Lighting analysis

Lighting is often used within films to create a certain atmosphere or mood. It can also determine the importance of a character and their status. Here is my lighting analysis of three images from three different thriller films.


Shutter Island 



This is an image taken from the movie Shutter Island. Lighting is used here to create tension and suspense among the audience as well as to convey the feelings and emotions of the character. The candle illuminating the characters face creates mystery as to why this is the only source of light. This light also let's the audience see the characters expression which is one of panic and fear, this let's the audience in on the characters emotions. The dark background creates suspense for the audience as they will be curious as to what is not being revealed and why. The light on the character usually will mean something positive but the light contrast to the dark background instead creates an eerie and unsettling feeling. The light contrasting the dark also suggests something bad is about to happen.  This will be described as low key lighting due to the contrast in colours. The director uses the lighting to highlight this character in the scene and display his status.


Fatal Attraction



This scene in Fatal Attraction does not have much contrast in lighting other than the characters clothes. The man is show to be wearing dark clothes and the woman wearing white, this is a contrast as the woman is attacking the man and wearing a colour that usually means innocent or pure. The little contrast of colours in the image add to the realistic effect the director wanted to create. The director has focused more on the expressions of the characters in this image by using high light key lighting. The dull overall lighting shows the negativity that it also being displayed in the image. Most of the lighting is coming from the background which, once again, adds to the realistic effect and also focus on both characters not just one. The director does this to show that they both important in this particular scene.


Misery



The lighting in this scene is very dull and reflects the characters feelings and emotions. The director uses the lack of different colours in the image to create mystery and questions from the audience. We can't really see the faces of the characters but their positions allow the audience to guess what the situation could be. The female characters clothing matches the colours of the walls and some furniture. This could suggestive that she is a possessive character and also could convey her mindset to the viewers. The bed which the male character is tied up on is the only bright thing in the room. The director could have done this to show that the male character is the good one and is innocent and the female character that looms over him with dark clothes is bad.