If you’re one of the millions of Americans tuning in to watch the new Stranger Things episodes on Netflix here over the Thanksgiving holiday weekend, you might be cringing a bit if you have even a little bit of background in filmmaking and cinematography.These Netflix shows, with examples like Stranger Things perhaps being the most egregious, all have a certain look to them. Sometimes it can be hard to describe, or even put your finger on, why these shows look the way that they do. Yet, something certainly feels off.Well, the explanation for what is going on is nicely presented in a new video essay that explores this trend of “Netflix Lighting” and what it could mean for the future of streaming cinematography.What is Netflix Lighting?So, as you can see in the video essay above by YouTuber Robert Tolppi, this “Netflix Lighting" isn’t a sudden change, but rather a slow shift in how productions have started to approach cinematography in today’s digital age. High-end digital cameras have brought us cleaner sensors, broader dynamic range, and the ability to expose deep into shadows without losing detail. However, studio-scale streaming production has ramped up at a pace that demands consistency across dozens of shows and hundreds of shooting days. This is where lighting styles built around eliminating risk, rather than artistic detail, come in.Shadow detail is lifted, contrast is softened, and exposure becomes uniform across the frame. It’s the kind of lighting that ensures everything is visible and deliverable, but very little...
Published By: NoFilmSchool - Yesterday