We’re back once again with some more ideas from our resident cinematography genius, Rob Ellis! Today’s video talks about upstage/reverse key lighting, and how you can play around with lighting to create different moods and change the feelings of the scene, whilst retaining shape and depth in your image. Keep reading to hear more, and to watch the video!
All About Rob
If you’re not familiar with Rob – let us tell you a bit about him!
Rob Ellis is a celebrated YouTuber from the UK, with over 73,000 subscribers on his YouTube Channel. He specializes in cinematic image-making, sharing tutorials, equipment tests, lighting tips and behind the scenes content for filmmakers and creators online. Rob is an innovator who loves to share insightful creative techniques to manipulate and use lighting to impact emotion in beautiful cinematic scenes, and today’s video is no exception!
Rob’s Upstage / Reverse Key Lighting Video
Rob’s Upstage / Reverse Key Lighting video shows how filmmakers and creators can play with light by taking us through different adjustments and the results in real-time.
Check out the video here:
Rob’s video features:
- A step-by-step approach, beginning with lighting his subject with standard, broad lighting. He then moves the light to a more flattering angle aka short lighting, comparing as he goes.
- Playing around with moving the lighting to make the subject more 3 dimensional, providing more depth in the image.
- The Reverse / Upstage approach. Rob tries putting lighting behind the subject, with the camera shooting into the shadow side of the face. Rob then explains how this adds depth, and is a popular lighting style in films.
- A test, in which Rob puts a subject standing in a room in dark, with some natural light. He then uses the Upstaging technique to imply that light is coming in from windows, and to shape the face with light. Rob adds in a little fill light to lift the shadows in the image, whilst the Upstage key light remains lighting the subject. This reveals more of the room and subject whilst keeping the moody aesthetic.
- He then tries something a little lighter, by extending the fill light, lifting the shadows further. This creates a more pleasant image, and Rob explains how this can be used to represent different weather conditions.
Final Thoughts
Rob’s super helpful video allows us all to learn how Reverse Key lighting can help add shape to the face, and can be used for various looks. With this technique, creators can affect the mood and feeling of their footage whilst retaining dimensionality of both subject and image. Another great video, Rob – a big thumbs up from us!If you enjoyed this article and Rob’s video, please feel free to check out our other breakdowns of Rob’s videos. These include Emulating Film and Temp Love In Filmmaking.
How Audiosocket Can Help
We hope that you enjoyed Rob’s video and found his explanations and tips as fascinating as we did. As always, we’re here to help filmmakers, photographers and creators in any way we can. Audiosocket prides itself on our high quality, affordable and accessible tracks for personal creators, businesses, YouTubers and many more.
If you’re intrigued, check out our catalog of over 80,000 tracks and curated playlists to help you find the perfect tracks for your project. Starting at just $10 a month, you can access unlimited tracks and give your videos the outstanding music they deserve. Also, don’t forget to check out Rob’s video to access a free month of unlimited music with Audiosocket. What are you waiting for? Go go go!
