Strategies of colour and lighting design in the cinematography of Christopher Doyle

Abstract

Cinema visual design is a fundamental element of film form and the aesthetics and storytelling aspects of cinematography need thoughtful examination in cinema. This thesis investigates a detailed format aspect of modern cinematography that has been neglected relatively in cinema study. The research aims to highlight the importance of cinematography in narrative storytelling through the case study of Director of Photography Christopher Doyle’s aesthetic practices through the major high-budget feature film Hero (2002), the mid-range-budget feature film In the Mood for Love (2000), Rabbit-Proof Fence (2002) to the independent low-budget feature films Chungking Express (1994) and Fundamentally Happy (2015). In particular, the merit of this research is its scholarly attention on an individual artist, Christopher Doyle, by examining his role and aesthetics on the role of colour, lighting, and camera in film narratives in determining the overall look of the film. The main findings will show the relationships between colour and space, colour and character motion, colour and mood throughout Christopher Doyle’s consistent visual style and his wide variety of works over the past twenty-five years. The study of these 5 feature films by renowned Directors Wong Kar Wai, Zhang Yi Mou, Tan Bee Thiam and Phillip Noyce will also showcase a detailed visual analysis of various narrative styles. Through ethnographic study, the thesis will include visual analysis of Christopher Doyle’s lighting design and cinematography techniques. The research aims to discover the role of colour, lighting and camera in construction of film narrative and the influence of digital colour grading through both visual analysis and ethnographic study. This study is important research to tell the aesthetic practices throughout Christopher Doyle’s work and how technological and artistic factors have defined this unique visual cinematic style.