Close Watching

Waterloo Bridge

(A preliminary scene in which Roy walks along Waterloo Bridge, reminiscing about his relationship with Myra – just before flashback)

The lighting elements of this scene are distinct directorial decisions, meaning information regarding the film and Roy's character is being conveyed to the audience through lighting. The black and white lighting in this scene implies a sad, tragic mood. The gloomy tone of the scene is furthered by it’s association with film noir, which is classic for sharp shadows and black and white images. Conversely, the bright, angelic lighting, depicts Roy’s character in a positive manner; he is clearly a “good guy” if not the protagonist of the story. Through lighting contrast the audience is given the impression that this is a sympathetic character placed in a cruel or gloomy setting.

Shot 1 (3:30 - 3:40): In a medium - wide shot of Roy walking along Waterloo Bridge, he is lit very brightly with a type of white, angelic light, while his surroundings are dark and grey. His entire figure is lit very evenly and very brightly, creating misty haze along the outline of his body; light glistens from his hat.. He appears to be blatantly in a spotlight, as no shadows cast upon him. This "spotlight effect" is due to extremely low key lighting: The key light is positioned camera right so that it shines directly on the front of Roy's white jacket. Additionally, the fill light coming from above illuminates Roy's hat and back, creating a type of halo around his head and the outline of his body. The clarity of the texture of his jacket, collar, and hat is due to the backlighting that follows his figure throughout the scene. Clouds can be seen in the background, yet the darkness of the sky indicates that the sun is providing very little light, which implies that either the time of day is either dusk or dawn. However, the dark tones lead the viewer to infer that the scene is taking place in the evening.

Shot 2: (3:40 - 4:10, zoom in beginning at 3:50): The camera dissolves to a slightly brighter, wide shot of Roy stopping on the side of the bridge to look out over the water. During the dissolve, the first light seen is from the sky, which becomes gradually brighter as the dissolve ends; the prominence of the sky and shadowing clouds implies that the sun is being used as one of the main light sources: perhaps the backlighting. He steps forward into a sharp shadow from one of the steel beams of the bridge. The key lighting looks as though it has been diffused to create a broader lighting range, yet a distinct circle can still be seen against the dark backdrop, indicating that the key light is placed almost directly behind the camera. As the camera slowly zooms in on Roy, the distinct circle of light closes in on a his figure from the waist up, enhancing the spotlight light approach. The dark shadow under his collar, combined with the dark beams surrounding his face, further the awareness of a distinct frame around Roy’s face. Fill light from above illuminates his hat and shoulders. His face is now emphasized with the same white light used to enhance his jacket in the previous shot; the key light is still directed on his figure, yet a slight amount of diffusion seems to be working to brighten the shot. Additionally, the texture of Roy's hat, hair, jacket, collar, and skin are still apparent, conveying the continual use of backlighting. However, Roy's figure in this shot does not have a distinct hazy outline, meaning lighting is softer/more diffused than in the previous shot.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1JtzxbD_Ha4&feature=PlayList&p=F19E9B2026BA91A4&index=0&playnext=1

Please start at 3:30 and end at 4:10.

The Lives of Others

The scene I have chosen is from Florian Henckel von Donnersmarck's film The Lives of Others. I am going to focus on a few notable shots within this scene.

The first occurs at 21:12, when the film's main character, Wiesler, a member of the Stasi, crosses in front of a large, curtained window. The window is framed in the middle of the shot; the furniture and walls on either side of it are in shadows. Bright white light comes in from the window. This could be purely natural light - late morning or midday. The inside of the apartment is lit well enough so that we can tell what the objects around and in front of the window are, this suggests a low set light. There is no key light, so when Wiesler crosses the window he is silhouetted against it. At this point, we are twenty minutes into the film and his character is setting up wiretaps in the home of a playwright. The lighting indicates his role as a primary character (there are several other men setting up bugs in the apartment), and, initially, as a 'bad' character whose operations are more suited to the dark.

In the shot immediately following this one (at 21:17), we see Wiesler's gloved hand opening and closing two drawers. Their contents come into light as he opens them: West German newspapers and magazines, illegal in Communist East Germany (where the film takes place). The newspapers being pushed back into the dark could be indicative of the restriction of free press. The lighting in these two shots is low key. A key light is probably places in front of the drawer to illuminate the papers as the drawers are opened.

At 21:47, Wiesler climbs a staircase, initially well-lit (though low key), but as W. turns the corner, he is plunged into darkness, suggesting a change of lighting to a broad low key light in front of him. A few shots earlier, the entire Stasi team had entered the building, taking a dark staircase. Wiesler goves higher, into a darker staircase, further indicating his main role and the secretive, sinister activities he will engage in. He picks the lock on a door. At 22:00, he opens it, and bright white natural light from a window - as in the earlier shot - pours in, he is silhouetted against it again. I think low set lighting was probably used, the shot is low key and high contrast. The repetition of silhouetting Wiesler could also be to indicate his conflictedness, his transformation from an ominous character into one that does good.

