Chiaroscuro Lighting

Chiaroscuro lighting is a term to describe the contrast between light and dark it was originally a term used to describe art, however the developing media world transformed this and began using chiaroscuro lighting in film. This was the idea of using strong light and dark shadows to create a contrast. The third man uses the method of chiaroscuro lighting to create a dark feel and make the film more eerie. Frank millers Sin City also used this idea or dark and light. Chiaroscuro lighting can also be used to connote good and evil through lighting different objects or characters in either shadow or light. Chiaroscuro lighting is frequently used in film noir because it is very effective in monochrome film, this is because obviously colours cant be used to highlight good and evil for example an evil character dressed in black or a seductress dressed in red, through using chiaroscuro lighting characters can be defined without colours making it very popular in film noir. To improve the effectiveness of chiaroscuro lighting it is often combined with wet streets or in raining scenes because the water reflects the light and casts interesting shadows which can be used to symbolise corruption or unpredictability of either the characters or the plot line. Not only is water added to increase the effectiveness of the lighting but smoke is commonly used because bright light can be cast onto the smoke making it appear white which increases the contrast between the shadows and the light.

This is a screen shot from ‘double indemnity’This is a perfect example of chiaroscuro lighting as it features dark shadows and an extremely bright Smokey background which connotes the ideas of confliction between good and evil. The strong silhouettes of the two characters create enigma and mystery and get the audience to question who the characters are and what their relationship is. All of this affects are created by chiaroscuro lighting which is very commonly used in film noir because of the results achieved.