One motivated, named source

One light the audience could locate, named with its position, direction, quality and colour temperature, and held in every shot of the scene.

One motivated, named source [proven], the key light (or key): its position, direction, quality and colour temperature in kelvin (K); little fill; shadows that keep their detail. "One soft key from the kitchen window, frame left, 5600 K; the far wall falls off to dark."

Set the white balance in Kelvin and keep it for the whole scene [proven]. Start from one of four values, by mood: 3200 K, 4000 K, 5600 K or 8500 K. Any motivated value is allowed when you name the light's source: tungsten practicals at 2700 K, for example. Use the same light words in every shot of the scene, so the light doesn't change between cuts.

Name the exposure priority (what the exposure protects: the face, the window view, the label), and say which side of the key the camera sits on.

The camera on the key's shadow side. Option: use it when the treatment's light asks for it [best available, not yet validated]. It is never the default.

The LIGHTING block (block 12 of the prompt; see Video with Seedance → The prompt grammar) holds all of this. Worked LIGHTING blocks are in every recipe, starting with Video with Seedance → 1. Product hero.

Bradford Young, on Arrival: if a lamp is in the frame, "it's the only light in the room."

Sources

• Bradford Young (American Cinematographer, Arrival); Emmanuel Lubezki on The Revenant (British Cinematographer); Higgsfield's Seedance 2.5 prompt builder (the camera on the shadow side).