Lighting and Colour The Conjuring
stealthysloth56
Lighting and Colour analysis
By Connor Leigh
The first shots we see are of the names of the companies behind this film, those being Warner Bros and New Line Pictures. The contrast between the black skies and white logos attracts the audience's attention to the centre of the screen. This chiaroscuro is effective and follows tropes of horror films being very dark and spooky. The low-key lighting is also following conventions of horror films as well because horror films typically make use of dark lighting to set the atmosphere for the film.
In the next shot the lighting is also quite low-key, with the only light coming from the camera being used to film in first person. This lighting gives off a spooky effect for the scene when combined with the found footage style of it, both conventions of horror films. The colour is quite dull because of the style of the scene being found footage, building on the spooky atmosphere of the film. The effect of having the only light source coming from the camera makes the audience want to focus on what they can see in the light, whilst also leading them to believe there might be something lurking in the shadows.
The next scene includes a theatre room where the audience was watching the previous scene of footage. The lighting changes from being low-key to high-key as the theatre lights come on. This could be suggesting that the audience can relax in this scene as they believe that nothing will scare them in the light as it is conventional for horror films to only scare in the darkness. The dull faded colours from the previous scene are gone in this scene, implying that the video is over and now the audience is back in the present which is why the colour scheme is 'normal' now.
During the transitions between the text "Based on the true story of the Warrens, out of the thousands of cases they investigated, there is one so disturbing they've kept it locked away" there is a series of photographs shown. All of these photographs are in black and white to indicate to the audience that these are old images. It is also a trope of horror films to make use of an old style for a creepy effect through the colour used, typically black and white. It is especially effective when combined with the disturbing imagery used.
There is a distinct contrast between the two shots here in terms of lighting and colour. The first shot contains high-key lighting which comforts the audience as they know that it is unlikely for anything scary to happen in the light but then the scene quickly changes to an extremely low-key lighting house in a spooky mist. This immediately raises tension for the audience as it follows Carol Clover's 'terrible place' theory, as the house is in the middle of nowhere surrounded by darkness. The use of the extremely dark colours continues to raise tensions as well since dark colours are a common trope of horror films.
The shot of the family photo has high-key lighting in it however the atmosphere of the rest of the scene is quite low-key so it creates a more sinister atmosphere for the scene as something bad might be happening to this happy family. This atmosphere is further built on with the shot of the clock showing the time of 3am because in horror films it is conventional for the evil to arrive late at night. The bright colours of the photo contrasts heavily with the dark theme of the trailer, which could be disturbing to the audience.
These next shots change the atmosphere completely as supernatural disturbances start to occur in the house. As it is night time, the lighting in the scene is very low-key and certainly gives off a creepy effect when used with the moving paintings. Very dark colours are still used in this scene to show the audience that they are in the house the previous shot included. The low-key lighting combined with the screaming and paintings is very effective at disturbing the audience as they are unsure of what is going on and what is going to happen next.
The lighting drastically changes in this next establishing shot of the house as it is very high-key and makes the house appear friendlier than it actually is, concealing the dark secrets. The colours are also quite bright with the blue sky and green trees, implying the area is full of life when in reality it is quite the contrary. The following shot of the inside of the house features high-key lighting but the colour used is quite dull, varying between black, dark green, dark blue,etc. Although there is quite a lot of natural lighting coming into the house, it appears as though an effect has been put on the shot to make the colours still look dark in a way so that the trailer continues to follow conventions of horror films.
In these two shots the use of lighting varies again. The first shot shows a low-key lighting room that looks quite old and creepy with two character in it. The use of a white suit could be suggesting that this character is to be considered a 'good' character as white is associated with purity. He appears to be a hero of the story and also a helper according to Propp's theory since he is trying to help solve the mystery of this family's house. The second shot is different as it instead has high-key lighting featuring the same male character and what may be a ghost or demon. As this ghost is wearing a white dress it could lead the audience to believe that this ghost was once innocent and something terrible caused it to be this way.
The use of the lighting coming mainly from the torch in this scene could also be depicting this character trying to help as she brings light to the darkness revealing the noose indicating horrible events in this place. In both of these shots the characters are wearing white, symbolising their innocence in this situation. The second shot also seems to use more low-key lighting around the little girl than the rest of the shot, which could alternatively be portraying the innocence of this little girl being taken away from her whilst a much darker presence arrives.
The low-key lighting in these next two shots indicates the horror has finally arrived in the trailer and is taking over. The demon is hiding on top of the cupboard in a white dress again, which relays the idea that the demon used to be innocent and pure but some tragedy has caused this horror to take place. The demon's dark hair could be symbolising the pure evil that resides within it as dark colours like black are conventionally associated with evil in the media. The second shot of the boy has even darker lighting used and the red-like bags under his eyes could be implying he is in grave danger.
The following shot of the house contrasts heavily to the previous shot of the house as the lighting has changed completely from friendly high-key lighting to low-key dangerous lighting. The single area of lighting on the house could be symbolising hope for the house and the people inside as small as it may be. The second shot is similar in terms of lighting as it is generally low-key with a single light source on one area. In this case the light could be implying this character as a entirely good character because she is fending off the darkness at searching for answers.
The colour of the demon's face being covered in black veins could be indicating her corruption of evil from her once innocence also suggested from her white dress. Her eyes also seem to look bloodshot red which portrays the demon as being very dangerous and a force to be reckoned with that the characters should leave right away. The second shots use of lighting is effective as the male character who is perceived as a protagonist is slightly coevering up the light with his hand. This could be connoting the idea that no matter how much he is trying to help, hope is fading away and he must escape as soon as possible.
The final title screen introduces the name of the film to the audience being 'The Conjuring'. The chiaroscuro used is effective as it keeps the audience focused on the title whilst the cracks of white on the black background could be representing darkness consuming light. The final shot the audience the sees before the end of the trailer is of the face of a ghostly woman looking at a female character. The smeared black makeup going down from the ghostly woman's face could be symbolising tears from a tragic event whilst the black implies darkness consuming her to the point she no longer cares but the pain has scarred her so much she must inflict her sorrow onto others.
