The film opens with natural ambient lighting. A shot of the sun shining bright in the sky onto the glistening snow beneath it. The weather conditions set a winter scene and also offer a sense of innocence to the scene. Ambient lighting inside the car establishes the setting as natural and calm which is further emphasised by the calming non-diegetic music. The scene cuts to the main character climbing the stairs. Low-key lighting is used to show that the main character is isolated; the only source of light comes from the torch that is being operated by the main character. Shadows add mystery to the scene, the audience begin to ask questions such as “what is he looking for?”- this relates to Barthes narrative theory. The light is shone into the camera; the bright white of the light connotes heaven and therefore death. The white light is conventional to the psychological horror genre.
Chiaroscuro lighting is used to add terror and fear to the action. We see half of the characters face in light and half in darkness; this adds a sinister element to the main character as the audience begin to ask “who he is?” Shadows further add to the mystery, “is he being watched?” (Barthes). A focus pull is used as the character’s face disappears from the shot leaving just a solitary beam of light. The use of extreme shadow adds to the effect, the beam of light highlights the book as a prop which moves the narrative along (macguffin). The beam of light can be described as the main characters only chance of survival as he plunged deeper into the unknown.
A close-up of the sink shows running water. The lighting is tinted blue which is a conventional colour for psychological horrors as it represents coldness and chill. The colour also represents supernatural activity and a sense of creepiness, something is not quite right. The torch flashes around the sink in a fast-paced manner to demonstrate that the main character needs to turn the taps off to resist flooding. The lighting heightens tension and adds to the suspense. A silhouette of the main character demonstrates his isolation. A single light lights the room creating a natural, ambient atmosphere, the light flickers on and off to diminish the previously established atmosphere and add terror and fear to the scene. A low-angled close-up of the main characters face in the mirror is lit by a bright white light shone on the main characters face, this connotes heaven and innocence. As his face rises the main character looks into the mirror, the light begins to move away and the darkness begins to spread. This indicates that the darkness is coming and that something evil is about to happen. The fact that it is chiaroscuro lighting adds terror and fear to the scene, shadows add mystery and the contrast between light and dark demonstrates a cross-over of the main character from good to evil. The light turns to black as the hands are wrapped around the neck. A fast-paced flash of light changes the pace of the scene, tension is heightened as the supernatural activity occurs.
The car park scene uses natural lighting to establish a setting. The car lights shine bright against the dark background to contrast. Low-key lighting adds suspense and shadows add mystery to the action. High key lighting lights the face if the main character to show his expression and reactions. High key lighting is unconventional for psychological horrors; we opted to break the conventions to gain added effect. At the stair scene low-key lighting heightens tension which is emphasised by the main character running, an obvious sign of panic and distress. Shadows add mystery to the scene while the bright white colours of the shirt contrast to the darkness and thus portray innocence, or worse, heaven and moreover death. Natural ambient lighting is used in the outdoor running scene to restore a sense of normality but also emphasise the panic and fear in the scene.
A wide shot shows natural, ambient lighting as the main character assesses the book he has found. On the right-hand side of the frame the television switches itself on. The bright white colours of the television connote heaven and add to the running theme of bright white light contrasting to the dark atmosphere to illustrate death. The static of the television is conventional for psychological horrors. The driving scene shows a light flashing in the distance. The flashing light is an SOS call for help which indicates panic, fear and distress. The ambient lighting helps establish a calming scene before the main character is seen escaping from the bushes. The final shot uses a flickering light to add suspense. The main character walks past the camera to darken the scene- black connotes death- before the white colour of the newspaper (portraying innocence) falls and reveals the words ‘Red Room’.
A variety of colours were used for our lighting as we wanted to heighten tension from a very ordinary and natural setting. Initially the white colours as seen in the establishing shot of the snow etc portrays innocence, but as the narrative progresses the white colours represent heaven and therefore death. The orange or yellow colours initially used in the ‘Red Room’ signify warmth and comfort, the room appears natural and leads the actor into a false sense of security until the music changes, the lights flicker and tension is heightened as events become more supernatural. The grey colours are used to signify change, the events of the narrative change from normality to the supernatural and the main character changes from an average man to the hero/ villain. Finally, the blue colours represent the supernatural activity and are associated with masculinity.
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