Blade Runner 2049 vs 2001: A Space Odyssey | A Dimly Lit Dystopia vs A Bright One | Scene lighting and visual aesthetics

Video - https://youtu.be/hBj7WmP3s_c

Hey, guys,

Blader Runner 2049 is a stimulating movie. But one thing that sort of let me down was the scene lighting. Quite frequently I found the scenes to be too dimly lit.

There’s a huge risk that one runs into by reducing the lighting of a scene. For one thing, you are deliberately reducing the visual information of that scene. Our eyes naturally move to the areas that are well-lit. And if maximum portion of a film is dimly it, it’s quite stressful to watch, IMHO. The viewer is constantly waiting for clarity so that they can visually absorb the world of the film.

And while I was mulling over this, a film that was constantly coming to my mind was 2001: A Space Odyssey for its stark visual clarity. I re-visited the film, and this time paid particular attention to the lighting. And found that almost everywhere Kubrick manages to have his subjects in light, by clever positioning of the characters near a source of light. And by avoiding too many exterior night shots. This strategy gives clarity to the visuals and at the same time makes it look natural - it doesn't look like the light is coming from any artificial source.

I complied all my thoughts in the video above. With the help of images it’ll be clear, what I’m trying to communicate. Do let me know what you guys feel about it.

Also, I understand that the dim lighting scheme of Blade Runner goes very well with the dystopian future world. But somehow I feel that when it comes to film aesthetics, dimly lit visuals just don’t work. And specially when a lot of it feels unmotivated – which is what I felt about Blade Runner.