Studying Online;Succeeding through Distance Learning at University

124 Studying online 
theatre, lighting plays a fundamental role in how you will be per-
ceived. So it is clearly worthwhile getting it right. 
selecting the right video lights 
Tere are plenty of options for video lights, from the very cheap 
to the highly professional and super expensive. Unless you want 
to be an online video star, there is no need to spend a great deal 
of money. Te aim of the lighting should be to illuminate your 
face so that the rest of the people on the video call can see you 
clearly. Te standard way of doing this is to use something called 
a “three-point lighting setup”. As show“key light”, which is aimed at your face and brightens your appear-
ance. A second light facing you is known as the “fll light”. Tis is 
on the other side of the key light but is aimed slightly lower. As 
its name suggests, this light flls in the shadows created by the 
key light. Finally, there is the “back light”, which is placed behind 
A typical three-point lighting setup 

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Using video 125 
you, usually directly opposite the fll light. Te back light creates a 
small area of light behind your head which then appears to sepa-
rate you from the room’s background. Together, these three lights 
will make you appear clearly on screen. If you don’t have the space 
for a back light, then the two lights at the front will be sufcient. 
I only have two lights which cost me about £35. People often com-
ment how well they can see me when I am on video calls. So, it 
doesn’t cost much to stand out. 
Another popular form of lighting these days is “ring lighting”. 
Tese are, as the name suggests, rings of light. Tey are primarily 
designed to surround professional cameras rather than webcams. 
Tey are popular with online video infuencers, for example. Te 
ring light is placed around the lens of their professional camera, 
and when they look directly into that lens, their face becomes very 
well lit. Ring lights help avoid shadows when you are looking di-
rectly into the lens surrounded by the light. However, you are not 
likely to be able to place your webcam in the centre of the ring. 
Consequently you can’t have the benefts of the ring light unless 
that the webcam is of a kind that allows you to place it in the ring 
light. 
One other factor to consider is the use of flters. Many lights come 
with flters that allow you to reduce the hardness of the light. An 
unfltered light provides a “hard” light that can wash out areas of 
your face and make your appearance somewhat unrealistic. Hence 
a “soft” light is better. Tese days, most video lighting kits come 
with flters that can soften the light or add colour efects. What 
you don’t want for your lighting setup is an LED panel that has no 
means of softening the brightness. So, select lighting that has a 
flter over the lights themselves. 
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