The lighting in this film is deliberate and part of the story. It works to create a mood of suspicion and portent. I think the director focused light on certain objects to highlight them and let the surrounding areas be dark or in shadows. The colour tone of the film is mainly greens, greys and browns - they represent the cold, industrial and gloomy feel of Soviet East Berlin.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=E4ke3ns0giw - This clip has every shot except for the last two, which it skips, randomly. The colour saturation is also way off in this clip.

Fritz Lang's M

<a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0VMgLJJKiaA">http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0VMgLJJKiaA</a> (3:18-4:32)

In the first scene (4:45 to 6:00 on the DVD) of the noir/expressionist film M by Fritz Lang, the lighting is used to set a mysterious mood and then later, suspense. This is accomplished by setting the hard light one directionally so to create a lot of shadows against the back wall of the set and to make the ground dark with the frame getting lighter as you move up in it. This type of low-key lighting creates the closed style of filmmaking that M is made in, because it makes little use of off-screen space with the sides of the frame often being quite dark and shadowy. Since it is a black and white film, the light does not affect the coloring but what the lighting in M does is make very clear distinctions between the whites and the blacks by making most of the movie very gray. This way, when the shadow of the killer enters the frame for the first time, you can make out his silhouette clearly. This is accomplished by putting the light source and the actor close to the set so that less of the light is defused. It appears as if the key light is about level with the head of the actor because when he enters the scene standing his shadow is perfectly clear but when he bends over it becomes distorted. Having the shadow projected on a white poster also helps with the quality of the image. Lighting in M appears to be very mechanical and the source of the light is more apparent and less natural then a film shot primarily in a city would feel. It never seems as though they are outdoors even though many scenes in the film do take place exterior. Most of the lighting comes behind the camera, which creates most of the shadows and the flat feel on the buildings. One shadow in particular that is clear is that of Elsie when she is walking with her ball; her shadow is projected on the sidewalk in double vision. This probably means that there was a light source coming in not only from behind but also from off-screen right. Noirs are notorious for dark, dreary, and shadowy lighting and M is no exception. Because shadows are so important in this film, the lighting is definitely part of the story as well. The only thing I would do differently in this scene is create more of a contrast between the lighting in the indoor and outdoors scenes. It would make the streets appear more dangerous and sinister. This could be accomplished by having a less intense key light on the set from above and counter balance that with some backlight to separate the actors from the background and a fill light to give the scene more light in general to emulate daylight.

Field of Dreams

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eiaj5QiJZxU (0:58 - 2:12)

Shot 1: A medium shot of a man standing in his dining room. He is lit from the front by a lamp, and the back by a chandelier (which is also lighting the room behind him. As he moves, the camera pans left to follow him. He moves through darkness first, although the light sources remain constant and can be seen lighting the borders of the shot, but not the center (where the man is). He moves into light again, and a light source can be seen coming from his right, lighting his right shoulder briefly. He then moves into complete darkness. For a slight second, you cannot see him at all. He then emerges from the darkness, facing a window. The light has now changed dramatically: it’s blue, meant to represent the natural moon lighting, and lights his face from the front. The shot lasts about 20 seconds in total, and moves from a medium to a close-up gradually through a pan to the left.

Shot 2: A long distance shot of a man standing in the middle of a baseball field at night. There is a bright light shining on the field, lighting from the end of the infield all the way past the outfield into a corn field. The man is in the center. From his long shadow, we can tell that the light is set up to the right of the shot, and is at a low-ish angle. However, the man’s body is completely surrounded in light, indicating a second light source which doesn’t cast a shadow, but does light the other half of his body. The light is also too full to be just one light. This shot was likely taken using a flood light, meant to simulate moonlight. It lasts about 3 seconds, and there is no camera movement.

Shot 3: A medium shot of the man in the house, but shot from outside the house. He is still lit from the front by the “moon light”, and though the house lights are on behind him, they don’t appear to effect the lighting on his body. The light is clearly set up from right (our left). The shot lasts about 8 seconds.

Shot 4: A medium shot of the man on the field, who is now standing in darkness. The “moon” lights him from behind: this is the key light in the shot, as it provides the most light and accentuates the mysterious nature of this man. The slight difference in coloration on the grass in the front of the shot (greener) vs. the back of the shot (bluer) may indicate a fill light on the right side of the shot. However, this color issue may simply be a result of how the key light falls on the grass, or a problem with the resolution (movie was watched in lower resolution than desired). The shot lasts about 6 seconds, and the camera does not move.

