DIE KINEMATOGRAPHIE IST MIT DEM LICHT AUF DAS ENGSTE

VERKNUPFT, JA OHNE DAS LICHT UBERHAUPT NICHT DENKBAR

-WOLFGANG JAENSCH

By Mari Sharp
My Take Aways:
KEATING'S TIMELINE OF
HOLLYWOOD'S SHIFT IN
LIGHTING AS A LANGUAGE
Keating point's out the equipment advancements that
kickstarted the move towards 3-point lighting in the
early 20's. Nearly a 100 years from today, films are
shown to have progressed passed 3-point lighting but
academic discource have not

THE JAPANESE AVERSION

TO EMBRACING THE USE OF
SHADOWS IN CINEMA
A large portion of the thesis/reading tells of the
ongoing struggle and pushback by Japanese studios
against the adoption of "hollywood style" low key
lighting in Japanese productions and how it relates to
the ongoing evolution of TV's visual style today
 JAPAN'S VISUAL
REVOLUTION

KOTANI
"In such scenes, visibility of the star's face is sacrificed for the sake of effects lighting."

SHOCHIKU
“In general, the only things that a cinematographer [in Japan] is allowed to do are to use the best of background,
to make images cleanly visible, and, in particular, to photograph actors beautifully.

ICHI NUKE, NI SUJI

Clarity First, Story second Shimazaki, “Nihon no eiga gijutsu hatten ni hatashita Tsuburaya Eiji no yakuwari,” 38; Watanabe,
Eizo o horu, 60; Kawatani, Mato o kakenuketa otoko, 14–15, 38–41.
 DAVID BORDWELL
The progress of the 'spotlight' spear KEY
heading evolution of lighting in the 1920's
POINTS
JACOBS
Jacobs argues that with three-point
lighting, “light works as a neutral element
of the mise-en-scène for most of the time”
without an obvious “signifying function.”

KEATING
Advocates for 3-Point lighting's best of
both world

Bordwell, Staiger, and Thompson, The Classical Hollywood Cinema, 223; Thompson, Herr Jacobs, “Belasco, DeMille, and the Development of Lasky Lighting,”
Lubitsch Goes to Hollywood, 37.
 PREMORDIAL FASCINATION
AND UNDERSTANDING OF
SHADOW

EVolution of cinema routed in realism.

Does the newfound attraction to inclusion of negative
fill stem from our premordial understanding of realiy's
inclusion of shadows.

MORE THAN JUST NOIR

German expressionism's lingering affect on cinmatic

inclusion of shadows, how understanding the extremes
of shadow a icon leads t psychological manipulation of
audiences on a enviromental level.
 The Big screen vs The Small screen
The approach and importance of lighting as a
narrative device. The divide between importance
being clearly evident when comparing the film vs the
original subject matter.

Star Trek (Original Series)

WB STUDIOS

September 1966 - 1969

Star Trek (film)

PARAMOUND PICTURES

2009
 Same story, decades apart
Modern retellings of the same notions
in a modern context not only embrace
modern character arcs but also show as
a testament to evolving lighting
practice.
In particular the embrace of the
Negative Fill Ginny & Georgia
Gilmore Girls NETFLIX

WB STUDIOS

February 2021-

October 2000 - May 2007

WandaVision
MARVEL/ DISNEY +

May 2021
FURTHER READING
KEATING, HOLLYWOOD LIGHTING FROM THE
SILENT ERA TO FILM NOIR
“the war film became an ideal genre for experimentation

with realist techniques.”

GUERIN, A CULTURE OF LIGHT

one of the first critical studies of motion picture lighting, categorizes three uses of light

technology in cinema: “material,” “subject,” and “referent.”

GRODAL, FILM LIGHTING AND MOOD

“deviating reality” makes backlight expressive

MILNER, “CREATING MOODS WITH LIGHT

While each production and each scene has its own problems, there are certain established

conventions in Cinematography, based on proven psychological reactions common to

humanity the

world over.