Film & TV Language: Lighting

Lighting blog tasks

You'll need to use the Film Language Powerpoint to work through the Lighting tasks. 

Create a blogpost called 'Lighting blog tasks' and complete the following:

1) Still image analysis

Look at the still images on slides 33-37 of the Film Language Powerpoint linked above. Copy the images into your blog and answer the following questions for each image:
  1. Identify examples of high and low-key lighting.
  2. Say which depict top, back or under lighting.
  3. What effects are created by the lighting in each image?     
Picture 1-
                                                             E:\My docs\My Pictures\Film Stills\Annex%20-%20Dietrich,%20Marlene%20(Shanghai%20Express)_03.jpg
  1. Low-key lighting.
  2. Top lighting.
  3. The lighting brings attention to the subjects face, top lighting tend to be more glamorous and could tell the audience her profession, possibly an actor or model. The lighting is also an enigma code as it tells the audience no information about her, the setting or her clothing, it cloaks the subject in mystery and intrigue.
Picture 2-
                                                              E:\My docs\My Pictures\Film Stills\macbeth_rgb.jpg
  1. Low-key lighting.
  2. Top lighting.
  3. The lighting brings attention to the subjects stern facial expression, the top lighting brings attention to their brows, frown and accentuates his cheekbones which connote rage or villainy. The shadows on his eyes add to that interpretation as it adds to the anger or antagonistic look of the subject.
Picture 3-
                                                                 E:\My docs\My Pictures\Film Stills\Sin_City_005.jpg_cmyk.jpg
  1. Low-key.
  2. Back and top lighting.
  3. The lighting brings attention to the subjects facial expression, the use of low-key lighting adds to the stark and attention grabbing nature of the still. The combination of the costume, stark lighting and prop leads the audience to believe the film is of the film noir genre and that the subject may be a protagonist.
Picture 4-
                                                                     E:\My docs\My Pictures\Film Stills\Psycho_1.jpg
  1. High-key lighting.
  2. Top and side lighting.
  3. The lighting doesn't necessarily draw attention to a specific part of the subject or still but there are apparent shadows due to side lighting. High-key lighting makes the subject look more fragile and accentuates her scared, frightened expression as she may be being chased as she's pressed up the wall in terror.
Picture 5-
                                                                E:\My docs\My Pictures\Film Stills\18631_Bladerunner-4.jpg
  1. High-key lighting.
  2. Ambient top lighting.
  3. The lighting brings attention to the two subjects face and their calm intimate expressions. The use of warm, ambient, high-key lighting informs the audience of a safe relationship and setting.
Picture 6-
                                                                 E:\My docs\My Pictures\Film Stills\clockwork1.jpg
  1. Low-key lighting.
  2. Back lighting.
  3. The lighting brings attention to the subjects as they're silhouetted. The use of dramatic low-key lighting and bright backlighting draws attention to those standing and the one person on the floor, possibly beat up due to the handling of weapons, characters posture and scenic location.
Picture 7-
                                                                   E:\My docs\My Pictures\Film Stills\chienandolou1_cmyk.jpg
  1. Low-key lighting.
  2. Top and side lighting.
  3. The lighting brings attention to the subjects face and her worried or tentative expression. The use of low-key lighting that separates the foreground from the background, her posture and the unflattering lighting add to the uncertainty and fear in the still.
Picture 8-
                                                                   E:\My docs\My Pictures\Film Stills\Joanofarc1.jpg
  1. High-key lighting.
  2. Top lighting.
  3. The lighting doesn't necessarily bring attention to any part of the still or subject as the high-key doesn't create distinction between her and the background. The subject seeming to conform is supported by the fact that she is praying, something that doesn't require someone to stand out.
Picture 9-
                                                                    E:\My docs\My Pictures\Film Stills\H_003_rgb.jpg
  1. Low-key lighting.
  2. Back and side lighting.
  3. The lighting brings attention to the subjects face and the entrance of the house. This increases fear due to the unusual mask and weapon of the character but also highlights how far away the door is from the perspective of the victim. The cold low-key lighting makes the scene feel more eerie and threatening as the character is partially silhouetted.
Picture 10-
                                                                 E:\My docs\My Pictures\Film Stills\double.jpg
  1. High-key lighting.
  2. Side lighting.
  3. The lighting brings attention to the protagonist seemingly uninterested facial expression. The use of the high-key lighting softens the domestic scene, but not much attention is visually put on the love interest, including the expression of the protagonist that is highlighted and accentuated by side lighting, could be informing the audience on how the relationship is fickle and superficial.