Shot 5: A lower angle shot of the man and woman at the window, staring. This shot is from inside the house. It lasts only a few seconds, but again, they are lit by the moon, while what can be seen of the house is lit by the house lights. The blue effect of the moonlight was probably aided by the man and woman wearing green and blue shirts, respectively, and the wallpaper being red. This would allow the filmmaker to use a neutral light, which would light the people in a bluer tint, and the red wallpaper in a redder tint, thereby providing the perceived difference in light source.

Shot 6: A close up of the man on the field, with the key light to the right of the shot. This appears to be the only light used in the shot, as the light on his face is as pure as the darkness behind him. The contrast is crisp, and not muddy. He kneels. The shot lasts about 5 seconds.

Shot 7: This shot is a continuation of shot 6, but the camera has cut back to give us a medium shot of the man kneeling on the field. The key light now appears to be behind and above him, though still on the right side of the shot. There is a very strong backlighting effect here, as there is a defined “outline” around his body, where there is light. He stands, and the camera moves up with him. This shot lasts close to 10 seconds.

Shot 8: As the man from the house exits onto his porch, there are two different lights on his face. On the left of his face (our right), there is the bluish moonlight. On the right, there is still the house light. Behind him, there is a dim porch light, which doesn’t light him but does light the ceiling above him. As he moves, the camera rolls back and to the left, to follow his hands, which are moving towards a light switch. As he moves farther from the doorway, he loses the house light completely, and the moonlight to some extent, but not entirely. He flips the switch. Shot lasts about 10 seconds.

Snatch

The scene that I’ve chosen in Snatch, directed by Guy Ritchie, begins at 1:02:50 and ends at 1:04:21.

The lighting in the scene greatly affects the emotional integrity of the characters and the action as a whole. The film highlights the dirty business of underground London, and the subject of this particular scene is revenge. The scene begins in an arcade, obviously occupied by artificial lights. But, the arcade is very musty and unclear, the fluorescent lights are low and apparently dingy, not top quality. The tone, represented strongly by the ominous and minimal lighting, of this portion of the scene is very dangerous; the main character walks into the arcade to find a group of “gangsters” destroying the machines and accessories of the buildings with baseball bats. A fight ensues and the danger increases. The lighting of the scene is perfect in this sense; vision is slightly blurred because of the low and broad and sprawling lights; individual people or objects are not spotlit and the whole room contains the same thick, unclear light. The scene then fades (but continues) to an outdoor setting of a trailer burning to the ground. This creates a rapid and intense contrast from artificial light to natural light. The tone of the scene remains much of the same thing; the subject matter is still revenge so the emotional content is consistent. But, the lighting is obviously implemented differently. The enormous fire is the source of light, so people are easily and strongly silhouetted in front of the natural light source. This creates a great chiaroscuro in the scene, which looks beautiful while the content is devastating. In this portion of the scene, when the camera focuses on characters watching the trailer burn, a light (probably a very dim and yellowed key light) is used to emulate the fire in the background. The artificial light being used must be very low-key because all light in the scene looks completely natural. As the shot on a character gets closer and closer on his face, shadows increase and enhance the emotional tone as he watches his mother burn inside of her trailer.

Vicky Christina Barcelona

The clip starts at 38 min 5 sec.  The scene duration is 2 min 10 sec. 

1. LS Tilt Down and Pan Right
2. MS
3. MCU (over the shoulder of Juan Antonio)
4. MCU (over the shoulder of Vicky)
5. MCU (over the shoulder of Juan Antonio)
6. MCU (over the shoulder of Vicky)
7. CU (over the shoulder of Juan Antonio)
8. MCU (over the shoulder of Vicky)
9. CU (over the shoulder of Juan Antonio)

  http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=glQHG92Yvoo  

This is a scene in a public park with an interaction between Juan Antonio and Vicky.  I feel like this exchange can be taken two ways. One, it is a dramatic exchange between two characters who are romantically linked. However, you can also look at it as a bit of frivolity. Two people are arguing over such a minute thing as a phone call. Both of these interpretations work with the lighting scheme of the scene and the movie. The whole movie, including this scene, is very brightly and warmly lit.  It evokes the ideas of summer and old memories.

 

In this specific scene, the characters are outside and the sunlight provides a broad warm light. It reflects off of the various sculptures and structures inside the garden.  The light is very clean and bright.  It is slightly yellow but very natural.  The light is slightly saturated.  The source is soft and is coming from in front of the camera, off-screen at a diagonal towards the right of the frame.  The light and shadows that are cast from this source of light suggest that this scene takes place during mid to late afternoon in an area without out a lot of obstruction to the key light.  The light and shadows also define the creases of the character’s clothing, create shadows on the actor’s faces (outlining them), and define the background space.   

The key light is high and suggests that the light is the sun.  During the over the shoulder close-ups of Juan Antonio, the quality and angle of the light remains the same as the long and medium shots.  For the over the shoulder close-ups of Vicky, the tone of the light remains the same, but Vicky’s face seems to be lit a little with a fill light in order to compensate for the key light acting as a sun casting light from behind Vicky’s head, obscuring the front of her face in shadow.    

