FILM AS LITERATUREENGLISH 9

Color in Film

HUESource: http://photography.nationalgeographic.com/photography/photos/pod-fall-foliage/autumn-foliage_pod_image.html

Hue: The colors of the rainbow spectrum are pure hues

Practice:

•What hues do you see in this photograph?•What is the effect of seeing all of these hues in the same photograph?

BRIGHTNESSSource: http://photography.nationalgeographic.com/photography/photos/life-color-red/red-lanterns-evans.html

Brightness: The amount of light reflected determines the brightness and whether the color is perceived as dark or light

Practice:

•Which areas of the photograph are bright and which are dark? •What effect does the contrast in brightness have on the viewer?

COLOR COMPOSITIONSource: http://photography.nationalgeographic.com/photography/photos/life-color-red/red-leaf-touzon.html

Source: http://www.radisson.com/rad/images/details06/NJCARTER_times_square_450.jpg

Color Composition: the designed harmony or conflict that color brings to an individual shot or scene

Practice:

Compare the two photographs. What similarities and/or differences do you see in the use of color composition?

COLOR SYMBOLISM

Color Symbolism: The association of particular emotions or ideas with specific colors

COLOR

SYMBOLISM

Practice:

What emotion or idea is being expressed in this photograph? How do you know? What is the relationship between color and that idea?

Source: http://photography.nationalgeographic.com/photography/photos/100-days-photo-gallery/president-kennedy-funeral-photography.html

Color Symbolism, continued…Most cultures attribute specific meanings to particular colors. For example, in the U.S. people recognize that a baby dressed in pink is probably a girl. Colors can be used as a form of non-verbal communication. To the left are some of the ideas traditionally associated with particular colors.

Red: love, war, danger, anger (“seeing red”)

Black: mourning, mystery, sophistication

White: purity, cleanliness, innocence, sterility

Blue: corporate color, intelligence, stability, unity, conservatism, calm, depression (“the blues”)

Green: life, nature, health, renewal, inexperience, jealousy (“green with envy”)

Silver: wealth, modernity, distinction Gold: riches, extravagance, prosperityBrown: wholesomeness, earthiness,

simplicity, hard labor, endurance Source: http://desktoppub.about.com/cs/color/a/symbolism.htm

APPLICATION

We will use clips from the 1997 film The Matrix to practice applying our understanding of how color is used in film.

Summary: Neo, a computer hacker, learns that the world he knows is nothing but an illusion. Mysterious rebels help him learn about the true nature of his reality and his role in the war against the controllers of it.

Watch these two clips. What differences do you observe about the use of hue, brightness, composition, and color symbolism?

First clip: Neo is inside the matrix (the reality he has always known) and is getting fired by his boss. (12:00-13:00)

Second clip: Neo has escaped the matrix and is now facing “the real world” for the first time. (38:40-39:20)

Use of Color in The Matrix

Use of Color in The MatrixWatch this clip where Morpheus (the leader of the rebels) gives Neo the choice to continue the life he has always known within the Matrix or break free into “the real world.”

As you watch, think about the following questions:

•How is brightness used?

•What is the significance of the color choices in this scene?

Clip: Neo’s ChoiceMorpheus tells Neo:“Take the blue pill the story

ends. You wake up in your bed and believe whatever you want. You take the red pill, you stay in wonderland and I show you how deep the rabbit hole is.” (28:50-29:50)

ASSIGNMENT

Think like a film director.

Your group will be assigned one of the colors to the left.

Using your knowledge of the use of color in film, design a single scene (one drawing) from a movie that does not exist.

Incorporate your assigned color so that it contributes to the meaning of the scene. You can alter the hue, brightness, and composition to help your reader understand your scene.

You will turn in a detailed drawing of the scene AND a short summary (1/2 -1 page) of the plot and your use of color in this particular scene.

white black

red

silver

green

gold

brown

blue