Lighting is a significant part of any film. Capturing the essence of a scene with improper lighting could definitely lose the viewer or the significance of what the director is trying to showcase. Lighting, to include props, the background, the blocking, the costumes and the makeup are vital to the mise en scène (Goodykoontz & Jacobs, 2014). Three styles of lighting are high key, low key and the traditional three-point. To give you an understanding of different styles of lighting, I have linked videos to explain the differences in lighting. Starting with high key lighting, click on the next link.
As you can see with the Wizard of Oz, the lighting is high and you cannot distinguish dark from light in the scene. You can also see the shadows of the characters because of how the lighting is, allowing the audience to see the whole screen. This lighting, as portrayed in the movie, is utilized for happy scenes (Goodykoontz & Jacobs, 2014). Let us look at low key.
Watching this educational video, vimeo.com displays that back lighting is critical to low key lighting. It keeps the scene, like the horror depiction portrays, but allows the audience to see the scene. It also uses a fill light to display the horrific shadow. Shadowing, to me, creates the mood of a great scary movie. Seeing two different styles of lighting, let us switch to the traditional lighting which focuses more on the actor/actress than the surroundings, three-point lighting. Take a look at the jpeg below.
Underworld is one of my favorites. Kate Beckinsale with Vampire eyes can light up a room and make the scene ten times better. Looking at this example, you can see that the scene is visibly about the actor. The three-point lighting gives a three dimensional look by pointing three lights in a triangular shape around the actor. It gives the viewer an opportunity to focus on the character with no shadow effect. As stated, the audience can now focus on those blue eyes with no distractions.
As you can see, every aspect of lighting is important to the cinematographer. Not using proper lighting, including the other vital parts of the mise en scène could drastically change the outcome of the scene, possibly the outcome of the movie. My daughter and I love scary movies. We love the dark scenes that build the suspense. As stated prior, Underworld is one of my favorites. To capture the actual Vampire appeal makes this film, even though most of it is dark, these scenes lets you see your characters. Now that you know the difference, see if you can catch the differences in lighting and why it makes the scene.
References
Goodykoontz, B., & Jacobs, C. P. (2014). Film: From watching to seeing (2nd ed.). San Diego, CA: Bridgepoint Education, Inc. This text is a Constellation™ course digital materials (CDM) title.
Lighting 