The colors of the park are vibrant. There are greens, blues, and ceramic tiles of varying colors that reflect the light. If you take the idea of the exchange being dramatic, it acts in direct contrast to the warm light, which would usually indicate a happy scene. However, if you take the idea of frivolity, it matches up to the lighting scheme; the bright, warm light evokes a feeling of care freeness.  The night of lovemaking becomes this frivolous tryst that occurs during a summer vacation. I’d say the lighting in this film plays a part in the story. It adds to the emotional meaning of the character’s actions and helps to evoke the idea that this is a memory, a wild vacation that occurred in the past of the character’s lives. I don’t think I would change the lighting very much. It portrays everything and everyone beautifully.  

I think that the key light may have been the sun acting as a practical light coming from behind at a diagonal towards the actors.  A fill light augments this light, brightening faces to make up for overcast shadows from the sun.  The fill light seems to be coming from below and the left or right depending on which over the shoulder close up.  It looks like the angle of the sun provides a very small amount of back light to the actors but I don’t think any actual light-kit light was used for a back light.  There also don’t appear to be any lights illuminating the set.   

Eternal Sunshine of a Spotless Mind

From 00:35:15 to 00:37:10 of Michel Gondry's Eternal Sunshine of a Spotless Mind, Joel Barish begins to lose the most recent memories of his ex-lover Clementine Kruczynski. The memory is of Joel’s dimly-lit apartment, where Clementine walks into Joel’s living room from the kitchen and lays down on the sofa. The shot is a medium close-up, and moves with Clementine out of the kitchen before moving back and forth between the characters as they speak. The light at the start of the conversation is warm and relatively low-key, apparently only casting light from a lamp next to Joel (this single source means that lighting on both characters’ faces is quite hard and leaves half their facial features in shadow). However as the scene progresses, lights become more low-key as more and more sections of the space disappear completely into darkness. For example, as Clementine gets up to leave, the sequence moves into the heavily blurred and shadowed living room, then into the bathroom, which is a colder and brighter white light. Clementine heads for the door through the fluorescent kitchen, Joel following closely, and walks out the door into the hallway. The hall is apparently lit by a very strong white key light directly outside and to the left, and is so pronounced that the characters appear to be walking into a bright summer day. As Joel leaves to follow Clementine, the shot switches to the corner of the hallway outside the apartment. The camera is static, and only the hall corner directly in front of the lens is lit and in focus. Everything is lit blue, and both ends of the hallway vanish into pitch black. The camera moves from the right, where Joel comes out of the apartment door, and pans to follow Joel as he enters out of the darkness, moves into the light and into focus, then walks down the left hallway, out of focus and into the dark. The light here serves as a distinct part of the story. It is a representation of the limits of memory, where the lit world suddenly vanishes into nothingness, presumably where peripheral vision ended in the original occurrence. Because of this, lighting in each memory scene begins with plenty of light, and eventually ends up largely in shadow. If I re-shot this scene, I would set up a full light kit (key, spot, fill, back, etc.) on a power strip, and unplug them one at a time as the memory faded, until only a flashlight remained, and then black.

Crash

The opening sequence to “Crash” is initially lit with a stunned and ascetic tone.  The blurred headlights—red and incandescent lights diffusing off of the water droplets—illustrates the experience of being dazed in aftermath of a violent collision.  When the camera focuses on the inside of the car, the main character’s face is revealed in the frame, lit by a light blue.  The headlights continue to blur by. After he delivers the opening line, an officer approaches and the lights become a combination of emergency lights: red sirens, yellows flood lamps, blue sirens, the police officer’s flashlight, and a pale blue that seems to be “general” evening light.  I think we are meant to assume that this is the glow of L.A. from a distance (the scene of the accident is situated on a ridge). Later, as the characters emerge from the vehicle, there is a strong key and fill effect that plays with red and blue light on each half of the actors faces.  I would argue that this fragmentation of color and the sporadic light sources help to prime the viewer for a similar fragmentation of storyline.  The reds and yellows contrast with the blue “nighttime” light (and have a jarring effect), and we descend from the unity of the first credit lighting—simply headlights moving along—into the many different “colors” of racism.  Perhaps the different colored lights on the faces of the actors reveals their own internal duplicities and the many “faces” racism take on.  

