Seminar: Introduction to Colour

Today we were introduced to colour in film as a symbolic and narrative device. Using examples and excerpts from Patti Bellantoni's book 'If Its Purple, Someone's Gonna Die', a study of colour in film, we looked at the varying connotations of colours when used in different contexts. For example, a bright red colour can be a symbol of passion, love, danger or power, whereas green can be interpreted negatively as a sign of jealousy or toxicity, or positively as fresh or invigorating. 

These different connotations and effects on the audience come through changing the three main values associated with colour: hue (where the colour sits on the spectrum), chroma (how saturated or dense the colour is) and value, (how much white is in the colour). For example, a dark red has symbolic connotations of maturity, regalia  and elegance, whereas a warmer red with higher value and chroma is more sensual or lusty. 

For each colour we discussed the range of examples provided, including the use of bright primary colours in The Wizard of Oz and the symbolic use of red featured in Schindler's List (Steven Spielberg, 1993) and 'The Sixth Sense' (M.Night Shyamalan, 1999). We looked at the site 'Movies in Colour' which features a large range of directors, films and cinematographers - analyzing the composition of colours within a select frame. Whilst it is not designed as a learning tool, it is useful for analyzing the particular styles of famous cinematographers, and looking at how colour can establish the mood, tone and genre of the film in a still frame.

I will continue my research into colour theory and colour in films by first reading books on theory, and then analysing several films as case studies for how these theories can be applied in practice -  for emotional, symbolic and narrative effect.