Cinematographic Elements in "Tron" (1982)

In analyzing “Tron” (1982) in terms of cinematography, it’s important to pay attention to how lighting, color, and camera angles are used and how it exposes the readers to a better understanding of the characters, their state of mind and the world they live in.

First of all, the use of lighting does not add dramatic elements to the plot, particularly in the “real world” scenes; there’s balance between light and shadows in most of the scenes. However, in the “cybernetic world” (the mainframe, the Grid), lighting is used in a way that allows the background to lose importance in the shadows to create the illusion of a seemingly never-ending world. The following screenshot serves as an example; moreover the tilt or diagonal angle of the frame amplifies that illusion, as the grids seems to continue on infinitely (and disappear into a dark background). 

The use of color differentiates the real world from the cybernetic world. While the real world presented in the movie is true to ours (viewers), the cybernetic world is presented as an “unnatural reality,” without losing the sense of “real world” viewed from a more abstract perspective, like a video game come alive. That is why the colors of everything within the cyberspace do not look natural: Colors are solid almost in simple tonalities and as bright as “neon.” In the first scenes the viewers get to see of that cyberspace, blue is one of the most constant colors that stand out in a shot (and again with the dark background to introduce the viewers to the seemingly infinite cyberspace). Moreover, the programs (that are actually living entities within the cyberspace) are dressed with gray and neon blue uniforms (or red like Sarks’), as shown in the next screenshot.

Another cinematographic element, camera angle plays an important role in the viewers’ interpretation of the characters’ state of mind. For example, the scene where Master Control Program (MCP) tells Sarks about the newcomer (“a new challenge” for him to train for the games) the camera focuses Sarks from a low angle, making him appear powerful and suggesting that—he feels—he has control over the situation, as he is used to dealing with different kinds of programs. That’s why he asked what kind of program it was. Inversely, once MCP explains it’s not a program but a user, the camera focuses Sarks’ reaction from an eye level angle. He argues about the dangers of having a user among a system of just programs, because users are the ones that create programs and therefore have knowledge that programs don’t have and that could interfere with any ENCOM system program. His ultimate state of mind is focused in a high-angle shot (3^rd picture below), meaning the camera focus from above the action. This high-angle shot serves for two main purposes: First, to emphasize MCP’s superiority over Sarks; and second, to denote Sarks is in a vulnerable position, as his new challenge turns out to be a user—a more powerful adversary in terms of knowledge (remember, knowledge is power).