Alfred Hitchcock's Rear Window

The opening of this clip is at the 1:46:59 mark and ends at 1:48:38. There are 37 shots in this clip. This clip opens with an establishing shot of L.B. Jeffries dark room. There is a low key light from the left hand side of the camera. Shadows appear sloping to the right, which indicates the direction of the low key light. The next shot is a medium shot of Jeffries in a wheel chair. There is another low key light coming from outside of the window and casts a shadow on Jeffries. This shadow is directly in front of him. This identifies the light source as coming from behind him and to his right. Then there is a medium close up of a door with a very soft low key light that allows a partial viewing of the door. As the door opens light appears in the hallway and illuminates the background. This makes the Lars Thurwald more prominent. The actor steps into a close up shot of his faces, which is light by the low stream of light that was previously on the door. This light serves the purpose to accentuate his eyes. The room becomes illuminated when Jeffries uses his flash bulb. This expands the space of the room by showing all of the objects in the room for a very short moment. There is a perspective lighting choice that was done in post-production. The perspective lighting is a bright orange color on the screen and it slowly fades out as the Thurwald’s vision clears. The color of the lighting is white and the scene has red and brown tones. Examples can be seen with the white light coming in from outside. The red and brown tones can be seen from the objects in the room and when faces are distinctively shown. The sources of light are soft, because shadows are not harsh and objects appear rounded out and blend in with the scene. The angle of throw suggests that it is nighttime due to the absence of artificial light in this scene. Natural light appears is suggested in this clip which gives off the impression that it is nighttime because there is not a lot of light present. The overall effect of the minimal lighting in this scene creates a nervous and frightening atmosphere.

Lighting is combined with sound in this scene to create suspense. From the beginning, when the murderous neighbor, Lars Thorwald, is in the hallway of Jeffries’ apartment complex, the sound of slow footsteps is heard. The viewer sees a horizontal strip of light at the bottom of the door. Then the light goes out. Jeffries scoots back until his face is cloaked in darkness. However—curiously—his body is lit by moonlight. The rest of the room is dark…indeed, there are darker spaces in which Jeffries could have hid. Instead, he occupies that space. There is a cut to the door, and as Thorwald steps through it, only a narrow strip of his face is illuminated by the light from the “rear window.” There is an interesting juxtaposition, here: Thorwald, the ominous, violent figure, is plainly visible; Jeffries, the protagonist of the film, is obscured by the black. Jeffries is presented as more powerful, as having the upper hand in knowing who Thorwald is and what he’s done. Thorwald’s ignorance is represented by Jeffries’ lack of tangible identity. The lighting seems to be mostly natural, but could just as easily be artificial. The source is from outside the window. Clearly (from the above description), lighting plays both a technical and narrative function. Lighting establishes the characters’ balance of power, as well as the mood of the room, which is somewhat dull. The frame is dominated by black (the absence of light) and drab grays. When Jeffries flashes his flash blubs near the end of the scene, it is clear how much lighting has driven the narrative action.

This is a scene from Rear Window, by Alfred Hitchcock, starting at 1:42:00 and lasting 3 minutes 25 seconds. Lighting is notable in this scene as it is essential to the development of the mood Hitchcock wishes to create and makes the scene credible. In the first scene, a justified light shines in from the right, where the window is supposed to be on the set, probably created by a dim or diffused spot light. The angle of the throw relative to the camera position suggests a sinister, urgent and dangerous mood, in a night scene, taking place in Jeffries’ mainly obscured apartment. Solely a light on the right illuminates the housekeeper and Jefferies, in a mid-long shot, speaking urgently and secretively in the dark. This light seems to come from the apartments opposite and perhaps the moon. It is just enough light to give a sense of colors, the wrinkles in the clothes, and the two’s silhouettes. As the reflection on their foreheads and the chair frame shows, the light’s real source is probably a dim but hard white key light illuminating them from the front and right. This low-key lighting throws the rest of the apartment into darkness and creates a high lighting contrast with large shadows on the faces and folds in the clothing. In fact the only truly discernable things are Jefferies, Stella, and the wooden chair behind her, situated respectively further and further away from the window. The key light’s side angle makes the skin and wrinkles on Jeffries’ forehead visible and creates shadows in the hollows of his face during close ups, such as in the second and last shot after the pan. The third shot shows the suspect leaving his apartment, lit from within, and from a justified light representing the lights from the building across. A medium shot with the same lighting as in the first shows the housekeeper leaving, panning afterwards to the right and reframing with Jeffries’ movement on the wheelchair towards the phone behind him. There is a quick cut back to Stella before the sixth shot cuts back to Jeffries’ in a medium close-up, showing Jeffries still conversing on the phone. Here a key light from the front right illuminates the scene again, joined by a soft fill light from the front left. There is also a possibility of a top light because of the shadow of his hand created below, as well as that of a kicker light, as a faint aura behind him near the floor seems to light up an object on the shelf. He puts the phone down and the scene cuts to the apartment across which is no longer lit from inside. Another medium-close shot cuts back to him lit by the key light on the right and fill on the left, and slowly pans into a close-up at the end of this section. Through this, Hitchcock intensifies the suspense he wished to build up for this scene and the imminent climax, unfolding and end of the film in the next few minutes. The cinematographer has shown us, through Jeffries’ window that the suspected culprit has exited his apartment after glaring in the camera’s direction. Now, contrastingly, the viewer is restricted, in the dark, to the protagonist’s point of view. We know something the protagonist does not, but we are restricted in the light. After Stella rushes off to pay Lisa’s bail, the camera closes in on Jeffries and the lighting increases slightly. As Jeffries notices the culprit’s apartment is dark, the camera frames Jeffries in a close up, letting the fill light illuminate his eyes. This causes the viewer to focus in on Jeffries’ eyes, creating tension, and making the audience more and more nervous, as he darts his eyes anxiously back and forth. Due to this low-key lighting design, Hitchcock creates suspense and unease in the audience, and thus as he wishes, is able to frighten the viewer in the scenes to come. I think it might be interesting to increase the light coming from the back, so as to create a sort of halo around the heads of the two actors, and take advantage of Jefferies’ white shirt to reflect some of the same light. This might increase the eeriness of the mood of this scene. I would keep the high lighting contrast created by Hitchcock, though as it strengthens the tone of the film noir that Hitchcock wanted.

