Unit 36: Lighting Techniques

Learning Aim A
Practical & Natural Lighting
Practical lighting are sources of light that are visible as props or models within a scene which lets the audience feel more immersed in
the film when seeing lighting from models and props. Examples of practical lights within an indoor scene can be lamps, lights,
televisions and anything else that emits light. Examples of practical lights within an outdoor scene can be street lamps, vehicle
headlights and taillights, lighting through windows and even signs that emit light.

Natural lighting is a source of lighting in film that is being emitted by the sun during the day or by the moon during the night. This is a
great use of lighting as it can be really atmospheric during the golden hours and the blue hours as the sun sets or rises, and can also
express many emotions in one shot, like joy or even mystery.

The trailer of the film ‘Tree of Life’ does not use a lot of practical lighting, however, uses a load of natural lighting which gives off a
variation of thoughts that the child exposes to the audience. An example of this is when natural light is being presented underneath the
child’s face which represents that the baby is almost angelic. Or when the father looks out from the opened front door in which we only
are able to see a dark figure of the father, to create a sense of mystery and can pursue a more threatening vibe on the father.

Example shots
on the trailer
from the movie
‘Tree of Life’
One Point Lighting
One point lighting is mainly used through a key light which is the main source of light for scenes. The use of this lighting is to brighten
an object or an actor/actress therefore it must be the brightest light out of the three-point lighting setup used in most scenes. Without
this, it would be difficult to see the object or actor/actress. In addition, if one point lighting is used and it is angled, it can create a
mysterious or dramatic mood as it keeps the image dark and isolated.

A use of an angled key light is shown in the ‘scary scene’ in The Sixth Sense in which the boy uses a torch to light up the tent which
creates a supernatural ambience. This symbolism of light being shone from below is reputable in the horror genre due to the fact that
‘below’ represents hell and hell is introducing the person or object.

Example shots on the ‘Scary scene’ from

the movie ‘The Sixth Sense’
Two Point Lighting
Two point lighting is the idea of using both the key light and any other light such as a fill light. Using a fill light for two point lighting
retracts the shadows that are created by the key light originally as it is normally placed on the other side of the key light and evens out
the face. Using a back light for two point lighting instead can cause an enigma on a person due to the fact that the back light forms a
glowing outline on the subject.

Two point lighting with a key light and a backlight can be shown in the ‘She’s a replicant scene’ from Blade Runner to erect the idea that
she is not human. The audience may know this as she is being interrogated due to the placement of the lighting which presents her as
quite odd and non-humanlike. This is seen through the key light which is being shone from the left hand side to display a dark effect
and could possibly tell us that she is hiding the truth.

Example shot on the ‘She’s a replicant scene’

from the film Blade Runners

Example of two point lighting from the

movie Sunset Boulevard.
Three Point Lighting
Three point lighting is using all three lights: key light, fill light and back light. It is the normal setup for most scenes as it gives the
person or object more shape and depth in the shot. This naturally presents a neutral mood but can create other emotions, for example:
deceptiveness, strength and bravery.

Shiftiness and prowess are displayed in the ‘Swiss Bank scene’ in The Wolf of Wall Street when Jordan sits on the armchair with pride.
The three point lighting is placed to create a strong outline from behind whilst being able to clearly see his facial expression which
comes across as God-like, linking to renaissance paintings which depict angels in front of a beautiful scenery. Jordan maintains a
neutral face in the shot but we can tell his character distrusts the Swiss businessman and vice versa through the voiceover and the eye
contact. The Swiss businessman has a darker background which contrasts Jordan’s lighter background to suggest that they are rivals.

Example
shots on the
‘Swiss Bank
scene’ from
the movie
‘The Wolf of
Wall Street’
Rembrandt (Chiaroscuro) Lighting
Rembrandt lighting or Chiaroscuro lighting is a lighting technique which casts a shadow on a character’s face to produce a calm but
sinister effect on the character. The Rembrandt lighting is done by using a character’s facial structure to create a triangle of light on one
side of their cheek bone. It is known as Rembrandt lighting because of the renown Dutch Artist
Rembrandt who details his art in a way to create this light and dark (Chiaroscuro) effect on his paintings.

In the film Silence of the Lamb, Hannibal Lecter is a fearful character; during the ‘first meeting scene’ his
frightening persona becomes even worse as we notice that not only he is a psychopath, he is a very
intelligent psychopath. This is seen through the use of Rembrandt lighting as he starts off in bright three
point lighting setup and then turned into a darker Rembrandt lighting when outsmarting the detective.

Dutch Artist,
Rembrandt

Example shots of
Hannibal Lecter
from the film Silence
of the Lamb
 Lighting for Advertising [Spotlights]
Lighting for advertisements use a variety of lighting techniques and can be different to other advertisements as a result to
every advertisement would want to stand out from the others.

