First of all we need to know how the grey scale is controlled in a film sequence. We actually know that the film we are working on is `Schindler´s list´. This film was made in black and white intentionally, so it is a great opportunity to take advantage of it.
We have three main elements to analyse. Here you have the sequence divided in 20 parts:
ART DIRECTION:
It means where to put the camera. We can see general planes in the first and the second scenes (1, 2). Maybe to have a more complete vision of the space, to create in our minds the sensation of being in that situation. From this point till the final of the sequence we can appreciate many first planes (3, 4, 5, 6, 11, 12, 15, 16, and 20) in addition to others which focus on several faces at the same time (8, 17, 18, and 19).
What we get thanks of the art direction is the idea of focusing on the women’s fear, their body is not such important as their face expression, where we can recognize it. That is the reason because first planes are so influential in this sequence.
LIGHTING:
The light has got a lot of importance. It can rejuvenate or age someone, it allows us to see details in the shade. The classic schemes of lighting make concrete that a light source must be placed to both sides of the subject, and other one behind, to give relief and to separate his figure. The light in the first two scenes (1, 2) is homogeneous, that is thanks of the light of landfill which creates an atmosphere of no difference between the subjects.
In the rest of scenes there are not the light focused on the people, concretely on their faces, there is only one light situated in one side, in a neutral view. That light it is amazing. We do not need many lights to see the faces, we are able to recognize the expression of the face only perceiving one half of it, and it’s harder the psychological effect that affect us. In the sixth one (6) we are only able to focus on the eyes movement, and that is enough to make us feel the pain. The scene 6 is a very good example of the importance of lighting.
After this one we can see again in the seventh one (7) the homogeneous light which is around all the bodies and it is difficult to distinguish the limits of their contour.
Then in the eighth scene (8) there is a light with a triangle form which is focused again on the faces of the women there. The lighting is making us focusing only on their faces, to create an emotional attraction which emphasizes better with the spectator.
During all this sequence we are seeing a very big contrast between the light and their faces, their heads, their bodies, and we can only distinguish the face each other. For example in the scenes thirteen and fourteen (13, 14) it exist that contrast between the light and their heads, so another time we cannot distinguish anybody.
EXPOSURE:
If the camera catches the existing light faithfully we will say that the capture is exposed. In case of having caught less light than the real one we will say that it is sub-exposed and it will remain dark. In the opposite case, the photo will be overexposed and remain clear.
If we compare the film scene to a real case, we can guess that the light inside would be very limited, so that it would be very difficult to distinguish the faces, for example. Furthermore, Spielberg, the director of this film, maybe decided to create a lighter exposure, I think because he wanted to make us see in a better way the faces, without taking the panic out of the situation.
In some cases we cannot distinguish, as I said before, easily the bodies or the faces. That is thanks of the mix between the lighting, which is focused most of the time on the faces (3, 4, 5, 6, 8…) and the exposure that is very limited until it allows us a bit of visibility inside.
On the other and we must talk about the coincidence or not coincidence. It think here is much important and recognizable the coincidence. In consequence of the lighting and exposure, the tonal range reveals the subject (Lacasa, 2016) as long as we do not know who is who, but he can see their faces, and that is what prevails in this scene.
Then, to make a complete analysis of the tonal affinity here it is a tonal range divided in three parts:
And here it is the twenty scenes divided on the differences of the tonal range:
In this table we can see how the darker part of the tonal range is used in all of the scenes. We can see contrasts for example in the fourth one (4) between the third (3) and the fifth one (5). And then, until the end of the sequence we see how tho lightest part of the range is used in most of them, thanks of the light and the effect that is has on the water.
So it is easy to guess that the contrast was made because of the lights, the water, and until these elemens do not appear, the tonal range is darker, making the sequence more irritant and harder to see.
When the water appears, as I said, it has a lighting effect on the faces of the women, and if you go back to see the scenes, you can percieve that the images get lighter while the «water appearance» happens.
BIBLIOGRAPHY
Martínez-Salanova Sánchez, Enrique, 2012. “El color y la luz en el cine” en Cine y Educación. Disponible en:
http://www.uhu.es/cine.educacion/cineyeducacion/colorcine.htm
Thewebphoto, 2015. “2.07-Exposición” en Thewebphoto.com. Disponible en:
http://www.thewebfoto.com/2-hacer-fotos/207-exposicion
Prezi, 2013. “La iluminación en el cine” en Prezi.com. Disponible en: https://prezi.com/ogpi8ybchulq/la-iluminacion-en-el-cine/
Imágenes:
- http://coleshillmediasite2.weebly.com/uploads/4/6/0/1/4601434/149071.jpg?793
- https://encrypted-tbn0.gstatic.com/images?q=tbn:ANd9GcSNgwfi_hEhPWBu5eNYtviufLy12h4oxm5sBzwOiru9S-a__xEZ2w
- https://terceroesobilingue.files.wordpress.com/2015/05/angles2.gif?w=614
CINE GRATIS 
