Research: Light and Composition

Light:

One of my weakness is lighting. I think I don't take enough time to look around an observe how light works. Lighting is probably the most essential part of an image. It can create ambience, form and emphasises composition.

The Exorcist (1973) is an excellent example of how lighting can create mood in a scene. Here we can see an example of sub-surface scattering in her dress. The film has undertones of sexuality and it shows a contrast between her youth/innocence and the foul language and actions that she commits later on in the film while she is possessed. The use of lighting in this specific scene suggests vulnerability as we can see her small form with the light passing through her nightgown. 

The fog is also effective because it absorbs some of the light creating a hazy effect that makes the ominous figure a silhouette. It probably would look like a normal statue inn broad daylight but smoky silhouette makes it an 'unknown', which is one of the most powerful narrative devices in the horror genre.

Up (2009) has the saddest 2 minute montage of any film that I have seen so far. This still embodies a lifetime of emotions and memories for the characters. I think it's impossible for anyone who has seen the film to not feel anything when they see this scene. The bounced lighting coming from the window creates a diffused, soft lighting in the room. This then creates a sullen and calm mood. The light coming from the circular stained glass window creates a soft spotlight on Carl. 

The colour violet usually signifies mystical and ceremonial events. In this scene, the colour accentuates the mood of the earlier scenes which are happy and bubbly while the shadows juxtapose the cheerfulness of the balloons.

Composition:

This was a fun exercise to do because I never really realised how much effort cinematographers put into creating compositions for films. What's even fascinating is the fact that films are moving images. Therefore each still has to be designed so that they are visually pleasing while at the same time, flow into the next scene. We take great designs for granted but when a scene has bad composition, we can easily tell that something is 'off' because our eyes can't naturally process the images.

Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind (2004) is a visually striking film with the colours blue and orange reoccurring throughout it. This scene was also used from some of the promotional graphics for the film. Its was very satisfying to see how the divine proportions apply to this still. It's amazing how their shoes and the cracks on the ice touch parts of the grid. There is also an elegance to the way that their heads point towards the end of the grid.

Hannibal (2013-2015) is the most beautiful tv series I have watched so far. Some scenes look like they can straight out of a Caravaggio painting. The lighting, colours and composition are sublime. It's such an artistic film and I still have no idea why they cancelled it. This scene is particularly interesting because there are many elements that show the depth of the characters. First of all is Hannibal's positioning. He is straight in the middle of the scene with his knees and head meeting the grid. This implies that although Will Graham is the main focus of most of the episodes, the show is still about him. He is also placed higher than Graham, reflecting how he sees himself, a god in comparison to people who are less intelligent and sophisticated than he is. Graham on the other hand is placed lower and nicely hits the focal points of the grid at the same time.