Attribute Editor of the camera - Check the Depth of Field (select Camera -> Attribute Editor), change the Focus Distance and F Stop  7. Render the scene. Do basic render settings: - Choosing Rendering properties: (Window/Rendering Editors/Render Settings) - Choose Common settings - File name, Image format, Choose camera, Choose Image Size  - Choose Specific settings -> Maya Software - Quality, Anti-aliasing, Raytracing, Motion Blur  #### Using depth of field and motion blur  ________________________ ## Lab work to do - Review & practice based on today's lecture & lab class material. - Practice your lighting set-up to control the overall contrast, visible details, and dramatic mood of your scene. - Apply soft shadows. - Create better quality rendering by applying cinematography techniques. ____________________________ ## Assignment - By Sunday Oct 16th at midnight, please upload final rendering images of your lighting practice results to our class web portfolio Tumblr (caption: **"a05 by your name, date"**): - Perform one to two lighting tests using a studio set up focused on the toad model. What kind of mood or emotion did you try to bring in? ## Reminder - [Project 1: still life modeling.](project.html) Due date is Oct 16th. -------------------