Lighting

LIGHTING

Lighting can help create, enhance and establish a tone and feeling:

ARTIFICAL & THREE - POINT LIGHING:

ARTIFICIAL - the use the of set lighting, may involve gels and filters
KEY LIGHT - provides the principal source of light, can mimic sunlight and is used to illuminate the subject of the shot. Will project harsh shadows.
FILL LIGHT - used to balance out shows created by key light(s), often diffused to illuminate the set.
BACKLIGHT - positioned behind actors to separate them from the set and/or background. Can create a halo around subject to give a certain effect

DIRECTIONAL

BACKLIGHTING - the positioning of lights behind the subject, reduces them to silhouettes. Can connote different meanings depending on scene context, colours, camera angles etc.
UNDERLIGHTING - key lights beneath the subject and can distort an actors profile. Can create a sinister feel but can be quite cartoony as it is often associated with children telling scary stories around a campfire
OVERHEAD LIGHTING - positioning the light above the subject . Depending on distance from actor, it can place their eyes in shadow (harsher lighting) creating a sinister tone (see The Godfather) or if the light is further way can make a character look quite angelic or heroic.
SIDE LIGHTING - positioning lights to one side or the other WITHOUT lights that fill up shadows can say that a character is conflicted, in distress or hopeless.

Three Point Lighting System

Often used in a scene to represent everyday life.
A scene with lots of dialogue and interactions will probably feature a series of close ups and possibly extreme close ups.
If ambient lighting is inadequate, the Director can manipulate the lighting to have greater control over how the scene looks.
Using this system will make the facial expressions or emotions of characters clearer.
Emphasising these and having the characters well lit will enable the audience to focus on the drama and relate to the characters reactions.

High key lighting is generally quite homogeneous and free from dark shadows.
It is achieved by using more or wider fill lights.
The lighting could be described as more mundane or normal.
It encompasses an even lighting pattern and avoiding dark areas in the frame.
Everything looks relatively bright with little to no shadow at all.
Common convention of the Romantic Comedy genre.
A director might use the three point lighting system to generate high key lighting when there was poor ambient light.
Usually used to suggest an upbeat, lighter mood. Generate feeling towards a location or situation.
Used to make the scene look more ‘real’ to our eyes.
Extreme high key, overexposed lighting could be used in fantasy or science fiction genres to make something look fantastical or mythological.

Low key lighting is normally used to create shadowy areas, while accentuating the contours of the subject.
It will be achieved by using only the key light and the back light, or perhaps even only one of the two.
There will be no filler light.
It creates strong contrast between light and dark areas of the shot
This level of lighting is commonly a convention of the film noir or horror/thriller genres.
The effects created by this level of lighting are often used to unnerve the audience.
It tends to heighten the sense of alienation felt by the viewer, as the effect can often be unnatural or mysterious.
Shadows by definition have connotations of suspicion, and can generate an ominous, eerie feeling.

Consider how the lighting of a text might generate a feeling of temperature.
Different temperatures have different connotations. Reds, yellows and browns could be described as warm. Blues are cold and spooky etc. Greys are washed out and depressing.
Filmmakers use filters on their camera lenses for a variety of reasons.
They may want to take out some of the reds and yellows to give a more naturalistic ‘washed out’ alien or creepy effect.
Or they might heighten the reds and intensify the colours to create a feeling of warmth or homeliness.
This in turn could influence the tone, style and mood of the scene.

LIGHTING AND COLOUR

The lighting and colour of a scene helps to create mood and atmosphere
Light can often be used to guide the audience's attention by lighting a particular object or character within a scene
Shadows can be used to build up suspense by allowing characters in the scene to lurk in them
Colours have many connotations that can be used to support the idea of a particular mood within a scene - dark colours could connote a scary or spooky atmosphere, where as brighter, warmer colours could suggest comfort and ease

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