How to achieve a "cinematic look"

Today, I looked at an article on No Film School that was about achieving a cinematic look. Because I was a camera operator in my class feature film production, The Hidden, I look up camera articles and this one interested me the most.

I am still in high school, which means that I do no have Hollywood equipment to use for an "Hollywood style" movie. This article taught me ways to still make a shot cinematically pleasing without the fancy cameras and toys.

Here is how to make a shot look cinematic:

Use key lighting to your advantage: using key lighting will draw your views to the most important part of the frame, usually the actor's face. This could also be achieved with an edge light.

High contrast: creating high contrast with low-key lighting and hard shadows creates a feel of "drama" and "action".

Make sure to "shoot into the shadows": many filmmakers shoot on the side of a characters shadow rather than the side of light to add a dramatic feel and create contrast between the main focus and the background.

Use lighting to create depth: without lighting, the camera can only shoot in a 2-D feel. If you add lighting on multiple planes and field (foreground, mid ground, and background) it will add the depth of field that is needed for a cinematic shot. 

Color contrast: color psychology makes a film more professional than others. Use colors to your advantage to draw the viewers eyes to the main part of the frame. This can also help with characters development of moods or the storyline mood without saying the words "sad", "happy", or "confused" because the colors in the frame can do that

Texture lighting: instead of just using lights that are out of the frame and part of equipment, include lightbulbs, ceiling lights, or even Christmas lights in the shot to create a sort of texture within the film

Texture shadows: in film classes, it is framed upon to have a shadow in a shot. But, if you using them strategically, then they can add another layer onto the shot. This includes branches or blinds. As long as it does not distract a viewer or look out of place, use those natural shadows to your advantage.

This article intrigued me the most because while I was on set, my DP and I told our gaffer exactly where we needed the lights. We mostly used an edge light but I wish we could've added some strategic shadows of low-key lighting techniques to our shots. But, the purpose of this student film was to learn and improve on our skills and I know for sure that I have learned a lot from this film.