E.T The Extra Terestial
(How lighting effects the film)
Directed by: Steven Spielberg
Written by: Melissa Mathison
Stars :Henry Thomas (as Elliot), Robert MacNaughton (as Michael),Drew Barrymore as Gertie, Dee Wallace as Mary
The film E.T. The Extra Terrestrial is an American Classic that has been nominated and won multiple awards, and is viewed still as one of the best “Sci-FY” films of all time. With and amazing director (Spielberg), and all star cast to include Drew Barrymore, this film was destined to do well. Although E.T The Extra terrestrial was known for the advanced special effects (for the time), there is another part of this film that was also exceptional and widely acknowledged for its achievements that part is know as “cinematography”. “The cinematographer is responsible for ensuring there is enough light and typically designs the lighting“look” of a movie”(Goodykoontz & Jacobs,2014)
Because this film is from the genre category of Sy-Fi the main lighting that was used was “Low-Key”.According to Goodykoontz & Jacobs,2014) “Low key light is marked by extreme use of deep shadows, with very high contrast between the brightest parts of the scene and the darkest parts,which are obscured in shadows. Often there may be only a single source of light,coming from the back or the side of the main characters. Low-key lighting is often used for intense dramatic scenes, horror films, mystery thrillers, and the like.” Low Key lighting used shadows to create an eerie suspenseful feel. These shadows are used throughout the entire film. One example is when E.T. raises his finger to point into space at says the infamous quote “E.T. phone home”, the shadow from his finger falls upon Elliot’s (Thomas) face.
The film also used lighting techniques called blacklight, this is when the light is behind the actor while shining at the head or shoulders. This effect caused the character to pop out like in the scene of the bicycles flying in-front of the moon.
Underlighting is also known as “Halloween” lighting. It is was creates the hair on the back of your neck to stand up. Often it is used for “ spooky, unnatural situations, creates an unsettling mood for viewers because we’re not used to seeing light come from below the subject
Without these effects this movie would not have set the bar for all science fiction, fantasy, adventure… the list goes on of all of the sub genres that this films hits. It is one of my favorites of all time.
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