Realistic color combination and Subjective color combination

The color in films is not static, it changes with different frames and different plots. It can creating atmosphere and characters in films, such as highlighting the theme of the story.

There are two ways of color combinations in films-realistic color combination and subjective color combination. Realistic color combination is to use the nature color which comes from human's visual experiences, such as green grass, blue sky, golden sun, etc. Audience will enjoy the natural color as they expected before. We often use analogous colors to create realistic color combination to make the frame more vivid and enjoyable.

Subjective color combination is to use specific color on an object that we never seen or we are not easy to seen in the natural world. It comes from human’s mind, People use imagination create this kind of colour combinations. This type of color combination can create character’s personality in films, and it also can express director’s fancy thoughts.

Like this experimental test. I shot one scene that a person poured a glass of orange juice, and then change the orange juice to red, blue and green. And then I invite some people to watch this video to get some feedback, most people can accept the red juice, they thought it might be carrot juice or water melon juice. The green one and the blue one looks very strange, they feel a little bit disgusting and don’t want to drink it.

Because of human’s previous life experience, so people will react differently feeling with different color. We can use Realistic color combination to create people’s normal life, and use subjective color creates some especially effects.

The history and science of colour film

In the early days of film production，Hand Tinting was a widely practiced technique of painting colors onto the film itself. The first hand tinted movie, Annabelle Serpentine Dance, was filmed in Edison's Black Maria Studios. Annabelle Moore, a young dancer from Broadway, is dressed in white veils that appear to change.

As film became an international mass media industry, even stencils could not meet the demands of production. Filmmakers began using bath processes to tint and tone their films. Tinting involved putting the film in a bath of dye – this would turn the entire frame a particular color. Toning on the other hand only colored the dark parts of the frame by chemically converting the silver in the film to colored silver salts.

The first major venture into capturing color naturally in motion picture came in 1908 with Charles Urban and the Natural Color Kinematograph Company. The Kinemacolor system, invented by George Albert Smith was a sequential two color additive process.

 

KINEMACOLOR CAMERA

In the camera, one frame would be captured with a red filter and the next frame with a green filter and back and forth. When played back with a projector with a red green filter fly wheel, the red and green sequential images would “add” together because of our persistence of vision. The result was a surprising good color image despite being only a two color system.

In the 1990s, many filmmakers explored different lab processes such as bleach bypass to create unique film tones. Moving into the 2000s, computers had become powerful enough to handle entire films. Digital intermediaries came into use – a process of scanning a film frame by frame into a computer to be digitally manipulated.

The first film to get the digital intermediary treatment for the entire film was The Coen Brother’s O Brother Where Art Thou – in 2001. Cinematographer Roger Deakins worked for 11 weeks toning down the lush green summer foliage to achieve a dusty golden desaturated look.

Reference:

The History and Science of Color Film: From Isaac Newton to the Coen Brothers | FilmmakerIQ.com. 2013. The History and Science of Color Film: From Isaac Newton to the Coen Brothers | FilmmakerIQ.com. [ONLINE] Available at: http://filmmakeriq.com/lessons/the-history-and-science-of-color-film-from-isaac-newton-to-the-coen-brothers/. [Accessed 08 September 2013].

Summary of my study

Basic color theory

Let’s talk about the aesthetics of color. No understanding of color in film can be complete without a real solid grounding in the basic tenets of color theory.

We’ll start with the RGB color wheel – this color wheel is a little different from the color wheels you can find in art stores but this is the one used in color suites. Our three primary colors are Red Green and Blue. The colors that bridge the arc between the primary colors are made combining the two primary colors together. The area inside the color wheel is made of colors that are created when adding the third primary color into the mix. When all three primary colors are combined equally and fully they create white – this is an additive system.

This is a picture of color relationship – opposite colors called complementary colors. Drawing a line from a primary color through the middle of the circle we find that the opposite of Red is Cyan. The opposite of Green is Magenta and the opposite of Blue is Yellow.

Complementary colors when placed next to each other create strongest of color contrasts. And the least color contrast most harmonious color combinations are called analogous colors which are colors that lie next to each other along the color wheel.

