28 September 2011

Preliminary Task - Research - Lighting

Film noir - low key lighting - expressive lighting :


Film Noir is always a black and white film. Quite popular technique to be used in thriller films including investigations and detectives. It is a great way to create mystery as you only shine the light on things you want the audience to see and keep the rest in the dark. To create that kind of light, intense focused hard light is needed. It should be focused only on the parts of the character or room that the audience is supposed to see to create that mysterious and suspicious feel. When creating a film in the Film Noir style, the things that should be avoided are even lighting, greys and fill light mostly focused hard light and low key lighting should be used only. Also, very useful shots in film noirs are low angle shots or high angle shots. Also the use of shadows is very useful as they create a lot of suspense and mystery. Another very popular technique is to insert silhouettes in the film. Silhouettes are achieved by putting the light behind the object – potential character –so that their body is outlined but no details revealed –neither their face or what they are wearing etc. Another popular technique for film noir is the use of smoke –usually cigarette smoke. It helps to bring that aura of mystery into the scene. Close-ups of faces to show emotions, using shadows and light.

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