Lighting & Colour
Lighting helps to convey the mood or atmosphere of the scene we are observing. The audience's attention can be guided by brightly lighting an object or gesture important to the storyline whilst keeping other minor details in relative darkness. At the same time a director can also use shadows to build up suspense by concealing elements in the scene from the audience.
The Key light- The brightest and most influential.
The Back light- Helps counteract the effect of the key light, making the character appear more 'rounded'.
The Filler light- Helps to soften the harsh shadows that the Key and Back lights create, there may be more than one Filler.
High-key- This means that more Filler lights are used. The term means that lighting appears normal and realistic to our eyes. E.g. Brightly lit sets such as a sunny day at the park or subtly lit might scenes. Areas of dark and light will not be so pronounced as in Low - key lighting.
Low-key- This is created by using only the Key and Back lights. This will produce a sharp contrast of light and dark and deep dark shadows are created. This effect is known as chiaroscuro which comes from the Italian words for light and dark.
Underlighting- When the main source of lighting comes from below the subject. This tends to have a distorting effect on the character or object that is being lit, often used in horror films.
Top lighting- When the main source of lighting comes from above, highlighting the features of a character- adds glamour to a star.
Back lighting- When the light source is behind the subject. If little or no other lighting is used silhouettes are created.
Film Noir- Film Noir had a distinct style of lighting which became a key feature. Low- key lighting was used to give the films a hard, sharp look with strong areas of contrast between light and dark areas.
Colour- Colour works on the subconsious mind to create mood. Each colour has its own connotations which may be influenced by culture, conventions, history & beliefs. Before colour was widely avaliable black & white films were very popular but companies were eager to use colour to add drama and vivid effects. When we see a film today we expect to see colour and black & white is used to create drama quite the opposite to early film making.
Sound
The first demonstration of sound on a film is meant to have taken place as early as 1911 in the USA but sound technology was limited. Sound on film today is much more sophisticated with a digital synchronised soundtrack combining the elements of dialogue, music & sound effects.
Diegetic- This is sound which is part of the film world we are watching, it has to come from a source within the film such as spoken dialogue and music from a CD player. The sound can occur either on screen or off.
Non diegetic- This is sound that we do not recognise as part of the film world such as a voice over or background music.
Sound bridges- This is sound that continues from one scene to the next even though the visual image has moved on to the next scene. Sound bridges create a smooth transition from one scene to another enhancing the continuity.
Parallel & Contrapuntal- Parallel sound complements the image we are seeing and Contrapuntal sound doesn't fit with the image we see on screen.
