High-key lighting
High-key lighting is a
style of lighting for film, television,
orphotography that aims to
reduce the lighting ratio present
in the scene. This was originally done partly for technological reasons,
since early film and television did not deal well with high contrast
ratios, but now is used to suggest an upbeat mood. It is often used in sitcoms and comedies.
High-key lighting is usually quite homogeneous and free from dark shadows.
The terminology comes from the key
light (main light).
In the 1950s and 1960s, high-key lighting was achieved through multiple
light sources lighting a scene—usually using three fixtures per person
(left, right, and central) —which resulted in a uniform lighting pattern
with very littlemodeling. Nowadays, multiple hot light sources are
substituted by much more efficient fluorescent soft
lightswhich provide a similar effect.
The advantage to high-key lighting is that it doesn't require adjustment
for each scene which allows the production to complete the shooting in
hours instead of days. The primary drawback is that high-key lighting
fails to add meaning or drama by lighting certain parts more prominently
than others.
Most recently, shows with bigger budgets moved away from high-key lighting
by using lighting set-ups different from the standard three-point
lighting. Part of the reason for this is the advent of new lighting
fixtures which are easier to use and quicker to set up. Another reason is
the growing sophistication of the audience for TV programs and the need to
differentiate.
The term "high-key" has found its way from cinema into more widespread
usage, for example referring to an event that requires much organization
or is subject to a great deal of publicity