The Truman Show

In The Truman Show, the scenes shot on the beach have notable lighting. It is clear to the viewer that the moon is fake. It is too big, too bright, and always full. The light reflecting off of the water looks staged; we can clearly see where the “horizon” is. A useless and miniature “lighthouse” spins beams of light across the frame. It is clear that the makers of the television show have put much effort into recreating this false world. The beach itself is well lit by another elevated light source. All of this light, which is clearly artificial to us, seems real to Truman. The lighting creates a phony atmosphere. The ocean is, in our reality, a grand enormity over which humans have little control. It can not be manipulated by people; it is a symbol of the wildness of our natural world. The too-white lighting on the sand and the finite “Earth” created by a short horizon enhance the viewer’s understanding of Truman’s world. We pity him because even the seashore, a space that should be organic, has been created by other humans. Truman goes to the ocean with Sylvia. In another film, this could be a beautiful and private moment. But because of the artificial lighting on the water and on the characters, we are reminded that the scene is part of a television series. Later in the film, when Truman escapes the cameras, the moon turns into a bright spotlight. This epitomizes the phoniness of Truman’s world. The moon is a heavenly body, and should not be under the control of humans. Throughout the film, and especially during these scenes on the beach, the conspicuous lighting creates a tone of falsehood and manipulation. We are reminded of Truman’s naiveté. The artificial lighting on the ocean adds to the viewer’s feeling of compassion for Truman, and we look forward to his ultimate escape.

Edward II

Edward and Gaveston Upon the Throne The shot opens with two dancers in all black performing in an open doorway. The scene opens with an extreme long shot of the two dancers who appear to be dancing in a large open space. The two are doing a dramatic piece when one dancers falls and the camera cuts to a long shot, so we better see the dancers face and movements. The light on the two men appear to be natural sunlight shinning in from the doorway. The shadows of the two men are crisp and clear. The camera then cuts to look at Edward and his lover. The lover, who is seated in front of the throne, is looking out into the distance laughing as if amused, while the king flirts with him. This look gives the allusion the two couples are in the same room and one is watching the other. The scene then cuts back to the dancers who are now in a long shot that fully fits the scene. The attention of the dancers is outward. The scene then cuts back to a long shot of Edward and his lover. The two then kiss. The current setup shows a thrown atop a large pedestal with a path in front of it. It gives the allusion of depth and ands to the overall grandeur of the scene. The dancers are dressed in all black and contrast the grayish tan color of the walls surrounding them. Edward and lover on the other hand are dressed in all white sitting on a red and gold throne. The two have a light shining from a right angle onto their hair and faces which accentuates their purity and beauty. The scene itself does not include much color however the music and the movements of the characters set up the romantic and yet forbidden tone of the shot. The misenscene in this movement relies on the “simple” lighting and character movements. The lighting throughout the scene remains constant as if there are enormous windows outside the room letting in sunlight onto its occupants.

Old Boy

Directed by Chanwook Park, Old Boy is about a man who is kidnapped and imprisoned for 15 years only to be released to seek revenge within five days. The scene starts at 42mins and 37secs, where it lasts for 3mins and 50secs—though the YouTube clip may be slightly shorter. There are 12 shots that comprise the entire scene. The scene is shot in all low-key, strong fill lighting for the dark shadows are specifically and purposefully emphasized to harbor mood. Throughout the entire series of cuts there is a strong, white fluorescent light running along the ceiling, serving as the main source, or key light. Shot 8 comprises of a long take that lasts 2mins and 38secs as a wide-shot of the gang coming into frame from screen left as the main character (Dae-su) charges them going screen right. This take is dominated by the strong wattage of the fluorescent lighting and its reflection on the walls, creating a strong green within the entire scene—there possibly could have been some alteration with white balancing. Although this may be true there appears to be an addition of other incandescent lights in small areas on the wall, which are yellow in hue, but they do not govern the framing. Also, each of the various shots (i.e. medium-close up, close-up, or wide) does not differ in lighting for it stays consistent throughout the scene. The dark shadows and strong lighting on the ceiling direct the eyes of the viewer to want to go to the end of the hall, whereas the tight, greenish space creates a tense “atmosphere,” where we are finally relieved in the last shot to see in a wide shot a strong key light indicating what can be perceived as a garage opening to the outside—though we can not tell if it is artificial or natural light due to overexposure. Furthermore, there appears to be some hint of soft frontal and back lighting during close-ups, such as in Shot 1, 2, 5, and 9 where all sources are from above, giving the illusion of coming from the fluorescents. In sum, set lighting is the dominant source of lighting, producing mood and direction.

