Mentorship That Matters
Guidance from working artists who care about your growth
Introduction to Lighting: Lighting for Visual Storytelling
January 23rd and 24th
11:00AM to 6:00PM PST
Introduction to Lighting is a hands-on workshop that teaches emerging filmmakers how to see, shape, and control light to support story and emotion. Participants learn the fundamentals of cinematic lighting — from understanding quality, direction, and color to building simple, effective setups that work for indie productions and small crews.
Working directly with industry‑standard lights, modifiers, and grip tools, students practice lighting faces, interiors, and natural environments. Through guided exercises, they learn how to create mood, manage contrast, work with available light, and solve real‑world challenges on set. The focus is practical: how to make intentional, beautiful images with limited gear and real constraints.
Rooted in Cascadia Media Lab’s resourceful, community‑driven ethos, this workshop emphasizes experimentation, collaboration, and learning by doing.
What Participants Will Learn
Core principles of cinematic lighting and visual mood
How light behaves: quality, direction, color, and contrast
Working with LEDs, practicals, reflectors, and natural light
Lighting faces for clarity, texture, and emotion
Building simple three‑point setups and variations
Managing shadows, spill, and exposure
Using available light in Pacific Northwest environments
Collaborating with directors and camera teams to support the scene
Who This Workshop Is For
Emerging filmmakers, cinematographers, directors, and anyone ready to move beyond “point a light at it” and start shaping intentional, story‑driven images.
What You’ll Leave With
Hands‑on experience lighting scenes and subjects
A practical understanding of how to control and shape light
Techniques for creating cinematic looks on indie budgets
Confidence in building lighting setups for your next shoot
Stories Start Here
A creative hub for the next generation of Northwest filmmakers
Cascadia Media Lab uses a sliding‑scale registration model to keep high‑quality film education accessible to emerging creators across the Pacific Northwest. Participants choose the fee that best matches their financial situation, ensuring that cost is never a barrier to learning or participating in our programs.
$250 - Full Price. Supporting us at this level allows us to continue to offer our amazing programs and allows us to provide scholarships to other community members who need it.
$200 - Your support is essential to our success. Supporting us at this level allows us to compensate our instructors at industry levels.
$100 - Your support keeps us going. Your support helps us maintain our office space and provide industry level equipment for all of our programs and participants.
$50 - Your support allows us to maintain our programming. Supporting us in this way allows us to continue to offer amazing programs!
$25 - We are grateful for your participation. We are excited to have you participate in the program!
Cascadia Media Lab offers a limited amount of scholarship seats for all programs. If you are interested in applying for scholarship, please reach out to derek.edamura@gmail.com.
Cascadia Media Labs also offers various payment plans for participants that are in need of financial assistance.
Proudly Supported by 4Culture Grant Programs