Reference:

Introduction to Color in Digital Filmmaking | FilmmakerIQ.com. 2013. Introduction to Color in Digital Filmmaking | FilmmakerIQ.com. [ONLINE] Available at: http://filmmakeriq.com/lessons/introduction-to-color-in-digital-filmmaking/. [Accessed 08 September 2013].

Comparative research

During the research, I made a short film. In the short film, I made a comparison between black and white sequences and colored sequences, in order to test the audience. I put this short film on the internet, and send the questionnaire to 30 people who are general audience, ask them watch the film and get some feedback from them.

Most people thought that the colorful things bring people happier feelings. Compare with the black and white part, some people think it's not suit for the story, so the images with black and white looks a little bit strange, and some people can not be attracted with the black and white images. Some other people think that black and white part is more silent, dark and deep. They feel like some bad things will happen.

Compare with The kaleidoscope part and the green screen part. I found that the viewers can't focused on massive no meaning colors for long time, they don't know what objects is this color on. During the kaleidoscope part, most viewers confused about what is it, and after a short period, they feel boring. Compare with the specific color (like the green screen part, colors on an objects, although it is not very natural), but the audience can continue to stay in the story and they will not feel bored very easily.

Effects of colour on the viewer

1.    Colour attracts attention.

By using bright or saturated colours on the object of greatest interest and placing that object against a contrasting background, the director can easily capture the viewer’s eye.

2.    Colours contribute to three-dimensionality.

Some colours seem to advance toward the foreground, and others seem to recede into the background. Colours such as red, orange, yellow are advancing colours when given high intensity and dark value, they seem to advance, making objects appear larger and closer to the camera than they are.

3.    Colours create an impression or feeling of temperature.

The warm colours are the colours that advance: red, orange, yellow. The cool colours are the colours that recede：blue, green, etc.

4.    Colours function together in different ways.

Certain combinations of colour, or colour schemes, produce predictable and consistent visual effects. Monochromatic harmony results from a scheme based on variations in the value and intensity of one colour. Complementary harmony results from the use of colours directly opposite each other on the colour wheel, such as red and green. Complementary colours react with each other more vividly than do other colours. Analogous harmony results from the use of colours adjacent to one another on the colour wheel, such as red, red-orange, and orange. Such colours create a soft image with little harsh contrast. Triad harmony results from the use of three colours equidistant from one another on the colour wheel, such as the primary colours: red, yellow, and blue.

Reference: Dennis Petrie, 2011. The Art of Watching Films. 8 Edition. McGraw-Hill Humanities/Social Sciences/Languages.

Colour saturation in films

Saturation can also be called a color's intensity. It is a measurement of how different from pure grey the color is. Saturation is not really a matter of light and dark, but rather how pale or strong the colour is. The saturation of a color is not constant, but it varies depending on the surroundings and what light the color is seen in.

The definition of “Saturation” in Film & Video Dictionary

The strength or amount of a certain color present in a television picture; saturation is expressed as the purity of the color. Scene Illumination.

The intensity of the color is called saturation. It is the distance away from the "black body curve" on the CIE diagram. Color saturation on a display device is controlled by the Color control. Apparent saturation of colors in a picture can be effected by the luminance value of the signal. Color saturation is measured on a vectorscope by the distance away from the center of the scope display.

We can use colour saturation to create different feeling for films. Desaturated color is often used to convey poverty or age. In this effect, the brilliance of colors is dulled and darker colors (gray, black, brown) are used. Sam Mendes uses this effect heavily in his 2001 film "Road to Perdition." Saturated colors can be used to accent a particular scene or object. When a color is saturated, it is made more brilliant or brighter. This effect can be achieved from digital effects or colored light cast on an image from off screen. An example of this technique is the Ethan Coen film "Blood Simple."

Reference:

Saturation definition | Film & Video Dicitonary Dictionary. 2013. Saturation definition | Film & Video Dicitonary Dictionary. [ONLINE] Available at: http://www.movies-dictionary.org/Film-and-Video-Dicitonary/Saturation. [Accessed 25 August 2013].

