ABSTRACT
When used thoughtfully, lens flares can be a lot more than a peripheral visual element; they can be integral to the visual strategy of a film, helping to convey tone or mood, suggesting concrete or symbolic traits in a character, and even become character-like themselves. A superlative example of an expressive use of lens flares can be seen throughout director Steven Spielberg’s Close Encounters of the Third Kind , a film that traces the journey of suburban everyman Roy Neary after he has an encounter with a UFO that compels him to investigate the truth behind his experience. Lens flares are featured prominently in every one of the “close encounters”, conveying the UFOs’ otherworldly nature by their unusual appearance and behavior, while also imbuing them with distinct personalities as they glide silently and effortlessly through the night skies of Indiana.