Please watch YouTube clip in HQ:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BxZenU-R84U

Duration: 3:50secs
Starting time: 42:37secs

Shot 1: Close-up of one gang member with two men in the back of him (left & right) and two men in front of him (left & right) out of frame with a medium amount of frontal/back lighting.

Shot 2: Close-up of main character with hostage. Green hues dominate with whites and blues being less present.

Shot 3: Pan up to a deep space focus medium shot of entire hallway. There are a series of strong fluorescent lights running along the ceiling—white balance may have been altered for scene.

Shot 4: Medium shot of the end of the line of the gang.

Shot 5: Close-up of main character dropping knife.

Shot 6: Medium shot of gang reacting to dropping of knife. All eyes focus on main character.

Shot 7: Medium overhead shot. Angled at the to main character’s right, while panning to the right as main character charges into crowd.

Shot 8: Long-take (2:38secs), wide shot of gang coming into frame (entering from screen right) as main character fights them going screen left.

Shot 9: Close-up of main character in focus, but framed off-center, slightly angled with a high angled position by the camera—key light comes from above. Men are out of focus behind him.

Shot 10: Medium shot of men in elevator with a strong key light coming from the ceiling inside.

Shot 11: Pan right to elevator opening & men falling out. Elevator (framed screen right) light is still strongest light in frame, while lighting on outside walls appear to come from off-screen sources.

Shot 12: Wide shot with a pan to the left as the main character walks out. Low-key lighting with a strong key source of lighting enters in what we perceive as a garage opening—though we don’t know if the light is artificial or natural due to the overexposure. Greens are still present on pillars screen right, which may be coming from behind the camera.

MULHOLLAND DR.

Please use the link below to watch the “Club Silencio” scene. The two sequences I focused on are between 03:35 and 04:45. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UW1D9MH4uMY&feature=related

The “Club Silencio” scene from David Lynch’s 2001 movie Mulholland Dr. is notable in terms of its lighting.

The scene begins with two women, Betty Elms (Naomi Watts) and Rita (Laura Herring), entering the mysterious theater/nightclub “Silencio.” There are 14 shots in this scene; seven in the first sequence (40-second long) and another seven in the second sequence (30-second long). Here is some information on the 14 shots that make up the scene under focus:

Shot 1: Announcer, MS, warm yellow theatre lights (as set light), soft light source, low key style, key light with throw angle center-right. Near the end of this shot lighting change to intense white flashlights, hard light source, high key style, key light with throw angle bottom-center Shot 2: Betty and Rita, MCU, intense white flashlights, hard light source, high key style, key light with throw angle top/center-left Shot 3: Announcer, CU, intense white flashlights, hard light source, high key style, key light with throw angle bottom-center Shot 4: Betty and Rita, MCU, intense white flashlights, hard light source, high key style, flashlights as key light with throw angle top/center-left Shot 5: Announcer, CU, warm yellow theatre lights (as set light), soft light source, low key style, key light with throw angle center-left Shot 6: Betty and Rita, MCU, warm yellow theatre lights (as set light), soft light source, low key style, no key, fill or back lights Shot 7: Announcer, CU, intense white flashlights, hard light source, high key style, key light with throw angle bottom-center. Near the end of this shot lighting change to warm blue neon lights (as set light), soft light source, low key style, key light with throw angle center-left

Shot 8: Empty stage, MS, warm/blue/moving neon lights (as set light), soft light source, low key style, no key, fill or back lights Shot 9: Audience with Betty and Rita on the bottom-left, MLS, warm/blue/moving neon lights (as set light), soft light source, low key style, no key, fill or back lights Shot 10: Empty stage, MCU, warm/blue/moving neon lights (as set light), soft light source, low key style, no key, fill or back lights Shot 11: Betty and Rita, MCU, warm/blue/moving neon lights (as set light), hard light source, high key style, no key, fill or back lights Shot 12: Lady in the balcony of the theater, MS, warm/blue/moving neon lights (as set light), soft light source, low key style, no key, fill or back lights. Near the end of this shot, lighting changes to warm yellow theatre lights (as set light), soft light source, low key style, weak key light with throw angle bottom left Shot 13: Betty and Rita, MCU, warm yellow theatre lights (as set light), soft light source, low key style, no key, fill or back lights Shot 14: Next performer entering stage, MS, warm yellow theatre lights (as set light), soft light source, low key style, no key, fill or back lights (until the performer reaches the microphone)

