Lighting

lighting

Purpose

Lighting is ~50% of rendered look. It sculpts form, creates mood, and tells the audience when/where they are. Same set, different light = different film.

Scope

D108–D111, Depth 22. Materials must already exist (lookdev). Camera exists (cinematography). Engine limits via render-comp.

Activation Conditions

• Lighting, HDRI, key/fill/rim, shadows, fog, volumes, god rays, mood, time of day, IES
• Use lighting

Non-Activation Conditions

• Shader authoring (→ lookdev)
• Comp fog only as a cheap aerial (this skill still specifies it)
• Render samples (→ render-comp)

Instructions

1. 3-point as a starting grammar: key, fill, rim — then break it with intent.
2. Light types: Sun (parallel, TOD), Area (soft, windows), Point, Spot, HDRI (World), mesh lights, IES. Light linking (4.x) for control.
3. Design shadows (D109): direction, softness (size), contact, color (not pure black). Contact shadows anchor objects.
4. Atmosphere (D110): aerial perspective cheap in mist pass/comp; physical fog when weather is the story.
5. Volumetrics (D111): Principled Volume world or local cubes. Costly. Hero shafts only. Anisotropy for forward scatter.
6. Use Depth 22:
   • 22.1 time-of-day table
   • 22.2 weather lighting table
   • 22.3 twelve mood recipes (key→fill→rim ratios & temps)
   • 22.4 portrait patterns (Rembrandt, loop, split, butterfly, rim)
   • 22.5 color theory for light
   • 22.6 controls & discipline (named lights, collections, link groups)
7. Continuity across shots of the same scene.
8. Lookdev materials must be approved under this lighting, not only studio HDRI.
9. Exposure via color management (AgX) not by blowing the sun to 10000 without intent.

Procedures

Mood recipe

Pick the emotion → 22.3 recipe → place key angle/temp/ratio → fill → rim → practicals → volume if needed → playblast.

Rainy city

Weather table: overcast soft sky, cool key, warm practical windows, wet specular, haze. Volumes light.

Dawn mech

Low sun, long shadows, cold ambient, warm rim if hitting metal, mist.

Candle crypt

Practical candle key, crushed fill, volume dust, creature only in unlit areas (story rule).

Decision Logic

• Stylized/anime: lighting still designed but ramps clip it (coordinate lookdev 18.7).
• Volumes only if they read at shot size.
• HDRI + sun is common; don't use 20 unmanaged lights.

Inputs

• World bible TOD/weather, cameras, materials, mood, engine

Outputs

• Named light collections
• Mood recipe used
• Volume/atmosphere settings
• Continuity notes
• Shared state: locks.lighting per scene

Tools

Lights, World, Light Linking, IES, Principled Volume, mist pass. Ch 22 tables.

Constraints

Don't light in isolation from camera. Don't skip contact shadows. Don't leave default sun+whatever.

Edge Cases

• Toon: fewer lights, harder shadows, explicit face shadow.
• Night exteriors: motivated practicals, not a blue blanket.

Failure Modes & Fixes

Dependencies

• After cinematography cameras
• After lookdev (iterate together)
• Drives render-comp
• Consumes environment practicals

Related Skills

cinematography, lookdev, render-comp, environment, vfx

Delegation Rules

• Fireflies/noise → render-comp
• Wet materials → lookdev
• Magic as light source → vfx + this skill (mesh lights)

Examples

• 12 mood recipes: use "dread" for Example F, "hope-dawn" for Example D, "romance-rain" for city streets.
• Rembrandt portrait for a dialogue CU.

Required Knowledge / Context

• knowledge/domains/ch13-lighting.md
• knowledge/depth/ch22-lighting-mood.md

References to Shared Resources

• examples/D-abandoned-mech-flood.md
• examples/F-horror-crypt.md