Film Noir Chiaroscuro

Examples of Chiaroscuro in Film Noir

Chiaroscuro is an Italian term and translates to "Light-Dark" and dates back to renaissance art. This is the type of lighting used in Film Noir and it uses a single light source to create high contrast and crisp shadows. This type of lighting is used to create the shadows featured heavily throughout Film Noir films and it is most likely to be seen when a character is walking down a dark sidewalk or alley. This could also be called low key lighting which means that you have two high contrast of bright and dark in one scene to create shadows and contrasts etc. This is also used to emphasise a specific character or prop. For example, when they  want you to look at someone or something ratehr than another they use lighting. They will use the light to "catch" the edge of the private detectives hat or the muzzle of his gun. This can be used to give the audience certain feelings. For example, by having the light "catch" the edge of the detectives hat you are creating an enigmatic feeling abotu him whereas if you were to make the light "catch" his gun it would create the feeling of suspense as you would assume violence or action is about to occur.