What is Modern Film Noir? | Why You Should Use Hard Light

Stay tuned to the end for a chance to win a prize! In this episode, Valentina and guest cinematographer, Laura Odermatt, explore what the modern film noir looks like, and how the cinematography of the genre has evolved. While it may not be black and white anymore, the lighting remains hard, with a high amount of contrast and shadow. Color contrast matters now too, as some palettes become synonymous with the genre. How do we create this modern noir look? We're shooting in a backyard tool shed, which will play as the killer's den. In the story, a rookie detective gets kidnapped and his superior finds him in a gruesome way. Little do they know of the killer lurking about. Everything about the plot screams suspense, but how do we create the feeling with lighting? We start with thinking about our setting, which has to be done at night. Because of production-related challenges, Laura has to create black tents outside every opening of the shed in order to station lights. Even one tiny daylight spill will be enough to destroy the illusion. After that, Laura sets up a top overhead light, the LS 60d with a Spotlight Mini Zoom. Normally, a hard overhead light would be very unflattering for a character, but in this case it works because of the mood we're trying to achieve. To compliment it, we shoot an LS 300d II with a spotlight mount from outside one of the windows. Not only is it also hard, but it also creates a venetian blind effect on the background - a lighting technique that has stayed consistent throughout film noir history. Finally, Laura adds some sodium vapor light outside the door, created by a Nova P300c and LS 300d II. Because of it, we now have the blue of moonlight and orange of sodium vapor playing together in the scene - a color palette that is very popular in dramatic Hollywood movies. For our camera, we have the Arri Alexa Mini with rehoused Nikon lenses. We introduce a dutch angle to our establishing wide shot, because we want the feeling of uneasiness in the scene. The feeling of suspense is compounded with the lack of camera movement. The static nature of the shots can be almost chilling, especially when the shots are held a little longer than they should. Want more free lighting and cinematography tutorials? Subscribe to us so you never miss an episode: https://goo.gl/QwazdM 0:00 - Intro 1:11 - Concept/Story 2:19 - Shot Selection 4:05 - Production Design 4:42 - Lighting 8:35 - Breakdown 8:56 - Lighting #2 10:28 - Breakdown #2 10:56 - Outro 🎥Subscribe to Aputure:    / aputurephoto     / aputure     / aputure.lighting     / aputurelighting   Follow Laura on IG:   / odrmtt   🎥Free Cinematography Lessons From Experts!    • Back to Set | Learn Cinematic Lighting   🎥Connect with the A-Team! Host/DP: Valentina Vee IG: @valentina.vee Twitter: @valentinavee Producer: Moses Israel Guerrero IG: @moses_israel Director: Tue Duong IG: @tuezzles Episode Cinematographer: Jucel Andrin IG: @jucelandrin_ 🎥GET APUTURE GEAR: http://lddy.no/3dkv 🎥MUSIC: http://bit.ly/pb_aputure Summary: Aputure's YouTube channel provides free high quality cinematography, lighting, and filmmaking educational content to help you take your film projects to the next level.