Light and Contrast

[Dalila di Capri]

Blue and others brought up an excellent point in my last thread:

If the action is hidden by evocative lighting the fan feels cheated.

I myself have seen traditional horror films that are way too dark.

The best sccenes offer "high contrast" lighting.

Some things are in the dark and some highlighted to throw the focus on them

These pictures show that I am still delivering action and gore

(Perhaps too much for some)

Baci

[Dalila di Capri]

One more photo!!

[Max5s]

If the action is hidden by evocative lighting the fan feels cheated.

In my house, we refer to that phenomenon as "theater of the dark". But I think lighting and music are very effective in setting the mood and tension in a scene. I like to see different lighting techniques used, but when the bullet hits, I want to be able to see the action.

[JohnM]

Those look great. Maybe slightly hot in the center (probably my monitor). I love the combination of the bright white and bright red of the blood. In addition, I like the spot of light hitting the carpet in the next room.

Horror movies, if they could talk, will tell you the darkness is to add suspense. But, that is not the only reason. Gore effects for all but the most expensive productions, tend to have flaws. Darkness, quick cuts, and motion help hide all that. It's amazing what darkness, lots of glistening globs of red stuff, and a layer of methyl cellulose (goo/slime) will do.

JohnM

[Dalila di Capri]

Hi John,

Thanks!

It's hard to predict the level of brightness from monitor to monitor...so we can only do what looks right on our set of equipment.

Since you have met me in person you know that I have a light olive skin tone in RL.
Often times that does get lost in our films.

The best thing for us to do is to continue to upgrade software and equipment as we go.

I agree...High contrast lighting does disguise the artificial nature of gore, stabbing effects and so forth.

As long as the customer still gets to see the blade go into my flesh in vivid detail I think that this kind of lighting enhances the film.

Baci

[graphon2009]

Doesn't it also depend on what kind of lighting your using? ie: Umbrellas, soft boxes, shop lights etc?

[JohnM]

Different types of lighting makes a huge difference. I still prefer halogens, but some are switching to fluorescent banks. The movie "Pathology" was shot almost entirely with that type of lighting. But, it fit the movie well.

What I like about halogens is that they can be focused or diffused, whereas florescent are always diffused.

Dalila---if you have a filter in your arsenal called "proc amp", it is a very good tool for lighting adjustment with regard to control of hot spots in post.

JohnM

[hucklebury]

Dalila in the dark would be a bad thing. We want to see her gasping as she feels the knife slicing through her and struggling to hold her guts in as she tries to stagger away! As for mainstream directors using darkness to add suspense, I always figured that was just an excuse to cover their cheap poor effects. Not being able to see anything sure doesn't add any suspense for me. Dalila and her team know how to do it. Don't change a thing. Just one humble opinion.

[Peter]

I like having a strong point source and a diffuse fill. That said, my strong point source is typically not so strong as to create a hard shadow relative to the light from the fill. This creates for strongly shaded light, but no hard shadow lines, which I find tend to interfere with viewing the action. Where I often fail, as a result mostly of how my studio is constructed (with a black curtained stage background) is in having insufficient back-light. My character's edges tend to blend with the background instead of standing out clearly from the background. That is a flaw good back-lighting would address.

Example from Maximum Consent:

[Dalila di Capri]

I am glad to see such an interest in the subject of ligthing.

For Hucklebury: don't worry.

I will always make sure that my death scenes or any other actresses are well lit.

What we are trying to do is create a stronger contrast, especially with male characters.
(The woman is the focal pointnof this genre after all.)

Thanks for enjoying our work. It's always nice to hear.


For John M:

A proc amp - Is that to be found in an editing software?

For Peter:

First of all "mmmmmmmm" for the photo.

Second: We vary our lighting depending upon whether we are going for a noir look, something more glamorous, or a naturalistic setting.

Today I am going to film a portion of a bathtub hit film - and yes I will be nude for it in case anyone is interested.

We will try to soften and blend lighting as much as possible for today's shoot.

My guest assassin will be contrasted with more stark lighting.
(I will keep you in the dark about who that is.)

I'll send photos of that soon.

Baci