Alister Chapman’s Lighting Tutorials for Filmmakers

Freelance film maker Alister Chapman has

worked in film and television for over 35 years, starting in motorsports, including Formula 1 and the World Rally Championship before spending over 20 years making documentaries and producing corporate videos. He has worked on documentaries for National Geographic, the BBC, Discovery and the military. Additionally, he worked for several different news agencies where he would frequently be asked to travel last minute to shoot interviews or news stories in all sorts of locations as a lighting cameraman. 

More recently he has worked on Hollywood blockbuster movies.

With his knowledge, he became a go-to person for Education seminars and launched the websites tvcameraman.info and then XDCAM-USER.com, filled with guidance, tutorials and reviews on products that he has used. He is a highly regarded Sony Independent Certified Expert and Ambassador. Recently, he developed a series of online videos called “Lighting 101” which are available to the public.

Chapman’s “Lighting 101” tutorials include, “Why Do We Light?”, “The Basics of Three-Point Lighting,” “Hard Light vs. Soft Light,” and “Lighting for Online Content.”

In his series of videos, Chapman shows how you can increase or enhance the quality of your filmmaking through the use of a range of different lighting techniques.

Why Do We Light?

In “Why do We Light?”  he addresses the need for light, noting that all cameras need light. But lighting isn’t just about having enough light, it’s also about controlling what light there is to enhance the look of your shot.  

Click to watch the Tutorial on our YouTube Channel

At the simplest level, this might be using a reflector to bounce light back at the subject in a situation where the light from behind is creating too much contrast. Utilizing an actress in a basic scenario, he shows how to light when shooting against a window. He introduces the use of reflectors for bounce, or using a black flag to reduce the light, creating a negative fill.

Chapman explains the benefits and necessity of good lighting, even over a better camera or lens, because beautifully lit footage shot with a lesser quality camera will always look better than poorly lit footage shot with a great camera. Choosing the right lights and learning how to use them is key.

The Basics of Three-Point Lighting

In “The Basics of Three-Point Lighting,” Chapman explains that while it may seem like a very simple old school technique, it’s an easy-to-understand starting point that can be adapted to suit a wide range of situations and delivers consistently good results. 

Click to watch the Tutorial on our YouTube Channel

The concept of three-point lighting uses three fixtures: key light, fill light and back light (also known as a rim, or hair, light). These can be the same three lights, or three different fixtures.

In this video, he uses a simple scenario and starts with the key light, which is the main source of light. Some things to consider when setting up the key light is illumination of the subject, framing, and how this interacts with any other major source of light in the scene.

The next light is the fill light, which he uses to fill some of the shadows created by the key light. Generally, a hard light or a small soft light is used for the fill light and it’s usually placed on the other side of the camera to the key light. A carefully placed fill light will often create a pleasing glint in an interviewee’s eyes, what is referred to as a catch light.  

An alternative to hard light for the fill light that works very well is a tube light like a PavoTube. The last light added is the backlight, which is used to add separation between the foreground and background. Chapman likes to then turn them all off and bring each one on individually so you can see what each light is doing

By learning how to understand the basics of three-point lighting, and how these three lights affect a scene and interact with each other, you can create a wide range of different looks and a solid foundation to build on. Experimenting with light placement and mixing the lights is key. 

Hard Light vs Soft Light

In “Hard Light vs Soft Light,” Chapman explains the fundamental concepts of video and film lighting and the difference between soft light and hard light. He covers each kind of lighting and how it affects the images you create. Throughout the video, he touches on a range of different lighting fixtures including panel lights, cob (chip on board) lights and lighting modifiers such as soft boxes, diffusion and Fresnel lens.

Click to watch the Tutorial on our YouTube Channel

In defining the two kinds of light, he explains that hard light leads to crisp, sharp and well-defined shadows where the light transitions rapidly from light to dark and the light creates a hard shadow edge.

By contrast, soft light is where the shadows are less distinct, the shadow’s edge is smoother and the light falls away to dark more gently. He addresses how the reflection of light, intensity and contrast, as well as distance between the light source and the subject can produce both hard and soft light. 

He demonstrates how a large panel light like the Nanlite PavoSlim 120C can produce soft shadows when its relatively close to the subject, but when moved further away the light becomes harder and there is less wraparound effect. 

