Thursday, March 27, 2014

Blog Post #6: Inspiring Lighting Styles

There are many beautifully lit scenes that I could think of from movies, but I decided to pull just a few of my favorites out from many different movies to discuss!


Not only is Mary Poppins one of my absolute favorite classic Disney films, but this is a shot from one of my favorite scenes in the movie! Since they are standing on the roof of the house, I love how the deep amber tones help accentuate the fact that they are watching a sunset. I also love the background and the composition of the frame, placing the center of the clump slightly off center so as to give the characters more looking room and show off more of the background lighting.
Although Sunset Boulevard was shot in black and white, I love the lighting in this scene! The back lighting is so striking, and to me it symbolizes the fame that Norma Desmond once had and how her film career is now behind her, even if she won't admit it to herself. This scene shows how effective lighting can really be both artistically and symbolically, even in a black and white film!
This shot is so beautiful, sometimes it's hard for me to remember it's in a movie! The iconic water scene in Flashdance is not only remembered because it's awesome, but for me, the lighting in this shot makes it so much more powerful! With the use of the light to create a silhouette of Alex on the chair, the light reflects off of the water and makes every droplet stand out, which is something I think is so hard to capture so beautifully!
Another iconic dance scene from a movie, "Cell Block Tango" from the movie production of Chicago. I loved the lighting in this scene for many reasons. The red lighting keeps true to the mood of the piece, especially with the red silhouettes in the back. At the same time, they kept true to the fact that Chicago is originally a stage production by using lights on the ground that are typically used for theatre (particularly the gobos on the floor) and made it work for film. The ability for this piece to maintain theatrical lighting but use it in film is a skill that I would love to perfect and use later on in dance films.
I mean really, who doesn't love The Notebook?? While it is my favorite romance movie ever, the lake scene truly amazes me every time I watch this move. The beautiful amber cast makes every shot in this scene so beautiful while keeping true to the beauty of nature. I love this shot because of how natural the lighting really looks, showing how it's important to light scenes as they would be in real life, but to also do it in a beautiful way.
Black Swan was such a creepy movie, but that doesn't stop me from loving this scene. For one thing, it's hard to capture dances on a stage from behind the dancers because of all the stage lights; they often produce glares on your shot, which is a problem I have come across a lot. However, in the final dance scene, not only do they prevent the lens flares, but they also use the lights to enhance the shot and make her stand out from the audience in a beautiful way. 
It is so hard to shoot scenes in the dark in terms of getting the lighting just right, but I thought Silver Linings Playbook did a wonderful job with this, as you can see in this shot. Not only is Jennifer Lawrence's face lit well, it doesn't take away from the fact that it's a night scene. However, I also love the use of shallow depth of field to use lights in the distance in artistic ways. Altogether, it makes for a beautifully lit night scene.

1 comment:

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