The high contrast and low-key lighting create a muted image that complements the tense drama created through the plot and characters of the film. Low-key lighting uses low exposure—which can ...

hard lighting to accentuate shadows and create a high contrast between dark and light tones. It is used in horror, film noir, or dramatic films to create tension and mystery. To achieve low-key ...

Horror films and particular scenes in crime films often made use of high-contrast low-key lighting ... Cornell University has found that light levels in film have markedly declined from 1935.

One of the great aesthetic and moral markers of film noir is its stark, high-contrast lighting. That noir glare makes every face a beacon lost and drifting in a sea of shadows. The white light ...