Road to Perdition, 2002. [DVD] Sam Mendes, USA: DreamWorks|Fox.

Blood Simple, 1984. [DVD] Joel Coen, USA: River Road Productions, Foxton Entertainment.

Interview audience

From their comments, most viewers chose the blue tone as their favorite one in this short film, the people who like purple tone is much more male than female, however, women are more prefer the yellow tone than men. Compare with the desaturated and saturated images, almost everyone towards high saturation images, they thought they feel pleasure when watching it, and it's more fit for the character mood when she was reading in the short film.

Therefore, when we make a film, we can use the male and female preference of color to shape characters. Based on the story, we can use tint color express the feminine side, and use dark color to create powerful for man. When the script need to describe calm atmosphere, we can use analogous of blue to create harmonious color combinations, to make viewers feel relax.

Test about colour preference through gender

Through the literature review, I adjust my film into four different colour tones - green, purple, yellow and blue, and I also reduced and increased 20% colour saturation with my film respectively. And then let the general audience to see the film, get some feedback.

The differences between gender in response to color

 Many investigations have indicated that there are differences between gender in preferences for colors.

Guilford and Smith (1959) found men were generally more tolerant toward achromatic colors than women. Thus, Guilford and Smith proposed that women might be more color-concious and their color tastes more flexible and diverse. Likewise, McInnis and Shearer (1964) found that blue green was more favored among women than men, and women preferred tints more than shades. They also found 56% of men and 76% of women preferred cool colors, and 51% men and 45% women chose bright colors. In a similar study, Plater (1967) found men had a tendency to prefer stronger chromas than women.

A similar study by Greene (1995) examined the color identification and vocabulary skills of college students. They were asked to identify the colors of 21 color chips. The results showed that women recognized significantly more elaborate colors than did the men. Findings also indicated that gender different responses in color identification may be attributed to a difference in the socialization of men and women.

REFERENCES

Green, K. S. (1995). Blue versus periwinkle: Color identification and gender. Perceptual and Motor Skills, 80 (1), 21-32.

Guilford, J. P. & Smith, P. C. (1959). A system of color-preferences. The American Journal of Psychology, 73 (4), 487-502.

McInnis, J. H. & Shearer, J. K. (1964). Relationship between color choices and selected preferences for the individual. Journal of Home Economics, 56,181-187.

Plater, G. (1967). Adolescent preferences for fabric, color, and design on usual task. Unpublished master's thesis, Indiana State College, Terre Haute, Indiana.

Learn how to change a single color in premiere

Today I want to learn how to change a single color on an object in the video, because I want to do a experimental test through different color on a small objects, and test if it is that can affect audience or not. I find some tutorials on the internet and tried on one clip which I shot before. I need do more practice to achieve a better result.

Draft statement about my video test

During this year, I did some research about use of colour in films. Because of I studied painting in high school, and I’m very interested in the functions of colours, especially use of colour in films. So I started to do the research about how to use of colour in pre-production and post-production phase during film making workflow.

During the research, I have done a short film. In the short film, I made a comparison between green screen effect and kaleidoscope effect, both effects I used plenty of high saturated colour.

After I made this short film, I did a questionnaire to test audience, I found that the viewers can't focused on massive no meaning colours for long time, they don't know what objects is this colour on, like that kaleidoscope part, most viewers confused about what is it. And after a short period, they feel boring. Compare with the specific colour (like the green screen part, colors on an objects, although it is not very natural), but the audience can continue to stay in the story and they will not feel bored very easily.

After that, I also did some experimental video clips to find how to manipulate colour saturation in different ways.

I used three different lenses with one camera to shoot the same scene at the same period of time. From these clips, we can see that when we use different lens with a same camera, the footages of the colour are different.

And then, I have done an experimental testing through different colour of lighting in films. I used different colour gels to do this test, based on the same character and the same location. Use lighting can create high saturated colour tones on the images.

First, I just used single colours (green, red, blue, yellow and purple) for testing, each images showing different colour saturation and it also bring different feeling to viewers.

