It’s just a variant of “Chiaroscuro”, the Renaissance artstyle. It’s an easy way to guide the viewers focus and to give a scene some “drama”.
This particular style is probably most famous because of the 1931 Dracula with Bela Lugosi. It’s become an overused trope for sure, the same way the venetian blinds cucoloris became a stereotypical “film noir” thing. See Anjelica Huston as Morticia Addams where it just acts as an ironic gesture towards the Dracula movie.
I’m not sure if the lighting director in TOS already saw it as a trope, but it’s definitely possible.
It’s just a variant of “Chiaroscuro”, the Renaissance artstyle. It’s an easy way to guide the viewers focus and to give a scene some “drama”.
This particular style is probably most famous because of the 1931 Dracula with Bela Lugosi. It’s become an overused trope for sure, the same way the venetian blinds cucoloris became a stereotypical “film noir” thing. See Anjelica Huston as Morticia Addams where it just acts as an ironic gesture towards the Dracula movie.
I’m not sure if the lighting director in TOS already saw it as a trope, but it’s definitely possible.