CHAPTER Manipulating light: Tools, techniques, and the behavior of light 6 I can't stand a naked light bulb any more than I can a rude remark or vulgar action. --Tennessee Williams, A Streetcar Named Desire In our work in motion picture and television, we can identify five properties of light that we manip- ulate to create compelling images. They are: color, brightness, shape (or pattern), quality of light (hard or soft), and movement. The techniques used to manipulate and control these five properties represent the central knowledge required of a lighting technician working on set. Mastery of the prin- ciples that govern the properties of light is the very core of the expertise a director of photography and gaffer bring to a project. Our understanding of these principles deepens with experience, but it begins with the essentials discussed in this chapter.