Types of lighting used in TV broadcasting
Thanks to the pivotal moments in technology, we have a very comfortable lifestyle with the convenience of a lot of things like online shopping and automated lights. However, it is not just for the general public that technology has been beneficial. The same can be said for broadcast journalism too.
The news channels that will watch on our televisions are hosted by news reporters who update us on current affairs around the world. It includes news about politics, weather, as well as finances. And the reason why we can visualize the news so well is because of the impressive light and sound work that goes in the news studio. There are several types of lighting used for TV broadcasts, and we are going to look at them in this article.
- Key lights – These are the primary source of lights used in the newsroom to illuminate the place. They use Fresnel lenses since the beam of light can be adjusted according to the preference of effect it needs to reflect on the reporters. The best part of these lights is that they can mesh well with the other types of lights used during broadcasting since it has soft edges in the beams.
- Backlights – These are used to highlight the subject, hence creating more depth to them. These are usually situated behind the subjects and also use highly adaptable Fresnel lights to give the effect of having a spotlight for the person without producing any shadow or spills to disrupt the presentation.
- Base lights – These lights are also known as flood lights, and are for background purposes that shine the light through the whole place in general. They have soft edges to their beams to mix with the other lights and not become hyper-focused. They are also very adjustable and spread light on a large surface area.
- Fill lights – If base lights are the primary flood lights, then fill lights are secondary. However, both are interchangeable and used for the same purpose. They too are used for covering a large area and blending the rest of the lights.
- Set lights – These are the all-rounders. They have multiple responsibilities, like setting the mood, balancing the atmosphere to match a theme, and intensifying the background illumination. They also have a colour design to be customized as you wish.
- Effect light – Effect lights are used to display visual effects and background images during a live broadcast. They are also easily adjustable.
These are the different kinds of lights that are used during broadcasting.