Research: Mise En Scene: Lighting & Colour - Mrs. Quinlan

Why is the lighting and colour important?

Both the lighting and colour is an important convention as it creates a purposeful meaning which helps convey the mood and atmosphere such as low-key lighting might convey messages like we should be afraid of this particular character because we are not able to see his identity properly. Sometimes when low-key lighting is used, shadows are casted upon the particular characters face which means that their face is not completely covered. This could suggest that the character is dark with dark intentions or it could just mean their in a dark situation e.g. depressed. Furthermore, it can be used to guide the audience's attention to get a particular object, person, emotion or gesture. Colour is important as it conveys the audiences interpretation of the film, using filters to create conventional themes e.g. innocence, sinister, envy, anger.
Lighting creates further meaning than we actually think as its a crucial convention to the thriller convention as it massively improves the quality of an image that the audience can see. It us also important as it plays the role of a visual element that dicates how a character or scene is to interpreted by the viewers.
Colour on the other hand is the filter that is additionally added to lighting to create a more obvious effect instead of it being subtle like the lighting. Moreover, colour connotes partiuclar messages, emotions and moods that can be interpreted differently from the audience.

Angles of lighting - Examples:

Angles of lighting important because it demonstrates whether the character has good or evil intentions. In addition, the lighting can tell us a lot about the character like what type of person they are. There are three main types of angles of lighting:

Prisoners (2013)

• High - This makes the particular character look glamorous or innocent. This is because we are able to see their face clearly, it demonstrates that they're not afraid to hide and are confident with who they are. This type of high angle lighting is usually used with protagonists because it creates a friendly feeling. Top/high angle lighting comes from above the character and highlights the features of the character as well as making them look non-threatening. This type of lighting is always used when a protagonist is present. In this scene from 'prisoners' the lighting show that the two characters are evidently two protagonists. The lighting does not hesitate to show off their masculine features further demonstrating their power and intelligence. This is conventional to the thriller genre as top lighting is used on the protagonists to symbolise their courageous and powerful manner.

The Dark Knight 2008

• Low - Low/under angle lighting always casts shadows on that particular character which can either convey that they have dark intentions themselves or their in a dark situation such as being depressed, upset, scared. This type if low angle lighting is usually used with antagonists because they do not want anyone including the audience who they are. Under lighting usually comes from below the antagonist which often creates a distorted image of their face making it much more challenging to identify who this individual is. Moreover, it has been used in this scene from 'The Dark Knight' on the antagonist 'Joker' to present him as an evil character with dark intentions. Despite the character is sitting in what looks like to be a cold and dark prison cell, the audience have no sympathy for him as he does not have sympathetic persona which is also encouraged by the lighting. The use of this low/under lighting used on this protagonist makes it conventional to a thriller because it presents them in a negative way further creating chilling responses form the audience.

Nightmare On Elm Street (2010)

• Back - Back lighting is usually achieved by the light source coming from behind the character. This type of lighting is often used with protagonists in thrillers as it allows silhouettes to be created furthermore, creating a fearful and disgust response from the audience. In addition, the back lighting enables the antagonists persona not to be revealed to the audience and as a result, creates a sense of mystery for the audience as well as fear. This is conventional to the thriller genre as it is expected for the antagonist to create mystery without being identified which makes it more difficult for the protagonist and audience to work harder and defeat this villain. It connotes darkness and suggests that the disequilibrium is about to take place.

Types of lighting - Examples:

There are two types of lighting:

The Dark Knight (2008) Low-key

• Low-key lighting is dark with small areas of light allowing to create shadows. Low-key lighting is perceived in this scene when the antagonist walks through a dark street. there is little light from this scene which enables this scene make it a fearful atmosphere. Shadows are cast on the antagonists face which makes the viewers fear this character as they're not able to identify this character clearly. This is conventional to a thriller film as low-key lighting is used during the disequilibrium when the antagonist is causing problems connoting danger and fear.

The Dark Knight (2008)

• High-key lighting almost always appears to represent protagonists. The high-key lighting used in this scene with two protagonists and its evident that it symbolises that the protagonists are dominant and intelligent giving the audience hope that they're able to defeat the antagonist. The effect of high-key lighting heightens as the pressure is on the protagonists constantly as they know they must not let the audience down knowing that that everyone is relying on them. This is conventional to the thriller genre as high key lighting is used to highlight the protagonists skills that does create anticipation and excitement for viewers. 

