Lighting Used in 'Thrist' (2009)

Lighting Used in ‘Thirst’ (2009)

How has lighting been used to represent the priest’s transformation into a vampire in ‘Thirst’?

Character	Lighting Techniques	Purpose/Effect
Priest	Backlight	The backlight makes the priest stand out from the background to give the impression that he is ‘holy’. This is a clever use of lighting as it represents the occupation of the main character before he turns into a vampire.
Priest	Top Lighting	This technique cascades a shadow across the characters face so that the audience cannot see the features of the priest. This use of lighting is often used for villains, foreshadowing the future transformation into a vampire.
Priest	Under lighting	This creates shadows across the face to mask the identity of what the light is being directed upon. This is conventional for horror films as it creates an eerie atmosphere and hides the identity of the characters.
Priest	Low Key Lighting	This creates large areas of darkness and creates a contrast between light and dark colours within the scene. The darkness creates ambiguity, as the audience cannot see the scene clearly, This is a common convention of horror films.
Priest	High Key Lighting	This is typical for the scene, which takes place within a hospital as this area is often clearly lit. This makes the figure stand out as the high contrast makes the figure clearer. This creates a sinister sense, as bad things tend to occur during at night, not day.
Vampire	Backlight	Backlighting creates a dark shadow on the face of the villain, as the key light is not placed directly in front of the figure. This darkness connotes evil as dark lighting is often used within horror films.
Vampire	High Key Lighting	High key Lighting creates a realistic atmosphere as dark, low-key lighting is often conventional of the genre and can be perceived as fake and unreal. This lighting could also show that the character may be good as well as evil, reflecting in the light and dark lighting used within the trailer.
Vampire	Low Key Lighting	The low key lighting makes the scenes seem very dark and creates deep shadows, creating a sinister effect as the audience cannot tell what is happening in the scene as it may be hidden. Low-key lighting is also conventional of its genre so in some cases it has been used for a successful effect.
Vampire	Under Lighting	Under lighting creates a distorting effect, making the main character, the vampire, seem eerie and villainous. This is effective in addressing the genre of the film, as the audience may be shocked with the outcome after using this technique of lighting.
Vampire	Top Lighting	This technique creates an eerie sense as it cascades a shadow across the face of the villain, hiding the identity of the figure. This could be seen as somewhat scary and sinister as the audience do not know what the vampire is going to do to its next victim.

The DOP (Director of Photography) effectively chooses a varied amount various lighting within the scene to create a realistic movie rather than conventional techniques that are often predictable. The use of high key lighting with the priest is the lighting technique I found used most successfully as it demonstrates the occupation of the character and symbolising the ‘holy’ nature of his character after he changes into a vampire. The use of lighting is effective all round the trailer as it is used for effect and has clearly been thought about. For our own opening sequence, the use of varied lighting may be used to ensure the film is not completely conventional of its genre, but also to make it realistic by experimenting with various light sources.