The 'magic hour' is how those people
'in the industry' refer to that little window of time we regular people know as 'dusk.' It usually occurs somewhere in the realm of 5:30 to 7:30 pm and is characterized by beautiful warm light and lovely long shadows as the sun slowly descends. Shooting during the magic hour is often desireable because the beautiful and often
appropriate ambience created by dusk lighting is not easily reproduced as naturally in a studio setting.
Hence, the
sterotypical director's cry of 'this is the magic hour, people! Come on, we're losing light here!' is often heard, and with understandable urgency.