Initially, the bar is poorly lit and there is a spotlight on the announcer standing in the middle of the stage. Lighting becomes interesting on the third minute of this scene (03:30 on the video provided in the link below, and 1:47:20 on the movie’s dvd). The dim but warm and yellowish lights in the theater turn into white flashes that resemble a stormy weather. In this 40 seconds long sequence the emotional atmosphere completely changes as warm lights that give viewers a sense of security are replaced by white flashes that are scary and alarming. This mood change can be queued in Betty as she starts trembling involuntarily before the announcer’s disappearance. Betty’s stress and fear are visible as she holds Rita’s hands tightly and moves herself closer to Rita. This intense sequence ends with the announcer’s magic trick in which he vanishes mysteriously.

During the magic trick, the white flashlights are replaced by subtle, wavy and bluish neon lights that make the viewer feel as if she was in an underwater world lit by moonlight. Beams of bluish light are wiggly and less visible than the previous flashlights, during this 30 seconds long sequence that ends as the next performer is announced to the stage. In this second short sequence, characters are no longer feeling edgy since they visibly relax and lean back on their seats.

So overall, there are two consecutive sequences that change the emotional content of the characters. In the first sequence (1:47:20-1:48:00) there is an alarming tone that unsettles the viewer (as well as the two main characters). The lights in the second sequence (1:48:00-1:48:30) have a soothing effect that suggests some sort of resolution for Betty and Rita. Thus, it can be said that the lights in this scene do not solely function as technical details and contribute to the character transformation that takes place in the movie.

The Searchers

The scene is the final shot from John Ford’s The Searchers (1956). Ethan Edwards (John Wayne) has found Debbie (Natalie Wood) and is bringing her home. The scene begins with a long shot of a group of people standing outside of a house, a lighting source coming from above them and to the left. Ethan carries Debbie towards the house, his shadow (and those of other characters) extending in front of him because of backlighting, with a grainy and bright light coloring. As the camera dollies backwards and less and less of the landscape is seen, everyone but Ethan follows the camera and is swallowed by the darkness of the interior of the house. The scene ends with Ethan standing in the center of the doorway, darkness on either side, and the door shuts as he turns to walk away from the house.

When the landscape is visible, the lighting is hard and the shadows are sharply outlined, a bright light shining on the front of the porch and the dust and sand of the landscape. Ford shot most of the film in Monument Valley and it seems very possible the sequence was filmed with natural lighting from the sun, but it could also have been filmed on a set with a backdrop. In either case, the low key light source comes from high above and to the left of the actors, creating sharp contrasts, suggesting a noon-time setting, and causing everything facing the camera to be covered or half-covered in shadow. The left-hand sides of the porch posts and the characters have small pools of light shining on them, again facilitated by the high light source. As Ethan carries Debbie forward, there is a definite distinction between the lighting outside the porch and under the porch – much deeper shadows and darkness covering the characters standing on the floorboards.

Once the camera dollies back to the extreme darkness of the interior, only the outer doorway is visible, with no light coming from the side or the front. If the scene was shot on location, substantial opaque filters would have been needed to cover any windows or open elements of the house (or built set). If done in the studio, no light sources would be directed from anywhere inside the porch. When the actors come forward, they become silhouetted because of the high angle of the light source – no light is directed towards them in any manner. After all characters have passed the camera, Ethan stands alone in the center of the doorway, his shadow extending in front of him onto the floorboards. The outer two thirds of the frame are completely dark; Ethan is left in medium shot on the edge of the West, which is clearly visible and brightly lit. The shift from exterior to interior and the comparable shift of lighting towards a much darker finish enhances the audience’s understanding of the space of the West and the house, also developing an understanding of the character of Ethan. For him, the exterior lighting is warm and natural, a very bright color to give him a tiny glow from the direction of the West. The interior lighting is harder with sharper shadows and he is unable to make the transition from exterior to interior. He is caught in the middle of the lighting - when he turns to walk away from the house, his shadow becomes gradually less and less pronounced because he walks further and further away from the camera (and the sand/wind obscures his figure), and he begins to blend in with the wind and the landscape. The door closes and the light from the sun (or “sun”) is completely removed, leaving only the black house interior left in the frame. The lighting definitely plays a large role in the scene, not just an afterthought or addition; it gives details of the interactions of all characters, central themes of the film, and provides a distinct atmosphere and development of space. The scene lasts from 1:57:42 (or 1:03 from the end) until the end, a duration of one minute and three seconds.