Lighting Effect

The Conjuring






In The Conjuring the cinematographer used low-key lighting to make it a horror film.  "A Low-key lighting is often used for intense dramatic scenes, horror films, mystery thrillers, and the like" (Goodykoontz & Jacobs, 2014).


This films benefit of the lighting style used was very helpful during the movie because it was based in a house that is very old and creepy.  The scenes were also happing at night so it made the movie very scary at all times because of the lighting, there were many dark scene in the movie.  The low key lighting used in this movie which was "marked by extreme use of deep shadows, with very high contrast between the brightest parts of the scene and the darkest parts, which are obscured in shadows" (Goodykoontz & Jacobs, 2014).  It was very intense when the dark scene were shown especially when they were in the basement trying to find the dark soul who was scaring the family, when they were flashing the lights back and forth it was dark then it was lighted up this so intense and it even scared me a little. 


This technique contribute to the theme a lot because it showed very creepy scene throughout the whole movie and plus in was based in the that old house and it was dark when things happen.  For some reason they always based a movie in an old house to make it even scarier for the audience, because old houses are always known for being haunted because it has been there for a long time. 


 The low-key lighting was very suited for this genre of the film just because it is a dark setting that this movie takes place in.  Even when I watch the trailer for the first time I knew that is was a scary movie, just because one of the kids was getting pulled out of bed and no one was visual when it was happening.


If the movie had been used with a different lighting choice it would not have been  a good movie, because if they use the high-key lighting it would not be possible to make those dark scene scary.  "High-key lighting design has very bright light over everything, with few shadows and relatively low contrast between the lightest and darkest parts of the scene. This style of lighting is typical of comedies, happy scenes, institutional and office scenes, and the like" (Goodykoontz & Jacobs, 2014).  Unlike the "low-key lighting where it's design looks dark overall by comparison"


Reference


Goodykoontz, B., & Jacobs, C. P. (2014). Film: From watching to seeing. (2^nd ed.). San Diego,   
 CA: Bridgepoint Education, Inc.