Using the Nanlite Forza 60C, the FC-120B with a reflector, and the FC-500C with a Fresnel lens and barn doors, he illustrates how all three of these lights can be hard lights, with or without their attachments. 

Then he demonstrates how to turn those same lights into soft lights, using some attachments such as Softboxes or reflectors and how this compares to a panel light such as the PavoSlim 120C. The goal is always experimenting to get the best use out of the lights.

Lighting for Online Content

Appealing to a broader group of content creators, “Lighting for Online Content” was developed for podcasts, YouTube videos, and other online clips. A fairly typical setup is an influencer who is going to talk about product within a fairly small space, usually with lights already in place.

Click to watch the Tutorial on our YouTube Channel

Chapman shows how a PavoSlim 120C panel attached to the ceiling can eliminates flicker and poor color temperature while producing a high-quality light. An alternative is using a light stand, which gives a nice flat light directly into the face of the influencer, while allowing the product to be shown on the desk. The idea is to light so you can see the influencer’s face, and the product as these are the two most important things.

Once again, Chapman explains how a Forza 60C with a projector lens, and a gobo, can jazz up the background. Referring back to the three-point lighting tutorial, he introduces a back light, as the key light has already been established. 

He walks the audience through various ways to light for a two-person interview as well, showing various ways to add texture to the shot with other tools. In this scenario, most television studios will have a key light for each presenter, angled so that the shadows don’t fall directly behind them.

Adding to the look for a more visually interesting set, a Nanlite PavoTube is used as an up-light to add wash on the wall behind. Because the PavoTubes are so small, they can be hidden behind chairs or other furniture, and then controlled via remote control. To complete the look, a backlight is set up, which adds a bit of glow and separates the interviewer from the background with the color wash. With various scenarios to choose from, Chapman gives a robust explanation of online content lighting.

▶ EXPO Notice - IBC Show 2025 

We are delighted to invite you to join us at IBC 2025, where Alister Chapman will deliver an insightful session at the Nanlite & Nanlux booth.

Topic: Portable Lighting for Mobile Documentary Production

📅 Sept 12 | 13:30–14:00, Sept 13 | 11:30–12:00, Sept 14 | 11:30–12:00

📍 Booth No.12.F21 | RAI Amsterdam

Supporting role: how the UK film and TV sector is making progress on mental health

Source: Film and TV Charity

When Marcus Ryder took over as CEO of The Film and TV Charity in 2023, he noticed a fridge magnet in the office emblazoned with a quote from Nobel prize winning South African bishop Desmond Tutu: ‘There comes a point where we need to just stop pulling people out of the river. We need to go upstream and find out why they’re falling in.’

These words can certainly be applied to the issue of mental health in the UK film and TV industries. In 2019, Ryder’s predecessor Alex Pumfrey launched the Looking Glass survey, research into the mental wellbeing of the UK film and TV workforce. The results revealed the statistic that 87% of those working in the sector had experienced mental health problems.

Since then, industry leaders have been trying to ‘go upstream’ (in Tutu’s parlance) to try and understand the issue. There has been further research - the Looking Glass surveys are now published every two years - and programmes are being put in place to improve the working environment by organisations including the Film and TV Charity, 6FT From The Spotlight and Solas Mind.

As Ryder points out, mental health issues are not directly related to the boom-and-bust nature of production and can occur at any time. Yet, for freelancers dealing with Covid, the post-pandemic production bonanza and the sudden slowdown during the Hollywood strikes, these have been especially turbulent times. The extent of this problem, especially amongst workers from underrepresented background, was highlighted in June’s The Loneliness In The Film And TV Industry Report, published by the Film and TV Charity in collaboration with The Centre For Loneliness Studies at Sheffield Hallam University.

“We all know we have issues around bullying, discrimination and poor management behaviour,” says Ryder. “Often, these aren’t addressed because people think they can tolerate them for the duration of the production.”

Another issue facing freelancers is financial stress. The Film and TV Charity’s 2023 Money Matters report revealed that 45% of industry workers were struggling financially; the next report is due out later this year.

In response, the Film and TV Charity has pioneered its own Whole Picture Toolkit for embedding mentally healthy working practices early on in a production. On productions following the Toolkit recommendations, the metrics for mental health are already “significantly better.”

