Visual styles and lighting.

Noirs use several different visual styles to convey different contexts within the film. The typical styles are:

-Blocking shot (through shutters or blinds)
-Low key lighting
-Shots through reflective surfaces such as glass.
-Varying angles
-Shadows
-Darkness
-Silhouette

Using these different styles the creator can add depth to a scene, mystery to a character and deadliness to a fatale. Film noir lighting is key due to the importance in contrast between light and dark in all film noir. Harsh lights are usually used to provide strong shadows to give the film a further depth that most colour films struggle to create. The lights used in film noir are usually the key lights, the fill light and the backlight to outline the character (or scenery) from the other elements in the shot to emphasise the importance of different features. The lighting is used to match the dark genre that film noirs usually follow which can aid in typical themes such as crime. The key light is the brightest and most important as it shows the dominance of the stage to highlight the most important features of the shot. The style used to light a film noir is called chiaroscuro as it uses low key lighting and emphasises harsh lighting and shadow to create a sense of depth and volumes in films.

Noirs can use blocking shots to create a shadow of blinds or shutters to add an air of mystery to a scene along with the already unique lighting style used in typical film noirs. They can also use reflective surfaces such as windows to show further depth or lead into an important flash back which an be done through the natural light. Lastly, lighting is also use to show shadows and silhouettes of characters and buildings to either convey mystery, violence or a grave ending to an important character.

Noirs also use varying angles when shooting different scene and this can be done by editing a change of shot to occur quickly during violence or slow in conversations. They will use high and low shots to generally display power or authority over others between different characters. Along with varying angles, film noirs will tilt their shots occasionally to almost disorientate the audience so they can feel differently about something or a character due to the slight change.