For instance, the ‘Smirnoff Commercial with Chrissy Teigan’ has defuse shapes from underneath the practical light thus
setting a calm homely mood from the warm ambience; the cool ambience of the night sky illuminates through the shot on
the left hand side to contrast with the warm lighting from the lamp and fireplace.

The ‘O2 Priority TV Advert’ uses mostly two point lighting on the subject since he is the main focus of the advert. They
purposely use a backlight in the advert to give the subject a glow to construct the idea that without Priority TV, he would just
be worthless.

Example shot from

Lighting contrast in the
‘Smirnoff Commercial with
Chrissy Teigan’
‘O2 Priority TV
Advert’
Example shot from ‘Smirnoff
Commercial with Chrissy Teigan’
Genre Lighting
Film Noir Lighting
1940 to 1959 was the beginning of the Classical Film Noir Era and uses strong backlighting to create a sense of paranoia,
evil and mystery into one. Film Noir has the ability to film without much expense as it doesn’t require much lighting. This is
linked to the dark side of 40s post war America where prostitution, drugs and crime was surrounded behind the shadows,
therefore implementing it in the genre. The narrative of Film Noir are generally mixed around and non-linear and also include
voice-overs, flashbacks and edgy editing styles to completely differentiate the genre from others. Additionally, Film Noir
uses anti-hero’s for the main character to remove the idea of good vs evil or light vs dark.

The ‘Leaning on the Everlasting Arms scene’ from the movie The Night of the Hunter displays a silhouette of the woman and
the man to initiate a sense of obscurity and unrest for the audience by focusing the soft light on her left side to create the
silhouette while the man has a hard light on his left side. This is so that we are unaware of if the woman and man are good
or bad until we realise at the end. The man had half of his face lit up yet still blurry to signify the idea that he be a good and
bad character. Example shot on the ‘Leaning on the
Everlasting Arms scene’ from the film
Example The Night of the Hunter
of Film
Noir
lighting
Horror Lighting
Uplighting: Lighting on a figure or face from underneath to create Silhouette: Using a bright light behind a figure to create a dark
dark shadows on the eyes, nose and brows which display an figure to obscure features or facial expressions to create fear and
unnatural distortion of a natural human. uncertainty.

Spotlighting: Shooting a spotlight on a figure from behind to limit Underexposure: Altering the scene by making it more darker than
features of the body to open up a pathway for the character whilst it originally is which creates an eerie setting for the audience and
telling the audience that it’s still unsound. can also be done through editing.

Harsh light: A small source of light that is projected at the subject Prominent and Projected Shadows: Light shone to release a
to create strong edges on the face or body which creates a sense larger shadow than the original subject to institute more of a
of supernaturality. bigger threat.

Shooting through objects: Using objects to limit the visibility to Shooting through elements: Using the weather to your advantage
generate darkness and entrapment for the audience. such as rain to show emotions or even danger.
Horror Lighting
In the trailer for The Descent, they use the idea of found footage by using a single light source to create realism. Found footage is a
subgenre in horror and can be done by using low key lighting and/or limited lighting since it allows us to think it is ‘found footage’ that
has been discovered which gives a sense of immersion and can cause the horror movie to be more fearful. One point lighting from the
found footage in the trailer can be seen in the cave as they cover the key light with a green gel as green can signify envy or the
supernatural.

The trailer also includes a red flare which gives a sign of danger and fear due to its bright redness illuminating the whole cave. The use
of practical lighting here would show that they have no other source of light and are desperate for light, even if danger would be lurking
nearby.

Example shots on
the trailer from the
film The Descent
Music Video Lighting
Performance-based Spotlighting: A bring beam of light that is Strobing: Flashes in lighting to create an active atmosphere that
being shot down onto the subject to direct the audience of the can cause excitement.
most important subject in the shot.

Lighting to convey mood: Different lightings can create different

moods such as: colour, saturation, flashes or shapes. An example
of this is yellow can represent happiness or annoyance depending
on its colour ambience.
Music Video Lighting
Lighting in some Music Videos are portrayed to express a specific emotion that the song focuses on, especially for rock music where
the scenes are intensified with lighting. The lighting from the music video ‘Insomnia’ is quite dark in the music video which could
suggest that Insomnia creates a sense of boredom or that too much thought can make the world colourless. Natural lighting is visible
throughout the music video and even when he is in the room, it is quite dim like the outside which can symbolize dullness. After a while,
the colour changes from black and white to a more red hue to deploy the thought of him being frustrated due to insomnia. As a result
of this, the child could represents either himself who feels restricted like a adolescence or he is going insane.

Example shots on the music video from Insomnia

by Faithless