Colors On The Big Screen

Welcome back, my fellow film lovers! Color theory has always been analyzed through its essential use in art and design, considering how it is used throughout the filming industry. In this blog post, I will discuss how colors played a role in movies by their representation to provide examples of how they were decided upon.

The Color Of Films

What is color theory and why is it important in the film industry? –

Color theory is part of the filming process as it depicts the purpose behind storytelling. Storytelling is used throughout films to convey emotions with the additional touch of different colors. Using color, the story can be told by illustrating the movie’s scenes to allow the audience to understand and feel its meaning. Apart from portraying emotions, colors can reflect the mood and tone of the characters and the scene itself. When deciding what colors to use, producers consider the colors’ saturation and brightness. For example, a bright and vibrant color palette can depict emotions, mood, and tone of happiness, while a darker color palette can depict sadness and despair. 

How is a color scheme chosen? –

When the production team chooses colors to set a specific tone or mood, they consider the four different types of color schemes continuously used in films: monochromatic, complementary, analogous, and triadic. 

A monochromatic color scheme consists of using only one color and adjusting its shades and tints. This scheme is typically used when the producer wants to demonstrate significance for specific scenes. 

A complementary color scheme creates a contrasting dynamic with opposite colors on a color wheel. For instance, orange and blue are part of one complementary color scheme. This scheme represents a strong and visually influential scene. 

An analogous color scheme uses colors close to each other on the color wheel to create a balanced color in a scene.

A triadic color scheme uses three colors spread around the color wheel. This scheme creates a unified visual and a sensitive feeling toward the scenes.  

How is color grading used during filmmaking? – 

Color grading is a process that brings life to the film’s visualization. In this process, the production team works alongside a colorist to discuss two essential topics: removing any distractions from the brightness, exposure, or white balance of the colors and the creativity behind the colors chosen. The colorist can use images for reference to distinguish and compare how they envision the colors that should be used for the scenes. These colors can be tested continuously and carefully to determine the colors that best create the proper mood and tone.  

Can colors be affected by using certain camera lenses? – 

When filming, the camera crew has to decide which camera lenses to use based on the light conditions, the contrast of colors, and the control of flares. These aspects are established based on the coatings of the lenses as they control the reflections. Lenses can create contrast between warmer and cooler images while affecting and portraying a lower or higher contrast. The production team decides between all these conditions above and considers sharpness. Vintage lenses are recommended to create the best sharpness possible.

What are some examples of the meaning of colors? –

As mentioned before, colors can describe and represent a variety of emotions. Each color also gives a visual image of particular objects one would think of when seeing this color. For instance, red is usually used to portray anger, danger, fire, or violence. Blue would be used to represent loyalty, water, or melancholy. Green would exhibit health, love, communication, or nature. Colors continue to expand their special meanings to new themes or ideas to capture a deep understanding of the film. 

Thank you for reading my twenty-first blog post. I hope you enjoyed reading about how colors are chosen throughout films, creating an impactful representation of emotions, objects, or common themes. In the next blog posts, you will learn more about the filming industry and read more movie interviews.