Cinematography and filmmaking research

This paper offers an overview of a recent practice-led doctoral enquiry which examined lighting techniques used by cinematographers and more widely amongst practitioners working with moving imagery. This research was completed in the Digital Cultures Research Centre at UWE Bristol and funded by the AHRC 3d3 Centre for Doctoral Training. The paper specifically reflects on three strands of enquiry which existed in dialogue with one another, showing how the mutual interaction and reinforcement between scholarly activity, collaborative film production and independent creative experimentation were fundamental to the approach and direction of the research. Amongst a wider contribution, this doctoral research can be seen as methodologically innovative, providing a more detailed first-hand investigation into lighting processes than is currently available by using autoethnographic methods to capture practical knowledge that is deployed in situ during moving image production. The paper discusses this novel use of autoethnography within practice-research and also explains how the resulting evidence was incorporated in the thesis through a layered approach to writing. Lighting, in a traditional filmmaking context, is the principal responsibility of a cinematographer. Working with the director, art department and more than ever today, the visual effects team, a cinematographer utilises a variety of tools to achieve a cohesive visual narrative for a film within which light can play an integral role, making a creative contribution to the production. On one level, light is fundamental to the way that we perceive and interact with the screen—it affords the exposure and recording of images through camera and lens equipment that is designed to take advantage of flaws in our visual apparatus to evoke an illusion of movement. On another level, light can also be controlled in front of the camera through the use of specially designed lamps, filters and modifiers to enhance the way an audience experiences aspects of a film. Lighting is a fundamentally technological practice, then, and it is through the use of such tools that a cinematographer can add depth to a film, making its locations feel more threedimensional despite appearing on a flat surface, creating boundless visual storytelling possibilities. If the orchestration of illumination can have such a powerful impact on the way audiences experience a film, then it is perhaps surprising that in industry and academia alike there has been little attempt at articulating how new digital technologies or environments might impact lighting processes. As will be discussed in this paper, exploring changing lighting paradigms and addressing the apparent lack of consideration around emerging lighting techniques was the primary goal of my doctoral enquiry, completed in the Digital Cultures Research Centre at UWE Bristol between 2014–2018 with a scholarship through the AHRC 3d3 Centre for Doctoral Research.