Lighting the Frame Workshop: A Hands-On Introduction to Film Lighting (for ages 16-25)

This workshop is exclusively for ages 16-25.

Ever wondered why a horror film feels cold, and a romance feels warm using nothing but light? In this two-part workshop, you'll explore the fundamentals that every professional lighting technician, gaffer, and cinematographer relies on every day.

In one three-hour session, we'll break down how light shapes mood, mystery, and meaning on screen. You'll learn the language of light hard vs. diffuse, natural vs. artificial and get to grips with the industry-standard technique of three-point lighting. We'll pull real examples from films you already love to show these principles in action, then get hands-on: setting up and shaping light yourselves, so you leave with practical, transferable skills.

No experience or equipment knowledge required just curiosity about how your favourite films actually look the way they do.

By the end of the course, participants will be able to:

1. Identify and describe the qualities of light (hard vs. diffuse) and their emotional/narrative effects.
2. Distinguish natural vs. artificial light sources and know when/how to combine them.
3. Understand and set up classic three-point lighting (key, fill, backlight). 

This workshop is free thanks to BFI Film Academy South West and the Watershed in Bristol for funding and supporting this workshop.