High Key
Bright and evenly lit with almost no shadow. The look of comedy, commercials and daytime television — nothing is hidden.
What it does to the frame
Bright and evenly lit with almost no shadow. The look of comedy, commercials and daytime television — nothing is hidden.
- Reads as
- Romantic, Documentary
- Difficulty
- Basic
- Runs in
- Keyframe
The control it moves in PREVIZ
- Lighting setupKeyframe
Key + Fill
Classic 2-point setup
Picking the technique sets these controls; it does not paste text into a prompt. The setting can be re-run, checked against the settings beside it, and carried into the next shot.
Never with
These contradict High Key on a physical dimension; the library refuses the pair rather than letting one silently win.
- ChiaroscuroAdvanced · Dramatic, Artistic
- Extreme contrast between light and dark with very little in between. Borrowed from Baroque painting; the darkness does as much work as the light.
Also in lighting
Where the light comes from and what it leaves in shadow — the setups and the moods of the day and the night.
- Rembrandt LightingIntermediate · Dramatic, Cinematic
- Key light high and to one side, leaving a small triangle of light on the shadowed cheek. The classical portrait setup.
- Split LightingIntermediate · Dramatic, Horror
- The light comes from ninety degrees to the side, so half the face is lit and half is in shadow. Reads as division or duplicity.
- Butterfly LightingIntermediate · Romantic, Cinematic
- Key light high and dead centre, casting a small butterfly-shaped shadow under the nose. The classic glamour light.
- Rim LightBasic · Cinematic, Dramatic
- Light from behind that traces a bright edge around the subject, separating them from the background. Almost every night exterior uses it.
- SilhouetteIntermediate · Artistic, Dramatic
- The subject is unlit against a bright background, reduced to outline. Identity withheld — shape carries the whole shot.
- Under-LightingBasic · Horror
- Light from below the face, inverting every shadow you expect. The campfire-story look, and the fastest way to make a face read as wrong.
- Golden HourBasic · Romantic, Nostalgic
- The hour after sunrise or before sunset. Low, warm, and very soft — flattering to almost everything, which is why it is worth the wait.
- Blue HourIntermediate · Nostalgic, Artistic
- The twilight window after the sun is gone but before full dark. Cool, even, and just bright enough to hold detail in the sky.
- Harsh NoonIntermediate · Documentary, Dramatic
- Overhead midday sun. Short hard shadows and blown highlights — usually avoided, which is exactly why it reads as unglamorous and real.
- Practical LightIntermediate · Cinematic, Documentary
- The scene is lit by lamps, screens and signs that are visible in the shot. Motivated light — the viewer can see where it comes from.
- Neon LightingIntermediate · Cinematic, Artistic
- Saturated coloured light from signage, usually two clashing hues. The look of a city at night in almost every film made since 1982.
- CandlelightAdvanced · Romantic, Nostalgic
- Lit only by flame. Very warm, very soft, and falls off fast — faces glow and everything a metre away is gone.
- MoonlightIntermediate · Horror, Artistic
- Cool, dim, directional light with deep shadows. Cinema's moonlight is a convention — real moonlight is far dimmer and has no colour at all.
Reads the same way
Other techniques that read as romantic or documentary — a light or a lens to pair with this move.
- Three-Quarter AngleBasic · Cinematic, Documentary
- Between straight-on and profile. The default flattering angle for faces — it gives the head volume that a square-on shot loses.
- Medium ShotBasic · Documentary, Cinematic
- Waist up. Holds the figure and enough of the room to read body language — the neutral shot most scenes are built from.
- Steadicam FloatIntermediate · Cinematic, Documentary
- Smooth walking movement with none of the jitter of true handheld. Follows a subject through space without calling attention to itself.
- HandheldBasic · Documentary, Action
- Visible operator movement. Reads as immediate and unstaged — the reason news and vérité look the way they do.
- Locked OffBasic · Artistic, Documentary
- The camera does not move at all. A deliberate choice, not an absence of one — stillness reads as composure or as unsettling patience.
- Shallow FocusBasic · Cinematic, Romantic
- Only a thin slice of the scene is sharp. Isolates the subject from its surroundings and is most of what makes an image read as 'cinematic'.
- Deep FocusAdvanced · Dramatic, Documentary
- Everything from foreground to horizon is sharp. Lets action play out on several planes at once instead of directing the eye by focus.
- Vintage GlassIntermediate · Nostalgic, Romantic
- Older uncoated lenses: lower contrast, swirling backgrounds and flares that bloom easily. Imperfection used deliberately.
- Film GrainBasic · Nostalgic, Documentary
- Visible photochemical texture. Reads as film rather than video, and hides the plastic smoothness generated images tend toward.
- DiffusionBasic · Romantic, Nostalgic
- A filter that lifts blacks and blooms highlights, taking the edge off digital sharpness. The standard way to soften a face.