Then, I have done the different combinations of colours, Monochromatic harmony results from a scheme based on variations in the value and intensity of one colour. Complementary colours, such as red and green, react with each other more vividly than do other colours. Analogous harmony results from the use of colours adjacent to one another on the colour wheel, such as red, red-orange, and orange. Such colours create a soft image with little harsh contrast.

And then I used a projector projecting some colourful images on a white wall to create atmosphere. And I also add film burn effect in the post-production phase. I found that the colour is more brighter, the saturation of this colour is more lower.

With the development of audience’s requirement through colour films, the film makers need to stay current with developments in colour and keep its impact on viewers in mind as they plan a movie’s visual design.

Draft statement about my research

Xu Li trained in china as a television editor and director and on coming to the UK, to begin her Masters, began to the research use of colour management through film making workflow, and try to find some useful ways help film makers to use of colour get the high quality of visual images apply to films, interactive media, new media and exhibition to react audience.

Because of she studied painting in high school, she became get interested in the functions of colours, especially use of colour in films.

So she starts to do the research about use of colour in pre-production and post-production phase during film making workflow.

She found some effect of colour on the viewer: colour can attracts audience attention, contribute to three-dimensionality and create an impression or feeling of temperature. She made a short film to test audience. In the short film, she made a comparison between green screen effect and kaleidoscope effect, both effects she used plenty of high saturated colour. After the test, she found that the viewers can't focused on massive no meaning colours for long time, they don't know what objects is this colour on, after a short period, they will feel boring. Compare with the specific colour (colours on an objects, although it is not very natural), the audience can continue to stay in the story and they will not feel bored very easily.

She also used different lends, lighting skills and projecting to make some experimental video clips to find how to manipulate colour saturation in different ways.

With the development of audience’s requirement through colour films, the film makers need to stay current with developments in colour and keep its impact on viewers in mind as they plan a movie’s visual design.

Interview question list

1. What is your gender

2. What film genres do you like?

Comedy 

Thriller

Adventure film                           

Romance film                 

Documentary

Horror film

Action movie

Crime & gangster film      

Science fiction film                     

Musical film

Epics/historical film

3. What elements about a film attract you to watch it?

  Story/Characters/Dialogue/Poster/Colour tone/Music/Other _____

4. Have you made a short film before? If you have, are you more interested in pre-production phase or post-production phase?

5. Are you focusing on colour when you watching films? Yes/No

  If it is yes, can you briefly describe what specific colour it used?

6. Compare with the three set of video clips, which set are the highest colour saturation and which set are the lowest? What emotion feeling are they bring to you?

7. After you watch the different colour lighting test, do you think the colour in the videos are the desaturated colour or saturated colour?

8. After you watch the third video clip, please write down three words to describe what is the feeling it brings to you?

9. Do you think uses of colour in film burn effect (like some bright lights in this clip) are desaturated or saturated? What effect did this have on you?

(I will randomly turn off the sound and music to test different people with the same questions (6 to 9), and then analyze whether their answers are same or not.)

Interview question list (draft)

1. What is your gender?

2. What film genres do you like?

Comedy 

Thriller

Adventure film                           

Romance film                 

Documentary

Horror film

Action movie

Crime & gangster film      

Science fiction film                     

Musical film

Epics/historical film

3. What elements about a film attract you to watch it?

  Story/Characters/Dialogue/Poster/Colour tone/Music/Other _____

4. Are you focusing on colour when you watching films? Yes/No

  If it is yes, can you briefly describe what specific colour it used?

5. Have you made a short film before? If you have, are you more interested in pre-production phase or post-production phase?

6. Compare with the three set of video clips, which set are the highest colour saturation and which set are the lowest? What emotion feeling are they bring to you? (Because I used three different lens, all of them I recorded two clips, one is front depth of field and one is back depth of field. Three lens created three different colour tone, so that I want to test what different colour tone between man and women prefer)

7. After you watch the different colour lighting test, which colour tone do you like and which type of colour combinations do you like?

