In the interrogation scene from 'The Dark Knight' (below), the scene is initially lit with a single practical desk lamp, creating harsh shadows and exaggerating the creases and contours in the Jokers' freakish make-up. And then, as Nolan describes 'When the lights come on, Batman is revealed, and the rest of the scene plays out with a massive overexposure... like five stops.'
We will be looking to achieve a similar effect when the light is turned on in our interrogation scene, revealing the backdrop covered in colourful posters to indicate the interrogator's age.
The interrogation scene from 'V for Vendetta' is very useful in informing our stylistic approach, particularly to portraying our antagonist - and crucially hiding his true identity until the lighting change. In this scene, a cold frontal light is used to accentuate Evey's sickly pale skin, creating an immediately hostile atmosphere. On the wall behind, a set light is flagged to create harsh shadows mirroring the prison door in front of her, separating the character from the background yet conveying a sense of entrapment in the frame.
However, the most useful device in this sequence is how the identity of her interrogator is hidden. Like in our story, here the audience must not know who Evey's captor is until the very end of the sequence, where it is revealed to be her supposed friend and mentor, V. To do this, a strong back-light is used on its own, with no key or fill on the actor, to create an ominous, shadowy silhouette. In other shots, the same effect is used in conjunction with careful framing, showing only body parts of the man. We will be looking to create a similar effect in our film, and will draw on this approach for reference.
Also notable is the shot/reverse shot sequence used in the first part of the sequence, having Evey and her captor directly facing the camera in both angles. This adds to the ominous, intimidating atmosphere and sense of mystery as the audience's view mirrors Evey's. Evey's eyeline also appears to be slightly above the camera in the shot, looking very slightly down on her, giving the sense that her captor is taller than her and therefore more imposing.
Using the online virtual lighting studio tool, I tried to create a similar silhouetted effect that hides the face.
As seen in the diagram below, I used two lights behind the subject's head to get a rim of light around them, which we will try and replicate when coming to set up the scene.
This scene from 'Oblivion' (Joseph Kosinski, 2013) utilises a single, practical key light on the character Jack, a convention that immediately identifies an interrogation environment.
The harsh white light cuts across his face and exaggerates his wounds from the previous scene as well as the dirtiness of his initially pristine clothing, and the camera's angle is again looking slightly down on Jack to establish him as the weaker character. At the start of the scene, as he wakes from being unconscious, a close angle and shallow DOF is used, conveying his wooziness and mental state - a device we will look to replicate in our sequence.
The slow tracking movement towards Jack throughout the scene is effective in conveying the interrogator's pushing for the truth, getting closer as more is revealed. Similar to our film, the antagonist's identity also requires hiding, until an elaborate lighting change which reveals the entire environment. In this case, very low key lighting and reflections in the interrogator's goggles are used to light his character, with a waist-height two-shot again exaggerating the difference in size (and therefore power) between the pair.
In the torture scene from 'Casino Royale', a dingy yellow key light is used to create harsh shadows and highlight his blood and sweat. Bond is also framed off-centre as though looking away from the pain inflicted to him, and also presenting his character as off-balanced at this point in the story.
We will take reference and stylistic influence from these films when we come to plan and shoot our interrogation scene, which will be made more complicated by having a lighting change and trying to keep the identity of the antagonist hidden until the right moment.
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