Break it to Fix it: The Brokeh Lighting System

Brokeh (Broh-kuh)
noun.

A lighting system named from the fusion of two ideas:

• Bokeh – the photographic term for soft, out-of-focus backgrounds
• Broken Light – from Newton’s discovery that white light can be split into a spectrum of color

What Is Brokeh?

Developed by John Tindall, the Brokeh Lighting System is a groundbreaking approach to natural-looking cinematic lighting. It uses special color-infused patterns printed on various materials—like transparencies and "magic cloth"—to transform standard white light into something far more organic and lifelike.

Each Brokeh pattern breaks a white light source into its color components. These colors then reflect off surfaces from multiple angles—just as light behaves in the real world. The result: a striking, natural aesthetic that mimics sunlight's subtle color variation.

Why Brokeh?

On Skin:

• Adds depth and contour to all skin tones
• Creates smoother, more luminous complexions
• Minimizes visible blemishes and scarring
• Softens and slims facial features
• Neutralizes color shifts on darker skin

On Set:

• Eliminates the sterile look of flat fill light
• Adds rich, nuanced ambient tones
• Shifts naturally with talent movement
• Simulates real-world lighting on stage
• Makes actors feel more comfortable on camera

“The idea is that you're creating a pattern—in front of a white light—that looks like a party gel gone crazy... yet still ends up delivering white light in the end. It gives the light more of a drop-off. It's almost as if the same light, adding up to the same color, has a different quality to it.”
– Julio Macat, ASC
(American Cinematographer, Sept. 2019 – on using Brokeh filters in After the Wedding)

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