2) Film noir research 

Research film noir - focusing on the genre’s distinctive lighting style. Make notes on the genre and particularly the use of lighting - bullet points are fine. 

-The Art of Shadows: 


  • The term 'film noir' or black film was coined by french critics in the 1940's that gained popularity  but it doesn't have a clear definitive definition but it does have many stereotypes such as: dark rainy alleys, men in trench coats and fedoras, femme fatale's.
  • It can be most accurately described as film that has a certain feeling evoked through the visual compositing using low-key lighting and dark narratives marked by moods of pessimism and fatality.
  • Many producers were influenced by this genres movement and the imprint it's left on our current movie atmosphere as it opened doors of intriguing visual storytelling. 
  • The origins of the genre are drawn from the 1930's 'Great Depression' while in the 20's there was economic, technological and advancements in film and the process of filming gained synchronised sound and better lighting.
  • By the end of the 30's, the movie industry was booming and multi-million dollar companies ran it, such as '20th Century Fox', 'Warner Bros.', 'Paramount' and 'Metro Goldwyn Mayer', business grew exponentially and cinemas became a popular past-time to escape the American struggle at the time.
  • Demand grew and more motion pictures were produced and a tactic was used to get cinemas to buy A-list movies with bundles including lesser-known films called 'Block Booking'.
  • This boom in genres and freedom for smaller producers introduced the emergence of the 'film noir' genre in the late 1940's that takes inspiration from German Expressionism from Europeans fleeing from Nazi persecution, that seeps into the genres grim and depressing mood usually centring crime and sex.
  • Due to advancements in filming technology, they could save on the amount of lights used to create low-key lighting and widened the scope of location filming was available.
  • In 1948, block booking was banned by the supreme court(United States vs. Paramount Pictures.inc) , so 'film noir' transferred to another, more accessible medium: Television, but the introduction of colour fazed out the genre and it became a thing of the past.
  • Two reoccurring features are lighting and plot, it usually has dark low-key lighting named 'Chiaroscuro', works to separate background from foreground and adds drama to the scene, they use harsh key lights and silhouettes a lot.
  • Cookies(cucoloris) are flat sheets in front of the lighting with cut out patterns that project detailed shadows and light patched onto the subject and gobos are used to create crisper shadows.
  • Eyesight is soften point light that focus on the space around the subjects eyes to add life to them, glamour or fear, these have been picked up by many producers and the overall film industry since then.
  • The plots of these films were shocking to a 40's American audience, as they tended to be westerns, comedies,musicals or melodramas, the crime thriller genre grew and it reflects the intricacies on the real world in the characters writing and complexity, they become the enigma that the viewer must solve, following themes of greed, fame, jealousy and despair.
  • One definitive conventions are twists at the end of the story, they're famous for intricate twists plot-holes that distorts viewers interpretation of right and wrong.
  • The genre rose in popularity and introduced concepts of sexuality, crime and lewd behaviour that left traces in film today, like film noir inspired motif and devices that they utilise, though the genre has fallen off, Neo-noir has taken its rightful place in the modern era as its successor. 
3) Film noir YouTube clip analysis 

Finally, find a YouTube clip that fits the film noir genre and embed it under your research (the clip can be classic noir from the 1950s or something more recent - neo-noir). How does the clip's lighting fit the film noir genre?  


-The clip follows the general conventions of the film noir genre, but it's lighting is low-key in the first shot with the women walking down the dark alley with dramatic backlighting which highlighted the mystique and foreshadows the incoming danger. Yet later in in the clip as the protagonist and love interest seem to be in a safer, more relaxed and domestic setting, the lighting is high-key and seems to use top lighting, the natural and soft affect it gives further displays a much less threatening situation the characters are in, in sharp contrast to the prior one.

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