Colour in Film & the theory behind it
Since the days that colour began in to take shape on our screens, Film directors have been taking advantage of our connection to how we react to colour on a psychological level, through colour grading. Without us noticing, colour has the power to influence how we feel (Turner, 2015) and for years, filmmakers have taken this on board and adapted it as a visual technique in their art form. Over the past few decades and through the advancement of technology in filmmaking, there have been more and more opportunity for filmmakers to utilise our relationship to colour, and manipulate it resulting in a specific aesthetic, to aid in telling stories with the goal to convey certain emotions. Colour is subconsciously associated with different things in our lives and our response to colour varies slightly depending on our cultural upbringing, and the context in which the colour is associated with. (Goodman, 2019). American Psychologist Robert Plutchik has identified eight basic emotions; joy, sadness, trust, disgust, fear, anger, surprise, and anticipation, that serve as a foundation for all others and created a wheel of emotions, each represented by a particular colour (Karimova, 2017). Colour graders understand this notion and have adopted this colour theory into the filmmaking process which results in leaving an affect on the audience (Turner, 2015).
What is emotion and what relationship does colour have to emotion?
In short, emotions are essentially a psychological reaction in response to events or situations that human beings experience, and the type of emotion a person experiences, is determined by the circumstances that trigger that emotion (Cherry, 2022). While perceptions and feelings about colour are often deeply personal and rooted in individual experience or culture, there are several colour effects that have a universal meaning (Cherry, 2020). Colours on the warm spectrum such as reds, oranges and yellows evoke emotions ranging from warmth and comfort to anger and hostility whereas colours on the cool spectrum; blues, purples and greens, are often described as calm but can also bring up feelings of sadness or indifference (Cherry, 2020).
Below is a colour psychology chart that depict themes typically associated with colours (UserTesting, 2019):
American psychologist Robert Plutchik conceived a way that we can conceptually understand colour and its connection to emotion, by creating a wheel of emotions. Plutchik’s wheel of emotions organised the eight primary emotions represented by complementary colours and grouped them together with their polar opposites in correspondence with the contrasting colour. (Karimova, 2017)
The following is Plutchik’s wheel of emotions which are represented by colours:
The eight sectors of the Plutchik’s colour wheel are designed to indicate the eight primary emotions: anger, anticipation, joy, trust, fear, surprise, sadness and disgust. The opposites are as follows:
- Joy — sadness
- Fear — anger
- Anticipation — surprise
- Disgust — trust
Professional filmmakers, specifically directors, cinematographers and colour graders have taken an understanding to this knowledge of colour theory and applied it to storytelling in the audio-visual medium, by enhancing the colour of a motion or still picture either electronically, photochemically, or digitally (Turner, 2015). This is a very impactful technique used in filmmaking to elicit an emotional response from the audience.
What is the theory behind colour grading? How do filmmakers utilise our connection with colour to evoke emotion or affect how we feel?
Digital colour grading has become a standard practice in filmmaking. Depending on the genre or theme of the story, filmmakers will utilise colour theory and specific grading techniques which relate directly to the style of their film, and how those colours elicit an emotional response in the audience.
The video below paints a great example of how colour is used in film to portray certain themes and elicit emotional responses in the viewer.
StudioBinder has put together stills from various films and outlined the emotional response it should have on those watching.
The general rule of thumb, according to colour theory is that bright and saturated colours lean towards happy tones, such as films in the comedy or romance genre, and dark and desaturated for something more grounded; films within the drama, or biopic genres (StudioBinder, 2020). Colour tells a story in itself and with filmmakers and colour graders understanding our connection to colour, colour theory and the emotional impacts colour has on human beings, when utilised correctly, the audience will partake on the rollercoaster of emotions that the film endeavours to elicit in the viewers.
References
Cherry, K. (2020). Color Psychology: Does It Affect How You Feel? [Blog]. Retrieved 21 August 2022, from https://www.verywellmind.com/color-psychology-2795824.
Cherry, K. (2022). Emotions and Types of Emotional Responses [Blog]. Retrieved 21 August 2022, from https://www.verywellmind.com/what-are-emotions-2795178#citation-3.
Goodman, J. (2019). How Does Colour Grading Effect Our Emotions in Filmmaking? [Blog]. Retrieved 20 August 2022, from https://www.jaredosullivan.com/how-does-colour-grading-effect-our-emotions-in-filmmaking/.
Karimova, H. (2017). The Emotion Wheel: What It Is and How to Use It [Blog]. Retrieved 20 August 2022, from https://positivepsychology.com/emotion-wheel/.
StudioBinder. (2020). Color Theory and Wes Anderson’s Style — Sad Characters in a Colorful World [Video]. Retrieved 21 August 2022, from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dtLBMBs_S9E&t=48s.
StudioBinder. (2020). How to Use Color in Film: 50+ Examples of Movie Color Palettes [Image]. Retrieved 21 August 2022, from https://www.studiobinder.com/blog/how-to-use-color-in-film-50-examples-of-movie-color-palettes/.
Turner, H. (2015). How filmmakers manipulate our emotions using color [Video]. Retrieved 20 August 2022, from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0ZZgiSUyPDY.
UserTesting. (2019). How color impacts conversion rates and UX [Image]. Retrieved 21 August 2022, from https://www.usertesting.com/blog/color-ux-conversion-rates.