Lighting

Properly motivated and executed lighting of a scene makes a world of difference in terms of emotional, narrative and artistic content. Lighting has a heavy influence on the emotional content of a scene, almost or as much of an impact as sound has on film. Lighting can be suggestive, static, dynamic, or solely utilitarian, but the cinematographer always views lighting as one of her most important assets when designing the look and feel of a shot. Here are some examples of motivated lighting that I wanted to share.

That is a still from Dumb and Dumber. The two characters are in a fancy ballroom surrounded by the wealthy and social elite of Aspen. I think the lighting here really helps reflect the place they are in and the feeling of such a well to do gathering. The light here is golden, or slightly orange, which I think helps suggest the notion of wealth and status. The golden yellow/orange color also helps the brass and silver in the room shine with a bright golden light, also a possible allusion to the money and swankiness that a gala event like that would have. Aside from the suggestive aspect of golden light, the tone of the light also helps the colors of the duos ridiculous suits pop and seem even more garish and tacky, further illustrating just how amazingly stupid Lloyd and Harry are.

This next shot taken from the same film is set in a hotel bar at 10 in the morning. I think the lighting here really helps the viewer feel like they are in that hotel bar. The lighting is bright enough to see everything inside clearly yet soft enough to not be glaring, like morning light is. Also, there are expensive ceiling fixtures lit in the background which not only adds some interesting fill light and shadows but also nicely frames up the top of Lloyd's head, placing him in the center of the frame.

Here is one more shot from the same film, this time set in a road side diner during early-mid afternoon. The interior lighting really feels like the kind of road side diners you would see in real life; cheap, low hanging light fixtures and a string of red party lights. I think one of the important lights to take notice of here is the window to the right of the frame. There is a lot of light coming in through there, suggesting the bright sun outside, however, it does not shine in a beam like sunlight usually does through windows. I think having the light like that helps keep focus on the characters while still appearing to be a realistic natural light, even though it probably isn't.