Lighting In Films

Introduction To Lighting In Films

Lighting is a very important aspect in the film industry that allows films to be portrayed exactly as planned in the script. Lighting is able to control the mood, atmosphere and suspense in films, meaning it is a good idea to know when and how to use lighting correctly. The main types of lighting in films are 'High Key', 'Low Key' and 'Natural'.

Low Key Lighting

This type of lighting is commonly used in thrillers as it is able to hide many elements from the viewer, such as identity and location, to add to the current enigma of the scene or story. Low key lighting hides detail in objects and people, meaning, when used correctly, scenes can become very perplexing. Low key lighting is a necessity when creating effects such as the chiaroscuro effect (An extreme contrast of low key and high key lighting to clearly define particular areas in a scene).

Low key lighting is generally associated with horrors and thrillers to present a suspenseful scene to keep the audience on the edge of their seats. Low key lighting is associated with murder, enigma and sadness in general.

A scene from the infamous horror 'Halloween' that uses low key lighting
in order to pull of the desired effect.

High Key Lighting

High key lighting is the use of artificial lighting to illuminate a scene in a movie, video or photograph, and is not often used in the thriller genre however can be effectively used to portray opposites in specific scenarios. Usually, high key lighting is used to show detail and present a pleasant or joyful atmosphere however can be cleverly used in thrillers to portray a false sense of joy, to make the enigma even more of a mystery than it already is. High key lighting is usually used in genres such as 'romantic comedies' (showing an upbeat and cheerful atmosphere).

A screenshot from the popular comedy 'Easy A', showing Emma Stone in high key
lighting.

In conclusion, a mix of wisely chosen scenes using mainly low key lighting would be most appropriate to use for a thriller to enhance the mystery. However, a few correctly used high key shots could allow contrasts to become clearer, and enhance the thriller as a whole.