David Dryer one of the films special photographic supervisors worked with black and white prints during the production of the film, he felt that the film should have been released in black and white due to the depth the lighting created. Though the film was released in colour the idea that it could be potentially shown in black and white indicates that the look of the film parallels that of noir classics.
"We used contrast, backlight, smoke, rain and lightning to give the film its personality and moods," the cameraman says. "The streets were depicted as terribly overcrowded, giving the audience a future time-frame to relate to. We had street scenes just packed with people. . . like ants. So we made them appear like ants — all the same. They were all the same in the sense that they were all part of the flow. It was like going in circlesÉ like going nowhere. Photographically, we kept them rather colorless."
As mentioned above Cronenweth talks about how the film expreses moods, the films tone is instantly recognised through the strong characteristics that both the director and DOP have employed. Blade Runner rejects the idea of a glossy future rather a dystopia with overcrowded streets patrolling the underbelly of the dismal washed out backdrop. The lighting illuminates the people on the streets causing a haze I feel this tends to soften the colour allowing the more highly lit areas to become more distint such as the above still where we can see Harrison Ford sitting int he right hand third.
Cronenweth stresses that the equipment used in Blade Runner was not an important factor in the development of the films photography rather the manor in which it was employed when characterising each scene or mood. "The thing that was unique was not the equipment or the gels or the intensity or the hard or soft light," "It was the concept behind each situation telling the story. Since the film is set in the future, unusual sources of light could be used where one would not accept them in a contemporary setting" This concept can be examined in the street scenes as we watch the citizens of the city walk past some are seen possessing umbrellas with fluorescent poles which aid in lighting up their faces.
We see Deckard dressed in a subtle toned suit reading a newspaper, however the backdrop is littered with neon lights and screens which make up part of the LA street scenes. Throughout the film the neon lighting instalments have a pastel shade of colour I feel that this use of complementary shades of light dont over power the shots but still provide a sufficient amount of colouring to justify the neo city era of the film.
In the scene where Deckard chases the replicant Zhora 'Snake Lady' we see her run through a series of glass windows. The original set that was built by the art director dissatisfied Ridley Scott and so they set about creating another, by which point Ridley came about the idea of using the neon lights used previously in the street scenes as a means to light the glass windows. The DOP set the cameras to capture the scene at various frame rates - normal and above normal. "This created a pulsating effect in the neon which doesn't occur when photographing at normal camera speeds, but definitely does when shooting at higher frame rates. We lived with it by using the pulsing as an element of the chase."
The interior scenes in Blade Runner are subject to the use of shafts of light another key element in the story telling of the film. These were created using a high powered light called the 'Xenon spotlight' which is typically used in lighting sports events, the presence of the hard light introduced by the spotlight is justified by the notion that even indoors from time to time unless the home is secluded with blinds or curtains passing vehicles lights will become a disturbance, in Blade Runner Ridley Scott had the idea that it would stray from passing space ships cascading down from their underbellies, "In the futuristic environment, they bathe the city in constantly swinging lights." He talks about how the strong spotlight indicates an element of control over the citizens living below the hovering airships much like a prison, an ever watching eye of supervision and invasion of privacy.
In order to soften the strong ligt projected by the spotlight there must be a medium, naturally the smoke works effectively however a strong density must be maintained which Cronenweth adds "The only practical way to judge smoke density is by eye." jokingly adding"I find that a good density is achieved just before I lose consciousness." as a sudden change in density can cause a dramatic alteration in contrast usually caused by drafts, which is why many refuse to work with such techniques. In the above film still the leading female role Rachel played by Sean Young is conversing with Deckard as he puts her through the Voigt-Kampff test, her face, neck and smoke from the cigarette she is smoking is picked out perfectly by the adjacent key light cast from the left, the cameraman found that her characteristics worked seemingly well with the lighting - "Sean has a wonderful, light, creamy, highly-reflective skin, among other beautiful features".
In the film still above Deckard's face has a distinctive noir style lighting feature, a light has been cast through a window with blinds projecting the silhouetted bars over his face, a key light has also been added to light the edge of his face much like Rachel's in the previous image, the use of the blinds loosely relates to noir films in terms of the intended connotation, such as the characters entrapment, though Deckard isn't trapped as such the blinds insinuate the constant presence of a watchful overseer.
Below I have removed the colour with shots involving Deckard when he is conversing with Rachel to illustrate how the lighting is so strong that it could work both with the film in colour or in monochrome, in particular the reverse shots of characters talking.
Below is a screen grab from 'Double Indemnity (1944)', that introduces the popular use of venetian blinds widely used in noir films, again we see the window placed in the background with the slats of shadow cast upon the characters left shoulder and face much like Deckard's with one side of his face heavily subdued with darkness.
In this shot the features of Deckard's desk are picked out by the light cast directly in front of him, the upper half of his face has been cut off by a blocker just lighting his chest area. The lighting in the background is noticeably softer than the foreground with obvious reasoning, this being to draw attention to Deckard's dialogue and away from the backdrop. The shallow focus helps to further this direction, and with the film in monochrome the background is lost even more.
