The lighting used in making the film Saving Private Ryan is low-key lighting. Low key lighting looks dark and intensifies the shadows (Goodykoontz & Jacobs, 2014). The heavy contrast of bright light lays on the faces of the soldiers. This gives the movie a look that is more dark and natural and relates to the theme. Spielberg says, “Early on we both knew that we did not want this to be a Technicolor extravaganza about World War II, but more like color newsreel footage from the 1940s, which is very desaturated and low-tech (Goodykoontz & Jacobs, 2014).” The lighting made the movie more realistic, as if you were a part of the war. Not only realistic, but depicted the melancholy mood in every scene, regardless of what was going on. In the scene “Duty” jokes are being thrown around as the crew marches toward their mission. Throughout the scene the conversation is more cheerful, but the lighting continues to give the approach of a gloomy story. According to IMDB.com, this movie has an action, drama, and war genre, but it is made to look like a documentary. Using the same low-key lighting shots, the viewer gets a gaze at the war through the eyes of an unfazed shadowy soldier.
If this scene used bright contrast lighting, the scene would not be as impactful. The fact that the movie seemed real made it more appealing. The thought of an enemy lurking in the shadows at any moment is what war movies are all about. The shot is just like a horror, if the enemy stands out there is nothing which to be afraid. Bright lights would not make this war scenes as scary. If vibrant colors stood out then the scene would lose the natural look. No soldiers in war wears vibrant colors or stand out. Standing out in the military only stands for trouble. Uniformity was the key to making this movie. The low-key lighting, instead of high-key or traditional three point, gave the look of this scene the perfect gloom to humorous attitude.
References
Goodykoontz, B., & Jacobs, C. P. (2014). Film: From watching to seeing (2nd ed.). San Diego, CA: Bridgepoint Education, Inc.
Saving Private Ryan. IMDB. Amazon. Nd. http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0120815/?ref_=nv_sr_1.
Saving Private Ryan: Duty. rickyboi89. Youtube. 14 Oct 2010. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FF6C8MYdzQk. 5/13/2015.
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