Lighting

Lighting

There are many different elements in lighting which all have different effects and are used for many different reasons. There are also different ways in which the lighting can be set up. 
The standard lighting set-up is usually something like this: 

Key Lighting: this is the brightest and most influential source of lighting and is usually used to make something stand out and make an impact.

Back Lighting: his helps counteract the effect of the key light or create an outline of a silhouette, which is used quite often in horrors.

Filler Light: helps to soften the harsh shadows that use of back lighting creates.

Under Lighting: this is when the main source comes from below he subject. This is also often used in horrors and thrillers.

Top Lighting: this is when the main source of lighting comes from above which then highlights the features which helps to create a very glamorous look. 

Low and High-Key Lighting

• Low-key lighting is created by using only the key and back lights. This will produce a sharp contrast of light and dark areas on the screen as deep, distinct shadows are formed.
• Whereas high-key lighting uses a lot more filler lights to make the object seem brighter and more realistic. 

This is an example of low-key lighting.

This is an example of high-key lighting.

Film Noir

This is the term given by french film critics to a group of films made in Hollywood from 1941 - 1958.
These films are characterised by the dark themes which tend to show and darker side to human nature. They are always filmed using low-key lighting to give the films a hard, sharp look with many strong areas of contrast between light and dark.