Camberwell Guides: Film Noir Lighting

Film Noir is about beautifully artistic lighting using the premise of light and dark and nothing in between, writes Sam Parkinson, Camberwell Studios...

Film Noir began its life in the '40s in the US. It was reminiscent of darker city nights of post war America where prostitution, drugs and crime were still in the shadows. Uses of smaller lighting set-ups and the advances of easier location shoots meant these Film Noir techniques could be deployed in new and exciting cinematic ways.
Emotions and moods often characterised by Film Noir are those of alienation, paranoia, bleakness, disenchantment, evil and ambiguity. The art is in bringing these emotions to the fore without the modern use of special effects and other film techniques.
Film Noir narrative is often skewed and non-linear. Twisted camera angles are utilised. Dutch angles, towering high shots and stooping low shots insinuate dominance or passivity in characters. These are great cinematic devices for low budget film-making. Its use of voice-overs, flashbacks and editing styles are practised to this day. The Film Noir protagonist is typically an anti-hero and the lines between the heroes and villains can often be blurred. An ideal approach for a black and white, good vs evil, lightness vs darkness scenario.
A one or two point hard lighting set up is ideal for Film Noir rather than the overly-used soft light set-up which floods areas. Use 800w red heads, 2kw's with barn doors and 1kw spot lamps with shutters. This will give a confined corridor of hard light. Depending on your aperture and shutter speeds you will need to work on the high key/low key basis. Diffuse and minimise intensity using ND filters and ideally match shots as you go. A high shutter speed will work well for any smoke you use in scenes. Smoke can also crush those dark areas darker. Close the Aperture to reduce light and the background will be blurred and mysterious. Perfect for Film Noir.
If you don't use enough light you will end up with a picture that is full of greys and whites. You'll need to increase the contrast between dark and light areas by adding higher wattage or moving the light source closer to the subject. Remember: Black or White. No greys. Film Noir lighting provides great textures and back drops. You may be lucky and get some natural moonlight for outside scenes.
You may wish to have the character run through channels of hard spotted down lights against a brick wall in alleyway. You may want to insinuate that the street light is causing a very heavily backlit scene (use a 2kw with barn doors, out of shot facing towards the action/camera).
If so, use a smoke machine and that will highlight the beams of light streaking through the shot. Take care with the weather as a wind and smoke do not mix well. Light the smoke from behind for the best effect. Back lighting can be a very good way to create shadows for effect. Ideal for introducing characters without giving away their identity. Perfect for the Film Noir style.
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