Light in Cinema

Light is an integral part of cinematography and is largely responsible for the look of the film. It can easily set the tone of a scene and make or break how "good" a movie looks.
It can also be used artistically. Light can represent a feeling or a presence. Coloured lights can hold meaning or highlight the tone of a scene.

This gallery will examine how cinematographers achieve the lighting in their films and how that light can affect the audience.

Close Encounters of the Third Kind [1977]



An example of a creative, artistic use of light. In this scene in Close Encounters of the Third Kind The bright light blinds the characters and keeps the aliens a foggy mystery.

Silence of the Lambs [1991]





On a technical level positioning the lights is usually about creating a scene that looks good while staying contextual with the environment. However it can also be used artistically. Where are you casting your shadows? What do you want to show the audience or hide in darkness?

3 Point Lighting



This set up is called 3 point lighting, it's the most basic and the most used set up in cinema. It can be broken down into 3 parts.

1. Key light, the primary source of light in a shot.

2. Fill light, the secondary light, fills in the shadows cast by the key.

3. Back light, used to make an object pop from the background.

The 3 point system lights objects in a three dimensional way creating a fuller more interesting image. However using it by the book often ends up in a "sitcom" look, most cinematographers us variations on this system using only one light, only two or adjusting the brightness of the lights.

To break things down further I'll dissect each part of the system.

Key Light



The key light is the primary source of light in a shot. The complex process of placing the lights for a movie can all be narrowed down to one question: Where is your key? Once you answer that question the rest becomes easy. It's the just looking at the subject and then applying what is appropriate. Want shadows filled? go ahead. No? Okay then don't there is no set rule book, just a set of guidelines.

Most of the time the key light should be contextual within the scene, it could be lights from a car, a lamp, a fire etc.
If a character is in a dark cave and a bright light is shining on him from nowhere it's distracting for the audience.

When placing the key shadows should also be taken into account. The majority of the time shadows will face the audience. Not only does this look better but by having the light come from within the frame it draws the audience in, creating a more 3 dimensional space.

Fill Light and Back Light



Once the question Where is your key? is answered focus is put on the shadows. When lighting objects with the key shadows are a must; highlights and low lights are the basis of good photography.

So the fill light basically is the light used to fill in these shadows and varies wildly based on the amount of shadow you want. More dramatic movies like The Godfather will have darker shadows while comedies will have almost none. By casting shadows and filling them texture and detail is created with the light.

In this still the lamp sitting behind the character is creating back light around the head and shoulders. Back light makes objects pop from the background and prevents them from getting lost in darkness. A back light will also prevent an image from looking two dimensional.

Back light and fill light are often not used by cinematographers in scenes. It all depends on the situation and the motivation.

There Will Be Blood [2007]



Here we can see 3 pont in action. Despite the fact that Daniel Day Lewis is most likely lit just fine by just the sun through the clouds (casts no shadows) cinematographer Robert Elswit has placed a key light and a back light on Lewis. Not only does it make him pop, it creates more texture highlighting the sweat and oil on his face.



And here we see Elswit breaking from usual lighting technique. There is only one source of light, showing just Lewis' face; he blends right into the background. The shadows aren't facing the audience either. The bright light shines directly onto Lewis, he's transfixed, we want to see what he's looking at. It's an effective use of light that shows breaking "rules" is common and can result in interesting images.

Sin City [2005]



In this still we have both strong key light and back light. A dark shadow is cast with little to no fill in place.

The Third Man [1949]



The sentiment "less is more" will often create fantastic imagery the most dramatic images are the ones with high contrast between whites and blacks.



Fargo [1996]





We can see from these stills that Deakins has used a very natural very white light for this movie. White light comes from the sun so by using this Fargo becomes more real, it doesn't exist in some beautiful cinematic world but the one we live in.

Consistency is important for a movie to feel like a natural whole; consistent colour temps and colour palettes are large parts of creating a consistent world. Deakins keeps using white light even during the indoor scenes of Fargo.



Skyfall [2012]







Deakins' colour temp choice on Skyfall is so wildly different when compared to Fargo. It shows he's thoughtful, picking what's best for each movie he helps make. Which is good because these are two very different movies. Skyfall is a Bond movie, escapism in its purist form: exciting, fun, and full of action, nothing highlights this better than the intense contrast (teal and orange) and dark shadows.

In Skyfall the drama on screen matches the dramatic colouring. You can easily see this in play when the movie breaks from its pattern set before. In one of the last scenes in Scotland (this still). Deakins uses white diffuse light. He communicates to the audience visually how the scene feels, it's relaxed, the calm before the storm.