Cinema

Extreme shadows, angular sets, psychological terror. The Cabinet of Dr. Caligari, Nosferatu, Metropolis.

Hard shadows, venetian blinds, cigarette smoke, moral ambiguity. Direct descendant of Caravaggio via German émigrés.

Glamour lighting — soft, even illumination that eliminated shadows. The star system demanded flawless skin.

The first true color — three strips of film exposed simultaneously through color filters. Saturated, theatrical, hyperreal.

Before color film existed, prints were dipped in dye baths or chemically toned. Night scenes were blue, fire was red, daylight was amber.

The first cinema — film stock blind to red light. Skies blown white, lips dark, a ghostly world of reversed values.