c.) Lighting and colours

Lighting and colours are very important to create a feeling to the opening scene. While bold bright colours like yellow create a happy scene, dark colours like dark green can make the scene creepy and scary.

In The Book Of Eli the main colours used are a dark green/blue and black which makes the scene very scary and dark. In the scene we are in a very misty/foggy forest and can't see much, the forest floor is mainly black so when the director wants us to see something on the ground they will add lighting around it to make it stand out. Above the ground where we see the trunks of trees, the colour is a very dark greeny-blue this coveys a sense of coldness and eeriness. This colour also brings a sense of alienation towards Eli as he is alone in these woods which gives an insight towards the rest of the movie as to how he likes to work alone. The colours also fit in very well with the set because these colours could bring a completely different feeling to a set like inside a room but since we are in a forest it makes us feel uneasy because we are used to forests being a grass green and other friendlier colours but since it is a dark green and blue it is strange and different creating a mysterious feeling.



There is a very low-key lighting in the scene meaning that there are much more pronounced shadows and dramatic contrasts. We hardly see objects because it is far too dark and only really look for them once we hear them, for example after you first watch it you probably hear the cat growl before you see it but after watching it again you can see the cat before it makes a noise.
This lack of lighting and colours was done to draw attention to the fact that Eli is blind and in his world everything is dark and he relies on his hearing. It helps us see partly what Eli sees and again gives us a big clue for the story.It was also done to add to the mysterious feeling there is in the scene and makes us wonder why is everything so dark and if something is being hidden in the darkness.