Research - Lighting And Colour - Ms Begum

Lighting And Colour

Lighting and Colour is very important to the film industry. These conventions show a contrast between genres and help in the atmosphere of the film. This convention is very important because it is largely responsible for the look of the film.


There are 3 angles which lighting can do in film; under, top and back. Under lighting is at a low angle which brings the effect of distortion in shadows and shapes, this is mainly used in horror/thriller films. Top lighting is from the top of the screen which shows the scene as a bright setting. This is used in more happier films compared t6o thriller and horrors, like romance and comedy. Lastly, back lighting is from the back of the screen showing an eerie effect of shadows. This is also used mainly in horror/thriller films because it brings out shadows and doesn't show detail in the face or body very well. This is usually for antagonists to hide their identity.


There are 2 types of lighting; high and low. High lighting is used mainly in happy films like romance and comedy, This is because high lighting is very bright and brings a happy atmosphere to the scene. Low lighting is used in more gloomy films like horrors and thrillers, this is because the lighting is very dark which brings an eerie atmosphere to the scene.


I think that the lighting that is conventional for thrillers is low lighting which is either from the under lighting angle or the back lighting angle. This is because in thrillers the atmosphere needs to be scary and quite uncomfortable in order for the audience to feel uneasy in their seats. If the lighting was high and from a top angle, I believe the audience wouldn't feel as scared.


Another important element to the film world is colour. Colour creates substance to the scene and shows a lot of meaning in the atmosphere of the scene. There are main colours which will be seen in films to show meaning, there are a couple of examples, blue in a scene shows sadness, green can show envy or jealousy, and red could either mean romance or evil (depending on the genre). Thrillers usually have grey and black to show gloomy effects throughout. But, some do show dark green/purple colours to show other elements in the emotion that is given out to us as the audience. In my opinion it all depends on the storyline and what emotions are shown by the characters behaviour.


I analysed the opening of the film 'se7en', and I noticed the colour and lighting used. Firstly, the lighting is low and its from the back and under. This shows an eerie effect and makes things look distorted and creates shadows. The colours shown was mainly grey, black and white which gave me an impression of an ancient background and made things scary and mysterious.


Overall, my research has shown me a more understanding of what colours and lighting suits particular genres. In my thriller I want to use the balk and white effect to create suspense and tension. The lighting needs to be low and from a low angle so it creates shadows which is a good way to also create suspense and tension. Lighting and colour is the main source for tension in thrillers.