Film noir is a style of filmmaking that became popular in the 1940s and 1950s. Its most notable style characteristic is a lighting design that is matched to the dark nature of the storyline and the sinister characters that the film follows. Film noir is known for its shadowy, high-contrast scenes consisting of deep shadows and intense highlights. In order to mimic this lighting style, one must first understand the basics of film noir lighting.
Think of film noir lighting as a magnifying glass. What do you want the audience to focus on? Use your light to carve through the shadows and illuminate the object of focus. You may rather choose to create a crisp shadow or silhouette, allowing that to be your focal point. Either way, to successfully light in this manner, an intense hard light is required for keeping your subject illuminated while the camera's iris is closed enough to allow for the dark shadows.
Remember, you're not lighting the whole scene, you're trying to pull things out of the shadows. Be sure to always light with precision and purpose. Shadowy faces, dark surroundings, and silhouettes are all acceptable, if not encouraged in film noir, so use them. Learning as much as you can about lighting in the film noir style, as well as any lighting set-up, will help you in your quest to capture the desired look and feel in your next production.
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February 03rd, 2011
