Learning Form Classic Films

Part 6: Colors

As a wedding filmmaker, it's your responsibility to take advantage of every tool that is thrown your way. We throw around our opinions on lighting, composition, framing, cuts, movements. But what about color?

Think about your favorite movies. What ate their color schemes like, and what do those film color palettes add to the story? Today we're going to talk about what the use of color can bring to your film, and study how film color palettes can help amplify your work.

As Roger Deakins said: "It’s easier to make color look good, but harder to make it service the story."

So this will be fun. And hard. And we'll all learn a lot. So what is film color? Well, film color can refer to your movie actually being shot in color instead of black and white, but today we're going to talk about colors used in film elicit emotions from the audience. 

If you're looking for a subtle way to make a scene resonate emotionally, there may be no better way than choosing a color associated with the emotion you are trying to evoke. Here's how it works, as illustrated beautifully by video editor Lilly Mtz-Seara:

As you can see in the video above, there are both positive and negative components to each color at your disposal. Within each color are a multitude of hues you can break down even further to specifically hone in on the exact level of emotion you're seeking.

Now that you understand how to choose and describe the colors you'll want in your movie color palette, let's check out how those colors can manipulate emotions on the screen and in the audience. 

We all know that film is an empathy machine. A great story can take you pretty far, but film is a visual medium. We're not meant only to read things; we're meant to see things. And colors help us see the intentions behind what was on the page and what the director wants from us. The below infographic sets up which colors will help you assign which emotions to scenes or parts of your movie or TV show.

Let's see how I use this in my wedding films

RED – anger, passion, rage, desire, excitement, energy, speed, strength, power, heat, love, aggression, danger, fire, blood, war, violence

YELLOW – wisdom, knowledge, relaxation, joy, happiness, optimism, idealism, imagination, hope, sunshine, summer, dishonesty, cowardice, betrayal, jealousy, covetousness, deceit, illness, hazard

ORANGE – humor, energy, balance, warmth, enthusiasm, vibrant, expansive, flamboyant

GREEN – healing, soothing, perseverance, tenacity, self-awareness, proud, unchanging nature, environment, healthy, good luck, renewal, youth, vigour, spring, generosity, fertility, jealousy, inexperience, envy

BLUE – faith, spirituality, contentment, loyalty, fulfillment peace, tranquility, calm, stability, harmony, unity, trust, truth, confidence, conservatism, security, cleanliness, order, sky, water, cold, technology, depression

PURPLE/VIOLET – royalty, nobility, spirituality, ceremony, mysterious, transformation, wisdom, enlightenment, cruelty, arrogance, mourning, power, sensitive, intimacy

BROWN – materialistic, sensation, earth, home, outdoors, reliability, comfort, endurance, stability, simplicity

BLACK – No, power, sexuality, sophistication, formality, elegance, wealth, mystery, fear, anonymity, unhappiness, depth, style, evil, sadness, remorse, anger

WHITE – Yes, protection, love, reverence, purity, simplicity, cleanliness, peace, humility, precision, innocence, youth, birth, winter, snow, good, sterility, cold, clinical, sterile

SILVER – riches, glamorous, distinguished, earthy, natural, sleek, elegant, high-tech

GOLD – precious, riches, extravagance. warm, wealth, prosperity, grandeur

A color wheel or color circle is an organization of color hues around a circle, which shows the relationships between primary colors, secondary colors, tertiary colors, and other color combinations.

Directors wield a lot of power when it comes to what appears on the screen. Collaboration with the art department, cinematographer, and costume design people is so important. Color is not just how you balance the camera, but also how people are dressed and how sets look on screen.

To understand how all this still works, you're going to have to understand how color works. And how you can manipulate colors to get what you want on the screen. So let's break colors down.

Hue

Hue is one of the main properties of a color, defined as "the degree to which a stimulus can be described as similar to or different from stimuli that are described as red, green, blue, and yellow." What it actually means is that hue refers to what color you're looking at. Or the color itself. Hue is great, but you need some other elements to deepen your color knowledge and express color on the screen.

Saturation

Saturation is another color property that describes how intense of a color we're getting. It's the deepness of the color at hand. The infographic below shows you how saturation works. To truly appreciate how hue and saturation work, you need to look at color value.

Value

The value of a color describes whether or not a color is dark or light. A dark blue would have a higher value. A light blue, a lower value. Color Value Guide Now that you understand how to choose and describe the colors you'll want in your movie color palette, let's check out how those colors can manipulate emotions on the screen and in the audience.

As you can see, many colors take on specific feelings. You need to support the color with actions and set pieces within the screenplay. You can't just add color blobs. You need to have artistic intention behind every frame.

This is the study of what complex emotions each hue can create when mixed with saturation and value. That's right, all our lessons are coming together! Let's take a look at this chart and really pull back the emotions and tone you can add to your stories.

Four Types Of Color Concepts

As you dig into color palettes in film, you're going to need to learn four color concepts that will help you choose what works in your film or TV show. Check out this other infographic that describes all of the four color concepts, and we'll break them down below.

Monochromatic

Let's start with the most straightforward of the color concepts. Monochromatic color refers to a color scheme based around only one color. Like how The Matrix is based around the color green. It's in almost every frame, and becomes part of the movie.

Analogous

An analogous color scheme in film or TV refers to colors that are neighbor on the color wheel. Filmmakers often choose from either warm or cool colors for their analogous schemes because they generally fit the theme of the movie or TV show. The idea here is to get colors that find balance or harmony together.

Some colors on the opposite ends of the color wheel work together too. We call those colors "complementary."

Complementary

Complementary colors are colors that are on the opposite ends of the color wheel but still look good together. Outside of marketing, complementary colors also matter in storytelling. Like if you're trying to bring a couple together and to show their chemistry as well. And set them apart from the backdrop.

Triadic

Triadic color schemes are schemes that use three colors from even distance on the color wheel. Like this poster for Inherent Vice.

 Some videos lessons to learn more about colors in storytelling. See you on the part 7!