What type of lighting is conventional in thrillers? Why?

Low-key lighting is usually conventional in thrillers because it creates a sense of mystery. Most people are not actually scared of the antagonist but what really scared the audience is the unknowing. One the 'mask' is taken off and the identity is shown, we feel relieved to know what we're trying to run away from. This is why when low-key lighting is used, it gets a particular response from the audience because we are not able to see the characters face clearly.

Colour in scenes

Colour in scenes are important as it also conveys hidden messages for the audience to pick up on. It may foreshadow future events that are going to happen to this particular character or what type of person thet could possibly be. Common colours in scenes used in thrillers are red, black and green that connate quite negative ideas and intentions of the character. 

Examples:

Being Human (2008)

• This scene from 'Being Human' portrays colour filters such as black and white that are used to connate danger and the supernatural. Colours such as black and white are powerful as it portrays strength however it may have negative connotations also for example fear creating suspense. Although the white can suggest innocence, it could also demonstrate a darker side to the character using the colour black. The filters used in this scene are conventional to a thriller film as it symbolises danger and tension that are key elements to a successful thriller genre. 

Insidious 2 (2014)

• Red lighting is used in this scene to show the antagonists evil intentions due to the red filter that portrays this. The colour connotes danger and also a sense of terror that demonstrates danger as the antagonist clearly shows he has some supernatural powers. This scene creates a chilling response from the audience as they fear for the protagonist that might be fighting with the villain. The colour red is a conventional colour to the thriller genre as tension is built and adrenaline is created for the audience and the victim how is now in danger. In this scene from 'Insidious' the female vicitm sees the antagonist behind the curtain and instantly the red filter makes it more of a spine chilling scene. The red connotes blood and fire which highlights the antagonists intentions in killing the female. 

The Dark Knight (2008)

• The green lighting is used in this scene connotes envy and deceit. It symbolises that the antagonist has traits such as envy as he envies the protagonist of the film which is Batman and does everything in his power to defeat the protagonist, he is also deceitful and mischievous as he creates problems for the protagonist due to the envy and deceit he feels towards the protagonist. With this green filter, it creates a chilling response from the audience as they despise and fear the antagonist because he makes the protagonist work harder.

Analyse a scene identifying with use of colour and lighting

In this scene from 'The moon in the Gutter', there are various use of lighting techniques to help the audience make inferences. It has many messages just from the use of lighting and filters which both connote positive and negative things. It is evident that the female victim walking through the street at night with the use of low-key lighting infers that something bad will happen. The low-key lighting casts shadows and distorts the image a little which makes the antagonists who stalks her difficult to identify. Moreover, top lighting is also used on the female to inform audience that shes the victim. The female victim walks through various of lighting and filters that connote many messages for example: she walks through bright white light connoting her innocence, purity and vulnerability however she passes a shop that has red lighting connoting that something awful is going to happen and shes in danger. The audience are fearful and sympathetic towards the female as they have infer shes the victim through various lighting used in this scene. This conventional to the thriller genre as it is expected for murders take place at night when crimes are more likely to take place furthermore, the antagonist is able to escape without getting caught.

Conclusion:

Researching about mise en scene lighting and colour, I have much greater knowledge on how to tackle particular lighting and colours that are needed to create a successful thriller. For example conventional filters like red, black and white and green are often used to symbolise anger, death, passion, the supernatural and envy. Moreover which are common themes that are used in popular thrillers. I understand clearly that the lighting is most important when creating a thriller as it can suggest major ideas about that particular character such as is he/she the protagonist of the film or antagonist.
When I am creating my thriller, I am able to understand the different meanings of lighting. I will ensure that I try to use all of the types of lighting that I've mentioned knowing that it'll make a successful thriller. I know that I must use low-key lighting when the antagonist is present so the audience can easily infer this making it clear to them that the antagonist is in the scene. If I really want a spine chilling response from my audience, I know that I can put filters like the colour red and black to show that dangerous/ paranormal things are going to happen.