Lighting, framing and practical prompts from the making of Frank of Dunhollow. Learn the visual choice. Then make it your own.
Same Frank. Different light.
What should the audience notice, feel or not yet know? Choose your light and viewpoint around that answer.
Eight independent generated lighting studies, not a pixel-matched relight. Pause or step through the hero to compare. These images illustrate the principles. The copyable blocks are adaptable art direction, not exact generation records or guaranteed settings. Keep your character and location references, then test one change at a time.
Eight ways to reveal, conceal and shape a performance.
A dominant side light carves bright planes out of deep shadow. Light selects what matters; darkness withholds the rest.
Use it for
Sculpt form and reveal only what matters. Confrontations, discoveries and moral choices. Frank looks powerful without revealing every detail.
Protect the eyes or hands when the emotion depends on them. Not every surface needs a white edge.
Independent generated reference study.
A light almost 90° to the face illuminates one side while the other falls away. More severe and graphic than a broad three-quarter key.
Use it for
Divide the face and conceal intent. A suspicious shopkeeper, an interrogation or a divided allegiance.
A half-dark face is a visual choice, not an automatic sign that someone is evil.
Independent generated reference study.
A broad directional source wraps the face gently, while low fill keeps the surrounding world dark. Soft edges, strong contrast.
Use it for
Build trust and intimacy. Grief, quiet trust or a moment of shelter.
Do not confuse softer shadows with flat, even lighting.
Independent generated reference study.
An overhead source catches the forehead, shoulders and hands while the brow conceals the eyes.
Use it for
Suggest power while withholding expression. Institutional authority, an ominous bargain or a commanding entrance.
Hidden eyes reduce emotional access. Add a little bounce only if a reaction must read.
Independent generated reference study.
A source behind the figure creates a selective edge. The body stays mostly dark against a readable background.
Use it for
Give pursuit scenes scale and a readable silhouette. Rooftop pursuit, an operative reveal or a huge figure in a doorway.
A full glowing outline can look artificial. Keep only source-facing edges bright.
Independent generated reference study.
Light from below reverses familiar facial shadows. It can be grotesque, theatrical or unsettling.
Use it for
Create unnatural unease. A laboratory tank, a disturbing discovery or a deliberately heightened villain beat.
Use sparingly. Without a believable source it can become a campfire-horror cliché.
Independent generated reference study.
Hard light passing through a barrier produces repeated bands of light and shadow. The pattern belongs to the environment.
Use it for
Fragment the figure and suggest a trap. Confinement, a watched shop window or noir suspicion.
The shadow pattern should stay attached to the source and obstruction, not to the face.
Independent generated reference study.
A restrained red source accents one side while a white key defines form. Red is a story cue, not a wash over everything.
Use it for
Signal danger and establish a focal point. An operative visor, a warning sign or the edge of a research facility.
Red loses its emphasis if every object glows. Preserve neutral skin and white highlights.
Independent generated reference study.
Eight framing choices. Camera direction is a starting point to test, not a demonstrated movement.
A grounded, readable view that invites us to meet the character rather than judge them.
Use it for
Connect with the character and read the performance. Shopkeeper conversation, trust, an important reaction.
Hold a steady eye-level medium frame; permit only a subtle deliberate push-in if the beat needs emphasis.
Independent generated reference study.
Looking up makes the figure dominate the frame and gives shoulders and silhouette extra weight.
Use it for
Emphasise mass and authority. Frank’s entrance, a challenge, stage presence.
Track slowly at a low camera height, maintaining the upward view and the subject’s powerful silhouette.
Independent generated reference study.
Looking down can expose a character to the surrounding space and make them feel vulnerable or observed.
Use it for
Expose vulnerability and diminish the figure. A cornered figure, isolation or surveillance.
Maintain a high viewpoint with a slow, controlled drift; preserve the subject’s placement within the surrounding space.
Independent generated reference study.
Rolling the camera tilts the horizon. It changes our balance without changing the physical set.
Use it for
Destabilise the viewer and fracture composure. A threat becoming strange, disorientation or a violent turning point.
Maintain the same Dutch roll throughout the shot; no accidental levelling or wobbling horizon.
Framing demonstration: a 16° roll and crop of the eye-level still, not a new generated viewpoint.
A tighter frame gives a small expression or shift in attention dramatic weight. Space outside the frame becomes unknown.
Use it for
Reveal feeling while withholding surrounding space. A promise, suspicion or a restrained reaction.
Keep a steady close-up with minimal camera movement, letting the performance carry the beat.
Framing demonstration: a tighter crop of the eye-level still, not a different lens.
A small figure within architecture reveals geography and the relationship between person and world.
Use it for
Establish the world and emphasise loneliness. An establishing shot before a chase or a lonely Dunhollow street.
Use a restrained wide tracking move while preserving readable geography and the subject’s place in the environment.
Independent generated reference study.
A near shoulder frames the other character. It connects two people while controlling which face we can read.
Use it for
Show relationships and build tension. Frank and the shopkeeper across a counter, a bargain or a confrontation.
Hold the over-the-shoulder setup and consistent eyeline. Any reverse angle must remain on the same established side of the action axis.
Independent generated reference study.
The lens sits close to the ground, exaggerating near objects and making feet, steps and impacts dominant.
Use it for
Emphasise impact and momentum. A heavy landing, boots passing the lens or a threatening approach.
Track close to the ground along the established direction of travel, preserving contact points and coherent foreground parallax.
Independent generated reference study.
Slow down. Then hit them
The shot works. The pace doesn’t. SpeedRamp lets you accelerate a moment, then settle back into the shot. Choose a range, set its duration and pick a speed curve.
Try it with your own MP4 or the included Frank demo. Your video stays on your computer.
Try SpeedRamp free ↗A flight through Dunhollow, before and after speed ramping. Play each clip to compare the pacing. Both examples are silent.
A stitched-together bruiser. A city that doesn’t make things easy. Meet Frank in Episode One.
New episodes. New music. New drops.