In "Snowblind", experimental filmmaker Hollis Frampton exercises the use of light as a tool in a different manner than he had done in his previous film "Manual of Arms" (1966). The effectiveness of lighting was a concept explored quite frequently in his earliest works, the most recognized example being "Lemon" (made a year after this). In all three films, Frampton uses his tool for different purposes, seeking to create a different effect with each, and as a result the style of each short is very different.
In "Manual of Arms", intricate lighting contrasted with heavy shadows is used to create a sinister, uncomfortable atmosphere. "Lemon", on the other hand, creates a different variation in making a dramatic contrast between the titular fruit and the darkness surrounding it; as a result, it is a basic demonstration of effective lighting. "Snowblind" (literally titled after artist Michael Snow's sculpture "Blind", which was the subject of the film) uses lighting to the effect of creating abstract imagery, with the simple setup of Snow's sculpture--a series of wire screens overlapping one another. Changing the lighting rapidly from brightness to darkness and bringing the image in and out of focus, Frampton makes an abstract short rather unexceptional in action but effective in how the meshes of the wire are brought in and out of focus, and cause the different layers to materialize over one another. To create these illusions so effectively Frampton must have been quite talented. For what it is he handled it well.