COMPOSITION
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Types of Film Lights and their efficiency – CRI, Color Temperature and Luminous EfficacyRead more: Types of Film Lights and their efficiency – CRI, Color Temperature and Luminous Efficacynofilmschool.com/types-of-film-lights “Not every light performs the same way. Lights and lighting are tricky to handle. You have to plan for every circumstance. But the good news is, lighting can be adjusted. Let’s look at different factors that affect lighting in every scene you shoot. “ 
 Use CRI, Luminous Efficacy and color temperature controls to match your needs.Color Temperature 
 Color temperature describes the “color” of white light by a light source radiated by a perfect black body at a given temperature measured in degrees Kelvinhttps://www.pixelsham.com/2019/10/18/color-temperature/ CRI 
 “The Color Rendering Index is a measurement of how faithfully a light source reveals the colors of whatever it illuminates, it describes the ability of a light source to reveal the color of an object, as compared to the color a natural light source would provide. The highest possible CRI is 100. A CRI of 100 generally refers to a perfect black body, like a tungsten light source or the sun. “https://www.studiobinder.com/blog/what-is-color-rendering-index (more…)
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Christopher Butler – Understanding the Eye-Mind Connection – Vision is a mental processRead more: Christopher Butler – Understanding the Eye-Mind Connection – Vision is a mental processhttps://www.chrbutler.com/understanding-the-eye-mind-connection The intricate relationship between the eyes and the brain, often termed the eye-mind connection, reveals that vision is predominantly a cognitive process. This understanding has profound implications for fields such as design, where capturing and maintaining attention is paramount. This essay delves into the nuances of visual perception, the brain’s role in interpreting visual data, and how this knowledge can be applied to effective design strategies. This cognitive aspect of vision is evident in phenomena such as optical illusions, where the brain interprets visual information in a way that contradicts physical reality. These illusions underscore that what we “see” is not merely a direct recording of the external world but a constructed experience shaped by cognitive processes. Understanding the cognitive nature of vision is crucial for effective design. Designers must consider how the brain processes visual information to create compelling and engaging visuals. This involves several key principles: - Attention and Engagement
- Visual Hierarchy
- Cognitive Load Management
- Context and Meaning
  
