Low-key lighting

The term "low key" is also used in cinematography and photography to refer to any scene with a high lighting ratio, especially if there is a predominance of shadowy areas.

Specific examples of the technique’s use regarding the lamps occur whenever Philip Marlowe (played by Humphrey Bogart) has to place a phone call to the police.

[5] Chiaroscuro and by extension low key lighting was also used to great effect in German expressionist cinema, widely considered a forerunner of film noir.

[6] More recent examples include the films of David Lowery and Andrew Droz Palermo, the latter of whom praises natural low-key lighting techniques for their “painterly and expressionistic” quality.

For example, many viewers reacted poorly to a dimly-lit final battle in the finale of Game of Thrones, despite series cinematographer Fabian Wagner stating that the darkness was intentional, claiming the “show runners decided that [the battle] had to be a dark episode.”[13] Other modern examples of viewer backlash include films such as Arrival and Solo, as well as TV shows such as Ozark and The Mandalorian.