maniemjr Posted September 19, 2013 Share Posted September 19, 2013 Hi, I'm having a little research. Usually cinematographers or directors (ask) to use blue tone when lighting night scenes and moonlights effects. I believe it's a creative choice but some would make it their standard. Personally, I don't want to use blue in lighting night/moonlight scenes unless it is a creative decision. I'm discussing about this with some of my friends. I want a little help in finding out the background behind it. Where did the idea came from? Who and what film started it? Any links and information about this? Thanks. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Premium Member David Mullen ASC Posted September 19, 2013 Premium Member Share Posted September 19, 2013 The moon is reflecting the sun so it is daylight balanced, around 5600K, so compared to night sources like firelight or tungsten lamps, it is blue-ish, though your eye reads it as cooler but not a saturated blue, more of a steely or silvery blue-grey light. But the main reason that moonlight is blue is that it is a symbolic color, a visual signal to the viewer that the scene is under moonlight -- this pre-dates cinema when even magic lantern slides would color night scenes blue, and then later, silent movies would tint night scenes blue. And for pre-electricity societies where the only artificial light source at night was fire, by comparison, moonlight would definitely feel colder in color. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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