DESIGN
COLOR
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mmColorTarget – Nuke Gizmo for color matching a MacBeth chartRead more: mmColorTarget – Nuke Gizmo for color matching a MacBeth charthttps://www.marcomeyer-vfx.de/posts/2014-04-11-mmcolortarget-nuke-gizmo/ https://www.marcomeyer-vfx.de/posts/mmcolortarget-nuke-gizmo/ https://vimeo.com/9.1652466e+07 https://www.nukepedia.com/gizmos/colour/mmcolortarget 
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Space bodies’ components and light spectroscopyRead more: Space bodies’ components and light spectroscopywww.plutorules.com/page-111-space-rocks.html This help’s us understand the composition of components in/on solar system bodies. Dips in the observed light spectrum, also known as, lines of absorption occur as gasses absorb energy from light at specific points along the light spectrum. These dips or darkened zones (lines of absorption) leave a finger print which identify elements and compounds. In this image the dark absorption bands appear as lines of emission which occur as the result of emitted not reflected (absorbed) light. Lines of absorption  Lines of emission Lines of emission    
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What is a Gamut or Color Space and why do I need to know about CIERead more: What is a Gamut or Color Space and why do I need to know about CIE  http://www.xdcam-user.com/2014/05/what-is-a-gamut-or-color-space-and-why-do-i-need-to-know-about-it/ In video terms gamut is normally related to as the full range of colours and brightness that can be either captured or displayed. (more…)
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3D Lighting Tutorial by Amaan KramRead more: 3D Lighting Tutorial by Amaan Kramhttp://www.amaanakram.com/lightingT/part1.htm The goals of lighting in 3D computer graphics are more or less the same as those of real world lighting. Lighting serves a basic function of bringing out, or pushing back the shapes of objects visible from the camera’s view. 
 It gives a two-dimensional image on the monitor an illusion of the third dimension-depth.But it does not just stop there. It gives an image its personality, its character. A scene lit in different ways can give a feeling of happiness, of sorrow, of fear etc., and it can do so in dramatic or subtle ways. Along with personality and character, lighting fills a scene with emotion that is directly transmitted to the viewer. Trying to simulate a real environment in an artificial one can be a daunting task. But even if you make your 3D rendering look absolutely photo-realistic, it doesn’t guarantee that the image carries enough emotion to elicit a “wow” from the people viewing it. Making 3D renderings photo-realistic can be hard. Putting deep emotions in them can be even harder. However, if you plan out your lighting strategy for the mood and emotion that you want your rendering to express, you make the process easier for yourself. Each light source can be broken down in to 4 distinct components and analyzed accordingly. · Intensity 
 · Direction
 · Color
 · SizeThe overall thrust of this writing is to produce photo-realistic images by applying good lighting techniques. 
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Anders Langlands – Render Color SpacesRead more: Anders Langlands – Render Color Spaceshttps://www.colour-science.org/anders-langlands/ This page compares images rendered in Arnold using spectral rendering and different sets of colourspace primaries: Rec.709, Rec.2020, ACES and DCI-P3. The SPD data for the GretagMacbeth Color Checker are the measurements of Noburu Ohta, taken from Mansencal, Mauderer and Parsons (2014) colour-science.org. 
LIGHTING
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Beeble Switchlight’s Plugin for Foundry NukeRead more: Beeble Switchlight’s Plugin for Foundry Nukehttps://www.cutout.pro/learn/beeble-switchlight/ https://www.switchlight-api.beeble.ai/pricing https://www.switchlight-api.beeble.ai https://github.com/beeble-ai/SwitchLight-Studio https://beeble.ai/terms-of-use https://www.switchlight-api.beeble.ai/docs 
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HDRI shooting and editing by Xuan Prada and Greg ZaalRead more: HDRI shooting and editing by Xuan Prada and Greg Zaalwww.xuanprada.com/blog/2014/11/3/hdri-shooting http://blog.gregzaal.com/2016/03/16/make-your-own-hdri/ http://blog.hdrihaven.com/how-to-create-high-quality-hdri/  Shooting checklist - Full coverage of the scene (fish-eye shots)
- Backplates for look-development (including ground or floor)
- Macbeth chart for white balance
- Grey ball for lighting calibration
- Chrome ball for lighting orientation
- Basic scene measurements
- Material samples
- Individual HDR artificial lighting sources if required
 Methodology (more…)
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studiobinder.com – What is Tenebrism and Hard Lighting — The Art of Light and Shadow and chiaroscuro ExplainedRead more: studiobinder.com – What is Tenebrism and Hard Lighting — The Art of Light and Shadow and chiaroscuro Explainedhttps://www.studiobinder.com/blog/what-is-tenebrism-art-definition/ https://www.studiobinder.com/blog/what-is-hard-light-photography/ 
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Gamma correctionRead more: Gamma correction http://www.normankoren.com/makingfineprints1A.html#Gammabox https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gamma_correction http://www.photoscientia.co.uk/Gamma.htm https://www.w3.org/Graphics/Color/sRGB.html http://www.eizoglobal.com/library/basics/lcd_display_gamma/index.html https://forum.reallusion.com/PrintTopic308094.aspx Basically, gamma is the relationship between the brightness of a pixel as it appears on the screen, and the numerical value of that pixel. Generally Gamma is just about defining relationships. Three main types: 
 – Image Gamma encoded in images
 – Display Gammas encoded in hardware and/or viewing time
 – System or Viewing Gamma which is the net effect of all gammas when you look back at a final image. In theory this should flatten back to 1.0 gamma.
 (more…)
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Convert between light exposure and intensityRead more: Convert between light exposure and intensityimport math,sys def Exposure2Intensity(exposure): exp = float(exposure) result = math.pow(2,exp) print(result) Exposure2Intensity(0) def Intensity2Exposure(intensity): inarg = float(intensity) if inarg == 0: print("Exposure of zero intensity is undefined.") return if inarg < 1e-323: inarg = max(inarg, 1e-323) print("Exposure of negative intensities is undefined. Clamping to a very small value instead (1e-323)") result = math.log(inarg, 2) print(result) Intensity2Exposure(0.1)Why Exposure?Exposure is a stop value that multiplies the intensity by 2 to the power of the stop. Increasing exposure by 1 results in double the amount of light. 
 Artists think in “stops.” Doubling or halving brightness is easy math and common in grading and look-dev.
 Exposure counts doublings in whole stops:- +1 stop = ×2 brightness
- −1 stop = ×0.5 brightness
 This gives perceptually even controls across both bright and dark values. 
 Why Intensity?Intensity is linear. 
 It’s what render engines and compositors expect when:- Summing values
- Averaging pixels
- Multiplying or filtering pixel data
 Use intensity when you need the actual math on pixel/light data. 
 Formulas (from your Python)- Intensity from exposure: intensity = 2**exposure
- Exposure from intensity: exposure = log₂(intensity)
 Guardrails: - Intensity must be > 0 to compute exposure.
- If intensity = 0 → exposure is undefined.
- Clamp tiny values (e.g. 1e−323) before using log₂.
 
 Use Exposure (stops) when…- You want artist-friendly sliders (−5…+5 stops)
- Adjusting look-dev or grading in even stops
- Matching plates with quick ±1 stop tweaks
- Tweening brightness changes smoothly across ranges
 
 Use Intensity (linear) when…- Storing raw pixel/light values
- Multiplying textures or lights by a gain
- Performing sums, averages, and filters
- Feeding values to render engines expecting linear data
 
 Examples- +2 stops → 2**2 = 4.0 (×4)
- +1 stop → 2**1 = 2.0 (×2)
- 0 stop → 2**0 = 1.0 (×1)
- −1 stop → 2**(−1) = 0.5 (×0.5)
- −2 stops → 2**(−2) = 0.25 (×0.25)
- Intensity 0.1 → exposure = log₂(0.1) ≈ −3.32
 
 Rule of thumbThink in stops (exposure) for controls and matching. 
 Compute in linear (intensity) for rendering and math.
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