Colour...

Colour plays a huge role in film. It can be used to present a character and help to build their personality. It is usually divided into 3 key areas which all effect how the audience reads the image. The first area is foreground of the image, this means what the audience sees in the foreground colour scheme. This could be objects, such as table cloths or bed sheets which may be trying to portray a certain message about the scene. The second are the audience reads are the background colours; this could include the colour of the lighting or the colour of objects in the background. The third and final aspect of colour is wardrobe. This is a huge factor as it directly effects what we think of a character and our perception of them. Costumes can effect hugely what the audience takes from the frame. As far is costuming is concerned, different colours have a huge range of connotations. Each has their own personality characteristics, good qualities and bad qualities. For example: Black’s personality characteristics are feminine energy and mysteriousness, it’s positive qualities are good potential and powerful, it’s negative characteristics are possible identity crises and may hide from the world. Lighting is also a huge factor to consider, lighting is not simple tungsten of fluorescent. Lighting can have all sorts of different tints and effects, such as a soft lighting and a slightly red light. These different styles of lighting can create different atmospheres within a frame. An example of colour in the form of light is The Wild Bunch which uses a “Washed out” colour effect to create a colourless, bleak tint to the action. Sam Packinpah was very well known for using old school methods rather than using a Mattbox and a coloured filter. This effect may have been created through stretching a pair of tights over the lens to create a grainy, washout effect. Below is a list of colours and their connotations. We will need to look at these very closely when deciding what style of light we want (high or low key) and any possible tints we may want. As well as background and foreground colours and costuming.