Lighting analysis

Lighting analysis

Lighting is one of the most important aspects within the thriller genre due to the amount of suspense, excitement and all different kinds of emotions that it creates. However, how do different types of lighting affect the shot?

In this first image, we can see that the subject is in the left middle of the shot and the background light is coming from his right onto his face. This emphasises the facial expression of the subject which is clearly angry and revenge-seeking. This adds suspense to the shot because the audience can see that the character is serious; even though the gun is not highlighted the audience knows that the man can fire at any given moment. Will he shoot?

The lighting in this shot is diffenent and gives a completely different meaning to the character's intention. The low key lighting from the left onto the character's face creates a huge mystery especially that his face is painted. It creates a small enigma in the shot: What is he hiding? This is extremely effective due to the fact that this kind of lighting not only creates mystery, but also empowers the character due to the source of the ligh being low.

This image is completely different to the other two- the source of the light is visible and is far behind the character which creates visible rays of bright light. This connotes something heavenly and makes the audience see the character as pure. This kind of lighting is usually used to foreshadow to the audience that the character has good intentions.