Rendering technique simulating realistic indirect lighting and light bounces in 3D scenes.
Definition
Global Illumination (GI) calculates how light reflects off surfaces and indirectly illuminates other objects – in contrast to Direct Lighting, which only considers direct light sources.
Practical Application
Essential for photorealistic CGI: color bleeding between objects, soft shadows in corners, natural ambient lighting. All modern VFX productions utilize GI.
Technical Details
Ray Tracing: Tracing rays from the camera through the scene. Path Tracing: Statistical sampling of light paths. Photon Mapping: Emitting light particles from sources. Irradiance Caching significantly speeds up GI.
More in the lexikon
Related terms
Camera · Technique
Global Shutter
Global Shutter is an exposure technique in which all pixels of a sensor are exposed and…
Camera · Technique
CCD
Camera · Technique
Primary Correction
Camera · Terms
GL Optics
Camera · Verleih
Geo Film
German equipment rental company specializing in cinema cameras, lighting, and grip…
Camera · Terms
Glimmerglass 1/8