We’ve talked before about how we light a scene – and make sure that there’s enough light on our characters. But, episode 5 is quite different. Everything apart from the first scene is set in the dark. So, how do we light that?!

Let’s break down the lighting used in the second scene, when Otto is hiding in the cupboard. There’s no window in the cupboard and the light isn’t on, so the only light is coming from the corridor via the glazed fanlight above the door, and sneaking through around the edges of the door. We need to be able to see what’s going on – but we also need to see that it’s dark.

First up, we put lights into the corridor (1). Then some smaller points of light around Otto (2). Finally, two lights deeper in the cupboard to create some highlights (3).

And, one finishing touch. Beryl Potts’s henchpeople are running past outside, so you’d expect the light at the edges of the door to be blocked as they pass. We added and animated blocks that are people-sized (if not entirely people shaped – they’re the strange pink things) so that the light round the door changes as the henchpeople run by.

Hey presto – you can see what’s going on in the dark! (Just.)