Lighting research

Lighting is used in films to make scenes visually work well and provide atmosphere and mood. There are many different types of lighting that we use in filming and they are used for many different reasons.

3 Point lighting

3 Point lighting is used to get a professional and high quality cinematic shot.

3 point lighting consists of 3 things: the key light, the backlight and the filler light.

The key light is the brightest light shown and hold the most power in the scene - making it key lighting. In this still from Amelie, the key light would be the arrow on the right as it highlights her face as the brightest area.

The next aspect of 3 point lighting would be the backlight. Backlight is used to give more dimension and realism to the subject in shot, rather than them have a very two-dimensional shape. In this image it looks quite two dimensional as if there is no shape to him. In the still from Ameilie this is represented as the left hand side arrow.

The final basic of 3 point lighting is filler light. Filler light is used to soften the shadows created with the use of key light. For example, this is commonly used on facial shots. This is shown as the middle arrow in Amelie.

Lighting styles

Lighting styles are used to add to a scene or image to either add more to the scene or to make it more natural.

For example, looking at Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows, during the scene where Harry and Dumbledore are in "purgatory" at Kings Cross, to physically show this the film makers used high key lighting (lots of light). This created a very bright lighting theme. This could be "purgatory" as white, clean and empty could all link to heavenly places. This is why lighting is so important and how high key lighting can influence the movement of the scene.

Low key lighting is shown by using a lack of lighting, emphasizing on shadows and adding more dark tone and atmosphere to the shot. Typically they are used in horror movies to make a more dramatic mood for the film. For example in this scene in the exorcist, by using low key lighting the audience feels a sense of suspense and potential nerves.

Hard lighting is shown by using strong light but often dark coloring. This can suggest to the audience that the character holds power.

Soft lighting is used to show subjects on screen with subtle or minimal edited lighting. This often aims to look more natural and show characters in a more delicate/happy way. For example, in this scene in Titanic, we see Jack paired with soft lighting. Over the course of the film leading to this point, it is suggested that Jack could be a "mischievous" character however this point changes throughout the film and this scene could just highlight that.

Natural lighting is used in film to represent the real location, surroundings and atmosphere. For example, when using naturalistic lighting it is not artificially made lighting. This can help with using continuity and realism.

Realistic lighting is artificial light sources that have been added to the scene, however is aimed to look real in the shot. This could be linking with the weather or the sun. By using realistic lighting the quality of the shots can be improved.

Pictorial lighting is used to make glamourous looking imagery. The lighting used is added but is always meant to look good. By comparing Pictorial lighting to a form of lighting like soft lighting we can tell the pictorial is less natural however produces visually more interesting images.

Expressionistic lighting is used to show more artistic shots through coloured lighting. By using colours we could infer more about the character's thoughts or feelings due to the connotations with the colour used. For instance red could be seen as dangerous and if red lighting is used, the audience could infer the character may be in danger or may be opposing danger.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4MGtU8OX_3c

By looking at this scene in Trainspotting we can refer to lighting use. The scene is set in a nightclub so naturally we have the idea of having dark low key lighting or bright coloured lighting.

Starting off the scene, we are met with the character of Diane. The lighting used in this scene could be described as using parts of 3 point lighting and realistic lighting. We could infer this as on Dianes right side there is key light, on her left side there is shadows so filler has been used, backlight is added to show realism. This could then link to realistic lighting as lighting has been added but has been attempted to look real.

Next we see many scenes in the nightclub. These are shown by using expressionistic lighting. We see this as a wide use of colours have been used to give a more artistic approach and how this could be representing the character of Renton. In this still we can see the use of purple and green. Purple can often be associated with integrity intuition, being insightful and having ambition. Green can be associated with the world and nature, money/wealth, good luck and jealousy. When thinking about the use of lighting and how this could show and represent the character - looking at Rentons reaction to seeing Diane we could infer that lots of thoughts come through his head and paired with the use of dialogue (Renton saying "And with that Mark Renton had fallen in love.") we could see that Renton has a sense of integrity and intuition based on his feelings. The use of green could also foreshadow the money that Renton steals at the end of the film and how he was going to "choose life" with the luck of the money. This all links to how expressionistic lighting is used.

When Diane and Mark have left the night club, it is at night so is dark, low key lighting has been used to add to this. However this is lighting in the background from the club sign, a streetlight and houses in the background.

When Renton and Diane are in the taxi there is a use of key lighting.

This is added as if they used natural lighting as it is so dark there would be little to see. There is also another element of expressionistic lighting as there is a pinky - red coloring added to it. This colouring could represent either love or danger. Love because Renton claimed he had "fallen in love" and there are no other romantic interests for Renton in Trainspotting so this could be emphasized with this lighting. We could also infer red being used to show danger as Diane had gone into the club illegally and is actually 15 years old and Mark Renton does not actually know this, posing later threat to him later on in the film. This is how lighting can affect the film.