Looking at the Media Study Design Key Knowledge we need to understand the "the nature and function of and relationship between production elements in fictional media narrative, including: lighting".
Lighting within a film the responsibility of the cinematographer also known as the Director of Photography (DOP). Lighting is used to create mood and atmosphere. There is no such thing as natural lighting. Do you think that Neighbours is only filmed when it is a sunny lovely day on Ramsey Street? NO, there is a whole crew that makes Neighbours look like it's always a lovely day.
Here are the common terms of lighting that you will need to refer to:
WARM: Lighting that has warm yellow/orange tones.
COOL: Lighting that has cool green/blue tones.
HIGH KEY: When a scene is well lit and casts minimal shadows (if it was bright lighting we wouldn't see anything - sunglasses needed).
LOW: When lighting is low and casts lots of shadows (if it was dark lighting we wouldn't see anything).
NATURALISTIC: This is the term to use when the lighting looks natural.
HARD: Lighting that creates harsh shadows
SOFT: Lighting that is diffused, this can be achieved with soft boxes.
By using the correct terms you can show your understanding of this element.
American Beauty (Mendes, 1999)
What kind of lighting has the director used in this scene?
Why do you think it was used (for what purpose)?
How does it change throughout the scene?
The Hunger Games, (Ross, 2012)
What could lighting say about societal class in this scene?
If you are interested in cinematography the following list is of cinematographers who have one Academy Awards for Best Cinematography: