Rembrandt lighting

[citation needed] Pioneering movie director Cecil B. DeMille is credited with the first use of the term.

Rembrandt lighting "is synonymous with the film noir genre, known for its crime, intrigue, and moral ambiguity.

"[6] Rembrandt lighting allows directors to manipulate the tone of a scene through its visuals, and in film noir is instrumental in conveying the shadowy nature of most plots.

This combination of lighting and camera work further helped define the look of the genre and established some of the cinematic tropes that film noir is best known for today.

While not as well known as the dolly zoom or the long take, the use of Rembrandt lighting in a cinematic medium helped shape the trajectory of not only film noir but Hollywood as a whole.