Lighting for Digital Video and Television, 3rd Edition

We - Movement Arts Institute - are a small tai chi school in Central Pennsylvania. Previously we made practice DVDs for students. They were decidedly "home" productions. Clean, clear, decent editing but no one would mistake them for pro work. When our seniors tai chi program, Tai Chi 4 Health & Balance (TC4HB), became an Evidence-Based program and was approved by the Federal Administration on Aging as an "Evidence-Based program meeting the minimal level criteria", we needed to produce better quality DVDs. Naturally I went out and bought a better camera - a Sony HXR-NX5U. (I am getting close to the point trust me). Surprise, surprise, surprise. A $4000 camera doesn't make your video look pro. This $30 book tells you what does. Spoiler alert - it's all about the lighting. This book covers the equipment, the set up, the nuts and bolts of why and how. It is reasonably accessible to people new to shooting video. I admit I had to re-read - and do internet research - to understand some parts. This book is not about the lights only! The book covers much of the information you need from the camera side too. White balance, Zebra, F-stops/Iris and on and on. This book has taken our videos up to the quality we needed to be on the national stage. Buy it first and you'll buy the right gear and make good video right away.

This book is absolutely amazing. I read it in a day or two and in that time, my entire understanding of lighting has changed. From equipment to setups, to theory, to electricity, this book gives you every little thing you need to know. Seriously. Get this book. You won't regret it in the least, and you will be tearing apart scenes in everything you watch. You will become an expert on breaking down how each shot was lit, and where everything was. You may not know exactly what is in a scene, but you should be able to figure out where. Because of this, my entire idea of what lighting is, what it can do, and how it can be used to tell your story has evolved into something I'm excited to witness. This book will take you from a filmmaker to an artist.

Book is well written and engaging. Not a boring read even though the subject matter is quite technical. John Jackman realizes that those reading the book are beginners or at least new to the in depth study of lighting, such as myself. I appreciate that it is a simple read, even though the subject matter is quite complex. The sign of a good teacher is that they can make the hard to understand understandable.

I purchased this book as a physical copy for a required course in my school course work. It is what it is, and reads like your typical text book. I however found it much easier to read this in book form rather than ebook.

It a well written book, conversational in style. Note: any technical book as dry moments. Take your time, make notes which will help to remember.

Was kind of difficult to follow.

My son used this Lighting book for his class in college.

Explains the basics and gives in-depth examples and discussions. Read for College course on Lighting.