Friday Night Lights: The Lighting!

Here's a little background on the way this show is filmed. It's made on location in Austin, Texas (so the outdoor scenes are definitely accurate Texas weather and lighting) and most, if not all, the shooting is done in actual locations/houses/restaurants/etc. and not on fabricated sets, lending the setting a definite air of authenticity. I don't know for sure how much of the lighting is natural and how much is set up, but the lighting all looks natural, as if the sun is sneaking in the windows and illuminating only portions of the rooms. If this was reality there would probably be a lot more fluorescent lights in the school, but for the sake of beautiful shots, I'm glad they used mostly unfiltered (or manufactured) sunlight when filming indoors.

Another big bonus, the actors have no marks. They just get inside the scene and walk and talk wherever they want. They don't have to worry about where to stand or where the light will hit (which is another clue as to the natural lighting). That really frees up an actor to perform exactly as he/she thinks the character would. And how do they capture all that movement without marks? I'm not sure exactly how many cameras they use on a given location, but I know they have multiple cameras catching the action simultaneously from all directions so the performances match, and they catch just about everything going on. I watched an extra on the DVD where the Assistant Director was giving instructions to the extras about how they had cameras everywhere, so no one could slack off on the acting, thinking that it wouldn't make it on film; they catch everything.

So in addition to really freeing up the environment and making great use of natural resources, this makes the show much less costly to produce; they don't have to spend hours setting up the lighting, they don't have to do as many takes, so they don't waste as much film. I think that's pretty neat. I have "prepared" a ridiculously long pic spam of all the great shots/lighting/camera angles I've noticed in the show so that you guys might see how technically admirable the filming of this show is. I'm sure there are many other TV shows that have great lighting, angles. etc. ("Battlestar Galactica" and "Veronica Mars" spring to mind), but this is one of the first that has really captured my attention. Just going through screencaps to find examples was an arduous process because there were too many great examples to choose from.


Natural Lighting/Backlighting: Like I said, I don't know how much of this is genuine natural light, but the way the show captures backlighting and shadows on the actors faces is really impressive. Much of it plays like the light in a real environment, especially in a sunny location.

Aimee Teegarden has the most fabulous hair for lighting. There were too many to choose from for her.

I love it when the sun goes directly into the lens, distorting the image; it's how our eyes often work.

So gorgeous. Captures the light reflecting on his face from the dash as well as the cloudy sunset in the background.

His face would be in total shadow if not for the light reflecting on either his desk or the floor.

This is exactly what school hallways looked like first thing in the morning (especially my junior high). Those fluorescent lights on the ceiling would get more use in reality that they do on the show, but I love the reflected light from the doorways.

So many of the conversations on the show are filmed in closeup like this, and often with similar lighting. One person's face gets full light in their face (which then gets fabulously shadowed when the other person's head dips into their light) and the other is nicely backlit.

This light is actually coming from a porchlight.

This is actually a slightly metaphorical shot; the charac ter is coming from lightness into the black and his character is currently filled with guilt, which the darkness of his silhouette pretty aptly represents. But I mostly like it cause it's pretty. :)

Cars/Reflections/Windows: There's probably nothing really new or innovative about the way they're shooting through car windows or glass reflections, but I really dig the car shots on this show. I love that the windows are almost always reflecting the setting, or cover ed with dew or mud. I like that these cars aren't always clean. And I like the composition of shots within the cars as well; they really represent the space. And as I said, I have a thing for the Mirrors/Windows/Reflections so I just grouped all that together.

With the darkness and the condensation on the window, it's hard to make out the actor's expression, but that's what I love about this; the show trusts it's crew and actors to get meanings across without having to spell them out in a brightly lit shot.

I love the blurriness in the corners of the frame.

You can see the whitish reflections of everyone inside against that great blue wall, but that doesn't take any of the focus away from the actress' expression.

See how dirty the car looks?

This is just a fantastically cool angle (and use of a mirror).

Magic Hour: The time between dawn and sunrise, or between sunset and dusk. It's the time photographers are always scrambling to get before the light "disappears." I have a thing for clouds and sunsets and that bright sunrise light (my phone is full of pics I took of the sky while driving!). Not only does the show capture many sunrises and sunsets, but I films in that post-sunset light, where everything in tinged in blue. It's beautiful. I know lots of show like this light, but FNL uses it more often than any other I've ever seen. They take full advantage of Texas' flat landscapes and big open sky and I ki nd of love them for that.




The Elements: So I'm totally stretching with this category, but I love that while watching the show, I feel like I'm in a real place. The light changes. The wind is sometimes strong. It's damp, or hot. It rains and leaves puddles. The cameraman and director of photography can't take credit for the weather, but I can thank them for filming it so well. And for doing a kickass job with the manufactured rain.




Art Direction/Sets: Even if the crew uses real homes to film in, they still do their own set dressing. This show takes place in a relatively small town and most of the characters are low-middle class. So instead of fancy mansions like on "The O.C." or even the tastefully decorated homes on "Gilmore Girls," these homes look like regular middle America and that just cements the reality all the more.

The wood paneling. The haphazard knick knacks. Ugly printed furniture. And you can't really see it, but that wall going off the screen on the right is wallpapered in a green/white plaid print.

There's an old swingset in the yard. The hose is spread around the lawn. The house really needs a paintjob. As Matt is one of the poorer characters on the show, and is pretty much the man of his house, it makes sense that the house would be in need of repairs and that the yard needs some sprucing up.

This is a perfectly middleclass kitchen. Especially the cabinets - from an older home that hasn't been remodeled. And of course, the lighting is once again perfect.

The Riggins have a bachelor pad. The walls are pretty bare except for a dartboard and a swimsuit model cardboard cutout. The couches are built for comfort and the tables are usually strewn with empty beer bottles and automobile magazines.

The Taylors live in one of the brighter homes on the show. The white walls reflect the light soooo well. I love that the bookshelf isn't really filled and that all the books are falling over. Their house is rather genarically decorated, like people who don't have the time for a huge decorating scheme.

The Riggins TV (Continuity!): In season 1, the Riggins brothers get into a rather knockdown, dragout fight and they knock over their TV in the process. A couple episodes later, we get a look at that TV (the 1st picture) and see they've had to duct tape the top and side to keep it working. Flash forward two years and in season 3 we get another look at that TV which, God bless the continuity, is still broken and still duct taped. I love it!







Camera Placement: You've probably already gotten a good idea of the angles the show likes to shoot from the pictures above. But just to drive it home, I love the extreme closeups shot during conversations. The camera usually goes over the shoulder of one person and the face of the other of often obscured. It feels intimate. They often shoot through obstacles like fences (or windows) which makes the show feel like it's occuring in an authentic place, and also like we might be spying on the moment. Altogether, the style gives the show a very close, real feeling, like it's taking place right now. Once in a while there's a musical montage, but the show feels like it's unfolding in real time, without a lot of fancy showboating.

Hope you enjoyed some of that! Again, the screencaps were taken from Home of the Nutty's FNL Screencap page.