Lighting the scene, the challenge
Session led by Peter Leverick
July 21 @ 7:30 pm – 10:15 pm
This will be a practical, hands-on evening with a little friendly competition thrown in.
Members will work in small teams, with one director, one director of photography and one lighting gaffer. Each team will be given a person in front of the cameras, two cameras and the lights available on the night. They will then pull a character or situation from a hat.
They might discover they are lighting a murderer, a witch, a nervous witness, a corrupt politician, a grieving relative or something completely unexpected. They will not know what they are dealing with until the challenge is revealed.
Just 15 Minutes to decide
Each team will have just 10 to 15 minutes to decide how to position the cameras, light the character and create the right mood. They will also need to explain what they were trying to achieve and why they made those choices.
Then Peter gets involved.
He will walk through each setup, point out what works, identify what could be stronger and explain how he might approach it differently. There will probably be a few surprises, a few disagreements and perhaps the occasional setup that looks far better, or far stranger, than anyone expected.
After three or four teams have tackled the first round, the characters and situations will change and everyone will have another go if there’s time. However, this time armed with Peter’s advice and whatever they have picked up from watching the other teams.
It should be a fun, lively evening, but there is a serious purpose behind it. Members will learn how camera position, light direction, contrast, background and facial shape can completely change the meaning of a shot. More importantly, they will practise making creative decisions quickly, working as a crew and using lighting to tell the audience who a character is before that character has even spoken.
What To Expect
- A character pulled from a hat, possibly charming, sinister, supernatural or deeply suspicious.
- Ten minutes of confident decision-making, followed by several minutes of quietly questioning every decision.
- Directors directing, DOPs composing and gaffers trying to stop everyone moving the lights.
- Two cameras, several lights and more than one opinion about where the key light should go.
- Peter explaining why something works, why something does not and why the answer is rarely just “make it brighter”.
- A few inspired setups, a few happy accidents and possibly one accidental horror film.
- Practical lighting lessons you can take straight into your next production.
- No pressure, apart from the clock, the cameras, the rest of the club watching and Peter standing nearby.
You do not need to bring anything special for this session, just your curiosity and a willingness to get involved.
Non-members welcome for the evening (first two nights free as our guests) Here is how to find us
Date: Tuesday 21st July 2026
Time: 7:30 pm – 10:15 pm