“People who have a mental health issue will find support within the industry,” observes Matt Longley, co-director and founder of 6FT From The Spotlight, who highlights the fact that little support was available when he set up the nonprofit organization in 2017. “A few of us got together and said we need to do something to change the way the industry works.”

Now, 6FT, which provides wellbeing facilitators on sets as well as consultancy and training programmes, is trying hard to work at the “front end” of productions, to identify in advance any problems which may arise. “Just having a counsellor there is not necessarily going to change anything,” he adds. “It’s changing the way the industry works that will give the long-term benefit and actually make it more sustainable and stay in it longer.”

“There is still no defined minimum standard for mental health best practice across production’ says Anna Mishcon, head of programme delivery at the Film and TV Charity’s new Mentally Health Productions unit. That’s why she and unit co-founder Andy Glynne, head of programme development, have formed a working group of 35-plus organisations, including the British Film Commission along with broadcasters, studios, streamers, commissioning organisations and other industry bodies, to design an industry set of standards. These are expected to be launched later this year – and already have backing from the studios, streamers and broadcasters. 

The Film and TV Charity also aims to ensure that students and new entrants to the industry are fully aware of best practice when it comes to mental health. “We would like to see a world where students are leaving tertiary education and have a greater awareness of the mental health support they can expect when they move into the professional production environment,” says Mishcon. “If we don’t capture that generation, we are missing a vital trick.”

Film and TV workers are themselves becoming more proactive in finding the increased support that is available. Mollie, an assistant director and runner, says that she contacted the Film and TV Charity in 2024, when she hit “rock bottom. I can honestly say their support saved not only my career, but probably my life too. It’s an incredibly difficult industry [and] we all have our part to play to make things safe, more accessible, supportive and kinder.”

Supporting Role

Source: Universal Pictures 'Black Bag'

Actress and trained psychotherapist Sarah McCaffrey founded her company Solas Mind in 2020, after realising the strains that freelances were under. “The majority of people working in this industry are contractors,” she notes. “They don’t have the benefits you would get in a big corporate company and yet they work incredibly long hours in a creative but stressful environment.”

Solas Mind now has a team of 70 fully qualified coaches and counsellors, and offers a digital platform and a bespoke app for each production. The British Film Commission were able to collaborate with Solas and fund crew counselling sessions for a range of productions, including  Black Bag, California Schemin’, Industry, War Of The Worlds and season two of The Pact.

“We can scale up from just offering a really small package of support up to those massive [projects] where a production will have 200 support sessions,” says McCaffrey. “We tailor the support team to suit the content.”

Other new initiatives include mental health training for freelancers and managers and making sure even small productions use an HR consultant, so freelancers have an effective sounding board. Ryder also notes the importance of collating more data around physical well-being. “I’ve worked as a director and exec for over 25 years and I don’t know a camera operator who doesn’t have a bad back. I don’t know a boom operator who doesn’t go to physio.”

Longley, meanwhile, is optimistic that addressing mental health issues will soon become as commonplace for productions as choosing the right camera lenses: something that is completely “routine.”

For McCaffrey, the key to making proper change is to ensure that mental health support becomes a standard part of production planning. “The more we empower people to be compassionate leaders, the better it will be for the industry.”

Source: The British Film Commission ' UK in Focus' for Screen Daily

Code of Silence: Gaining Insight into the Challenges of Deaf and Hard of Hearing Professionals on Set.

Source: Kevin Williamson (1 AC, A camera), Joe Shrubb (Producer)

Working on Code of Silence gave our camera team a new perspective on the unique challenges faced by deaf and hard-of-hearing professionals within the film and television industry. More than just a technical production, this project became a journey of understanding, adaptation, and growth, as we strived to not only highlight these challenges but actively make the set more accessible and inclusive.

Before we began filming, our team participated in a day of deaf awareness training.

Rose Ayling-Ellis & Kieron Moore

This session was incredibly insightful, laying the foundation for how to approach and communicate with deaf and hard-of-hearing individuals on set. We learned the basics of sign language, as well as important dos and don’ts when interacting with people from the deaf community. It wasn’t just about learning the language—it was about understanding the culture, nuances, and etiquette surrounding deafness, which are crucial when trying to create an inclusive environment.

The training helped us become more mindful of the challenges that deaf professionals face on a day-to-day basis, and more importantly, it allowed us to communicate with those around us in a respectful and effective way. In a fast-paced, high-pressure set environment, where much of the communication relies on verbal cues, having a solid understanding of sign language and deaf culture was indispensable. It made the entire process smoother and ensured that everyone, regardless of their hearing ability, could work cohesively.

