Lighting Techniques for Historical and Period Films

Creating the visual aesthetic of a historical or period film is a challenging task that requires meticulous attention to detail – especially when it comes to the lighting. The right lighting techniques and the proper set lighting gear can transport viewers back in time and add authenticity and depth to the narrative. We gathered the lighting tips below from industry professionals who used Rosco DMG Lighting fixtures to illuminate their captivating stories from the past.

Lighting Tips For Period Costumes and Makeup

Costume & makeup are one of the best visual indicators for an audience to place the time period of the story. As such, cinematographers and gaffers need to consider how their lighting choices might affect the actors in their costumes & makeup when setting up to light a scene. With actors wearing heavy, opulent dresses and stylized, powdered faces, Cinematographer Anton Mertens, SBC had to consider these issues while shooting the historical drama Versailles, which was set in 18^th-century France.

Anton knew that lighting the expansive ballroom scenes with traditional tungsten lights would have significantly increased the temperature on set. His concern for the lighting had as much to do with the look as it did with the comfort of the actors. As a result, Anton opted to light these scenes with Rosco DMG SL1 SWITCH™ fixtures because he knew they would produce significantly less heat than traditional tungsten lights. This decision helped keep the actors more comfortable and less sweaty, which also helped preserve their makeup and costumes.

“Though having a beautiful quality to them, tungsten lights generate a lot of heat and use a lot of power,” Anton explained. “I pointed out to the producers that one advantage of going LED would be that our cast – all of whom were wearing wigs and heavy period clothing – would feel more comfortable in a cooler set environment. Plus, the makeup team would have fewer retouches in between takes. On the production side, a calculation was done on the power savings using LEDs compared to traditional tungsten lighting. This also resulted in a favourable result for switching to LEDs.”

Lighting Tips for Re-Creating Sodium Vapor Streetlights

A DMG MINI™ retrofit inside an actual streetlight housing to provide controllable sodium vapor street lighting on set. Concept & photo courtesy of Gaffer Jason Velez.

Sodium vapor streetlights were first produced in the United States in the early 1930s. These types of lights produced a saturated amber hue and this golden glow has been an iconic color for night scenes for decades. While cities started making the switch to LED streetlights in the mid-2010s, many stories will have taken place under the golden glow of sodium vapor, so knowing how to recreate sodium vapor lighting will be an important skill for years to come.

A DMG MAXI punches a sodium vapor street lighting effect through a window on set.

Cinematographer and Rosco Ambassador Eduardo Ramirez, ADFC shared how he added a sodium vapor lighting effect on the set of the award-winning drama Remember Me: The Mahalia Jackson Story. “To re-create the sodium street lighting of the 1940s and 1950s, I set my DMG Lights to Gel Mode and selected E652 Urban Sodium," Eduardo recalled. "In the scene shown above, for example, I set a DMG MAXI to E652 Urban Sodium with 10% Saturation at 3200K to reproduce the streetlamp effect seen coming through the window. I also created some diffused lighting between the two actors using a DMG SL1 at 3200K and a double diffusion frame.”

Lighting Tips For Firelight and Candlelight Effects

One of the most common forms of lighting throughout the history of mankind has been fire. From the first fire created by prehistoric humans up to the candlelight illumination that was used for centuries – re-creating the look of fire is essential for most period projects.

An actor who appears to be lit by torchlight is actually lit by several DMG Lighting fixtures.

Using real fire to light a scene, however, can not only pose a safety hazard, but it also lacks the necessary light output needed for the action to be readable on camera. This is why Cinematographer Nate Doane chose to use the Firelight Effect found in all DMG Lights to light the firelit scenes on his recent horror western film, The Vast Lonesome.

DMG Lighting fixtures replicated the firelight from the lanterns that were the motivating
light sources in many scenes of  The Vast Lonesome.

Nate shared how he and his crew started using the DMG Lights on the project because “they could do torchlight way better than any other fixture we had.” He also knew that “the DMG Lights had an amber chip and fantastic performance around 1700K, so we tried the Firelight Effect on the DMG MAXI and DMG SL1. It was absolutely perfect and blended with both the color and speed of the torch light perfectly.” He then used his DMG Lights to replicate any firelit scene. Whether the motivating light source was torches, candles, lanterns, or campfires, it was DMG Lighting fixtures actually lighting the action.

Lighting For Period Films – Conclusion

In 2024, it’s easier than ever to light historical and period projects. Thanks to LED technology, one light can not only replicate virtually any light source ever used in the history of mankind, but it can also do it without using huge amounts of energy and generating a ton of heat.

No matter when your next project is set – Rosco DMG Lighting fixtures can provide 21^st-century lighting solutions to produce the illumination needed for any period piece.