The Chiaroscuro Edition – The Sunday Color Grading Newsletter

(video) In my last Newsletter, I mentioned that I’m not always a fan of the bright streak light across someone’s face in an otherwise black frame. I didn’t know the name of this technique. Marc Wielage wrote in that it’s called the ‘Chiaroscuro effect’. He said DPs used to talk about all the time while grading. This video explains its origin and examples in cinema,

“Chiaroscuro Meaning: The term comes from the Italian words for “light” and “dark” — the perfect definition for a lighting style that mixes the two to great effect. Chiaroscuro lighting is a visually stunning technique that helps turn a two-dimensional image into a three-dimensional scene.”

Tobia is a Newsletter reader and recently released a concise primer on this topic. This is a good resource to bookmark and share with clients who are confused about this topic.