Also because this movie is a biography and intended to chronologically depict the life of Christopher Gardner it is shot in real time so the audience feels like they are actually witnessing the life of the character unfold. “ Each scene has a job to do and that is to bring the characters from one state of affairs to the next” (Kawin, 1992). The lighting style chosen for this scene propels the story forward which is the whole purpose of each scene to get the audience from point A to point B. It also allows for a shot that doesn’t have to be cut or editing so there are no jumps which gives a more seamless and realistic transition from one place in the scene to the next which also adds to the realism. This was probably chosen to emphasis the interaction between the two and creates a dramatic effect within the audience. This shot was created using a telephoto lens due to the fact that the character both father and son are very sharp and the background is out of focus. The bland coloration of the scene and lack of extreme light or shadow was used to expression a sense of desperation and allow the audience to feel the depressiveness of the situation. The cinematographer was intending to create a feeling of realism since there are no overly bright lights in a subway. The light is fairly soft and in just this shot alone you can’t tell if its night or day because it is an interior shot.
The lighting is mainly from fluorescent lights above the characters on the ceiling, and a light off to the right of the camera is used to cast a shadow off to the side of the characters but not too sharp of a shadow to detract from the overall feeling of the scene. This specific scene in the Movie “the Pursuit of Happyness” uses the traditional three-point lighting. The movie The Pursuit of Happyness uses a great many different lighting styles like three- point, natural light, and even under-lighting in a few of the scenes but for the sake of a thorough analyses this single scene will be dissected.