Directors of live-action film use camera and lighting techniques to enhance the visual impact of a scene. Wide, medium, and close up views of the subject, depth of field, high or low key lighting all communicate something about the subject and the scene to the viewer.

Lighting and camera techniques are one of the most crucial aspects to consider when working with artificial characters and objects. The more realistic the lighting and shading appear, the more convincing the scene will appear to the viewer.

A prerequisite to creating effective 3D rendered animation is to study the lighting and camera effects used in live-action film. Your goal is to create the desired scene ambience while keeping the lights and camera view as unobtrusive as possible.

In Maya, it is possible to simulate both realistic and unrealistic lighting and shadow effects for your final images and animations. In this lesson, you learn basic techniques for working with lights, shadows, and cameras. In this lesson, you learn how to:

• Create and position various types of lights in the scene.
• Edit the attributes of lights and experiment with their effect in the scene.
• Cast shadows on your surfaces using the lights and objects in the scene.
• Create and animate an additional camera in the scene.