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An interesting perspective towards the creation of artificially created environment is portrayed in The Truman Show. The physical dome world that Truman lives in is an allegorical representation of this idea of creating an artificial environment. The mechanism behind the movement of the sun and the moon and the numerous lighting fixtures that mimics natural light stimulates the audience into a collective scepticism towards the understanding of reality. Like Descartes’ Evil Genius thought experiment, the boundary between the real and the surreal is broken down, a world where nothing could be trusted, not even nature itself.

Such use of computer generated global illumination can be seen in I-Robot where large portions of the future city have been rendered using computer graphics. The movie emphasizes realism in the visual construct of the scenes where full expression of natural light becomes crucial. The artificial lighting creates desired weather conditions according to need, such as how the pristine glass tower of the USR Corporation shimmers against the backdrop of a clear blue sky; a product that follows with specific visual intentionality.

In the advent of modern computer graphics the idea of stage lighting has moved beyond the defining boundaries of a set. Prior to this development, the boundary between the real and the unreal was clearly marked off in the world of lighting. Outside of the sheltered environment, one was never able to have full control of lighting conditions. The use of lighting involved either the manipulation of natural light in outdoor filming or the use of artificial lighting in conjunction or autonomously with natural lighting. However, there are obvious implications with having this stark divide between the artificial and natural light such as the limited spectrum of natural conditions film is able to reproduce, as well as the consequent deficiency in the believability of the visual in using artificial lighting. Contemporary definition of lighting has now encompassed the realm of natural light, capable of rendering believable environments with full control of light.