Basics of Lighting

As lighting designers, we need to understand the physical and psychological properties of light, and how these will cause an emotional response. Lighting is about creating a picture or frame that describes the mood of the story.

Properties of light: The Physiology of Light
Light is a wave. We response to only a small spectrum of wavelengths between the UV and Infra red. Within these wavelengths will give rise to visible light. Different wavelengths of the light will create different colors to our eyes. For example, red has a longer wavelength, whilst blue has a shorter wavelength.

The visible spectrum of light is show in the diagram below:

According to research, our eyes are more responsive to change of color for green, and the least response to blue. In Maya, the software render attribute window has also taken this response into account. When we look at the contrast threshold setting, a higher value is given to blue, so more variation is given to blue in order to create a pixel of color.

In light, color mixing is additive. As you can see, white light is produced by mixing the colors red, green and blue. In this diagram, RGB are considered primary colors, whilst, yellow, cyan and magenta, are considered secondary colors. Henceforth, white has the value of, 255, 255, 255 in Maya. In real world setting, the colors we see from objects are really the different wavelengths that are absorbed and reflected into our eyes. The objects do not have colors but their colors, in other words, are dependent on their surface properties reflecting and absorbing the light properties.

More information of light can be referenced from:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Light

A very good resource can be found here. It is an article titled "Pixel Cinematography"that describes the lighting approach to telling a story. Here's the link:

http://www.ics.uci.edu/~ses/teaching/inf290/calahan.pdf

In essence, it decribes how light can be used to direct the eyes of the viewer to see the focal point of a frame, create depth, to convey the time of the day, to enhance the mood of the picture, and the reveal a character's personalities.

The uses of light are more than 1001. A good way to learn to use lighting is to analyze movies with a keen sense of observation. Look out for subtle color changes and how these affect the mood, pace, intensity, and emotional aspect of the story. See how light can change the way you feel about the scene, and the characters. Collect photographs taken professionally and see how light is utilized to create sense of depth and focus.

As a start, watch an animation, eg. "Bugs Life" or "Mr Incredible" and see how lighting is used as a film device.

(Ref: Alias Maya Lighting Video)