Final-Analysis

Light and Contrast


Lighting and contrast plays a crucial part in the episode of Angel: Are You Now or Have You Ever Been Here? Throughout the episode you can see that the lighting and contrast shows what time period the scene is going to be, what the characters are showing in their roles, and foreshadowing during the episode because of the special effects and shadow enhancements.


At the beginning of the episode we knew the story was going to take place in the past because the photo of the Hyperion Hotel is shown in black and white. A great way of taking us back was slowly adding color to the photo like the green trees and movement to the old classic black and blue vehicles. Also, as the doormen opened the door, he made direct eye contact with me and welcomed me into the past as the scene started to focus in and the music got louder. That concept reminded me of a scene from the Titanic movie, which is a powerful way to engage and grab the viewer’s attention. Another way of changing scenes was when Angel appeared dark in scenery, moving and stumbling around in the present then ended up in the past. Because of the contrast and movement in pitch black it made Angel travel through time more effectively than cutting out the end of the scene and starting a new one.


Another scene when Judy was standing in her room in front of the fireplace, trying to spark a cigarette nervously, this scene shot Judy’s front side dark in contrast implementing Judy has faced and done something wrong. And her back side was bright in contrast stating she is looking for justification in the end. As she started to ramble on impulsively, the room lit up brighter telling me she was ready for confession. This scene is followed by the stolen money Judy took from her previous employer, which foreshadowed her true guilt later on in the episode. Also, when she told Angel, “Because I'm not what I say I am. I've been passing since I was 15 years old.” The lighting made Judy’s skin tone appear darker almost black, revealing her true color underneath her light colored skin. Judy also clearly asked for forgiveness when she said, “Hey, do you think that if – if somehow-the money ended up on the banks doorstep, and they saw that I didn’t spend any of it, you think they’d call off that detective? Maybe I could be free of this whole thing.” As that was being said a beam of light shined down on Judy’s face. The director is telling the audience that God is looking down on her and all her sins will be forgiven. At the very end of this scene it closes in on Angel’s face then slowly fading away the shot. The scene was shot this way because it is indicating there will be a continuing scene later on. Not only that, the way they captured Angel’s face with his pupil centered to his eyes made it so Angel was talking directly to the viewers and stating there will be reassurance to that question.


In the middle of the episode as Judy is being accused of killing the salesman, the hallway lights on the left and right side acted as guidance to the beginning climax of the scene while it illuminated down to the center of the crowd. As Angel stride down the hallway to help Judy out, Angel appeared blackened in the shadow, not able to see any facial features or clothing color. This indicated that he will be the dark evil villain. As tough as Angel is he endured the violent beating from the hotel guest. This was interesting because he could have slaughtered and ate them all up in less than a second, but Angel intended to do that to save Judy’s life. The scene showed it as well because when Angel’s vision blurred out on Judy, it signified Judy’s problem with the hotel guest would fade away and be taken care of by Angel.


In the last scene Judy could not go on because of her guilt. She had blamed the murder of the salesman on Angel and had him killed by the hotel employees and guest. There was no evidence or physical force that kept Judy inside of the Hyperion Hotel safe from harm of her unrighteousness doing. But as Angel laid Judy’s fragile body down, the green walls and ceiling lit up all around Judy and Angel. As Angel slowly pulled back, this showed Judy’s spirit will soon be lifted by Angel. When Angel forgave Judy of the cause of his death we knew Judy’s problem was going to be content because of the slow heavenly music being played in the background and high contrast on Judy’s smiling face as she was lying down. When she passed away, it was a sign that her sins were forgiven and Judy was able to go on. Judy was not the only one who found forgiveness, but Angel as well because he was the one giving it to Judy. With tears about to shed from Angel, which meant he seemed grateful to do so, like he never had done it before. The ability to do such a thing meant he was like any other living soul.


As concluded, foreshadowing is a great way to lead viewers on through the show. Also, light and contrast is an effective way of grabbing attention and letting your audience know what is going on and how things may turn out, if there is enough depth and reading into the scenes.