One key individual who made the experience so impactful was Rose, our lead on the project. She worked tirelessly to make sure that every member of the crew was onboard with the inclusion efforts. Her leadership in fostering a culture of accessibility and respect was evident throughout production.

To keep the atmosphere light and engaging while also facilitating learning, Rose introduced a "sign of the day" for the crew. This fun daily practice not only helped us expand our sign language knowledge but also created a sense of camaraderie and inclusivity on set. Each day, we would learn signs related to our specific work—whether it was related to equipment, action cues, or set-specific terminology—which helped integrate everyone into the environment, regardless of their hearing abilities.

Sam E Riley (GBCT), 1st AC, B camera

The energy on set was palpable. Sign language, being such a visual and expressive form of communication, brought a unique dynamism to the space. The physicality of the language added an extra layer of vibrancy, and this reflected in the overall atmosphere. Everyone, from the crew to the interpreters, was motivated and enthusiastic, making the challenging

nature of the project feel like a shared, collective experience

The set itself was a busy place—often cramped, with not only the crew working in tight spaces but also interpreters needing to be on the floor to ensure clear communication. It could get pretty tight in certain moments, but the understanding and respect for the need to accommodate everyone created a sense of unity and patience.

While it was a bit of a logistical challenge, everyone made the necessary adjustments to

Sammy Johnson (GBCT), 1st AC (Dallies)

ensure that both the deaf and hearing members of the crew could work together without issue. The awareness of each other’s space and role on set helped create a positive, supportive environment where everyone could contribute to the project’s success.

One of the most unique aspects of the production was the number of scenes that were completely silent, adding another layer of complexity to the technical aspects of filming. In these moments, pulling focus on dialogue—usually a core part of cinematography—was impossible without the presence of an interpreter. For example, the director would rely on the interpreter to ensure that the performers were saying the right things at the right times, and that the pacing of the scene was maintained.

This reliance on interpreters in silent scenes was essential, and without them, capturing the correct performance would have been a difficult task. The interpreter’s role extended beyond simply translating spoken language; they became integral to the overall rhythm and flow of the scene, ensuring that the technical aspects like timing and emotional delivery matched the director’s vision.

The script supervisor also worked closely with an interpreter, who helped them follow the dialogue and ensure that everything was being said in the right places. This was particularly important for keeping continuity and maintaining the integrity of the story, especially in scenes where precise timing was critical.

Perhaps one of the most beautiful aspects of working on Code of Silence was witnessing the interactions between the directors and actors. With sign language as the medium, the conversations felt more considered, more deliberate. The absence of quick verbal exchanges allowed for a deeper, more thoughtful connection between the director and the actors. It was clear that every gesture, every sign, carried weight and meaning.

The careful and considered way in which actors communicated with each other and their directors created a deeper sense of authenticity. Watching these interactions unfold on set, it was easy to see how much effort and care went into making sure the performances felt real and true to the experience of the characters.

All of these elements—deaf awareness training, Rose’s leadership, the experience of working with interpreters, learning some sign language, and communicating with our deaf trainee— transformed what could have been a challenging set into a truly rewarding experience. While we did face hurdles, such as adjusting to different interpreters and figuring out the best ways to communicate without disturbing the flow of production, the overall sense of inclusivity and collaboration made it all worth it.

There’s something incredibly fulfilling about knowing that your work is actively helping to create a more accessible environment for everyone involved. For those of us on the camera team, this project wasn’t just about capturing a story; it was about making sure that every voice on set could be heard, regardless of whether it was spoken or signed. The project pushed us to think outside of our usual technical roles and to see the bigger picture of representation and accessibility.

David Barrett (GBCT Trainee)

While Code of Silence may have been just one project, it has left a lasting impact on those involved. The experience has sparked important conversations about how to continue proving the accessibility and inclusivity of the film and television industry, and how to make the set environment more welcoming for everyone, regardless of ability.

Looking forward, it’s clear that there’s still work to be done—but the lessons we learned on this project have equipped us with the tools and understanding to continue fostering a more inclusive industry. Having the chance to learn some sign language, engage with deaf professionals, and contribute to the creation of a more inclusive workplace has been

both challenging and rewarding.