Audiences decide how to feel about a scene within seconds, long before the first line of dialogue. Atmosphere does that work.
Sound arrives first
I plan the soundscape of each scene before the shot list. A distant train or a humming fridge tells the audience more about loneliness than any line of dialogue.
Light as emotion
Each film gets a light rule. In The Neon Wilderness, warmth only appears when a character remembers the past.
Emotion first. Technique follows.
Ezra Vale