8. After you watch the third video clip, please write down five words to describe what is the feeling it brings to you?

9. Do you like the film burn effect (like some bright lights in this clip)? What effect did this have on you? Please use three words to describe the feeling this effect brings to you. (Because the film burn effect was used in post production phase that created different bright colour lights in the video. so, I would like to interview the audience what are the different feeling between use of colour in pre-production and post-production phase.)

(I will randomly turn off the sound and music to test different people with the same questions (6 to 9), and then analyze whether their answers are same or not.)

Finished editing about the third colour testing

Today I finished editing this clips. This time I try to use projector to project different colour videos on the white wall to create different colour tones. I also used after effect to create film burn effects on the post production phase. And I want to find the different colour feeling in pre-production and post-production phase, based on the same sequence.

Study how to create film burn in After Effects

Today I started to study Film burn in After Effects, which I want to use in my test clips. I really love this effect, because it looks bright and colourful and it also can link different shots with a soft way. However, some people think this effect looks too over in a short film that they will jump out of the story. But I think it depends on the story. When we need to create something dreamlike or fantasy, this effect will be very useful can let audience have that feeling. And I also download some clips and try to create what feeling i want.

Shooting about the third colour testing

Today I have done the shooting about the third experiment colour testing. This time I used projector to create different colour. I used different video clips to project the images on the white wall. The actress stands in front of the white wall, so she will be influenced by the images which were projected on the white wall.

After shooting I was checking the clips, I found a problem that the video clips projected on the wall was flickering on the camera. I searching the answer on the internet, maybe because of the frequency of shooting is not the same as of frequency the video played on wall. I will try to find the way to solve that problem.

Finish editing: colour testing through different colour lights

Colour testing through different colour lights

On Wednesday, I did an experimental testing about different colour of lighting on video. I used different colour gels to do this test, based on the same character and the same location. The final images that appeared on the screen are completely different.

First, I just used single colours (green, red, blue, yellow and purple) for testing, each images showing a different feeling and clarity. Red is the most unclear colour between these images. Because of the local colour (the background of white wall and the character itself) are different, so the different colours are not the same. So, the reflections of the atmospheric colour are also different.

Then, I used the combination of two colours (red and green). In the same environment, the character move her body to face different colours, it also create different feelings, the green light is more clear than red light.

 At last, I used different types of combination create warm and cold atmosphere to test that colour have different temperature feelings.

Shooting about the second colour testing

Today I have done the second experiment colour test. I used different colour gels on two lights to create different colour tones in one room. I want to try to use a clean room to make the scene looks more simple, only have white walls, so that it can have a clearly colour after I used colourful lights. I also ask the character dress simple clothes to make the frame not influenced by the complex patterns and colours.    

Local colour and Atmospheric colour

The difficulty in analyzing colour is compounded by the fact that objects are seldom viewed in a atmosphere totally removed from all external optical influences. There is a clear distinction between local colour and atmospheric colour. However, the physical objects are always affected by atmospheric colour. Not only does the sunlight change constantly through the day, but coloured objects influence one another.

 

In planning and shooting a modern colour film, the director, the cinematographer, the production designer, and the costumer must be constantly aware of many factors, if they are to control and manipulate the colour to conform to their aesthetic vision.

The history of colour in films

1890s

Colourful hand-painted magic-lantern slide shows anticipate filmmakers’ and audiences’ preoccupation with colour in moving images.

1916

D.W. Griffith uses elaborate tinting techniques in Intolerance, but most of the original print has been lost.

1925

Hand-colored frames are featured in Russian film Battleship Potemkin.

1920s

Two-colour Technicolour film allows for colour sequences in films such as Ben-Hur and Phantom of the Opera.

1932

Technicolour perfects three-tone Technicolour film.

1935

The first feature colour film, Becky Sharp, is a commercial failure.

1952

Eastman Colour film, simpler and more economical, comes to the scene.

1990

Ju Dou, by filmmaker Yimou Zhang, features Technicolour technology, which enjoys a resurgence in China around this time.

2002

Far From Heaven released, signaling homages to Technicolour in American films.

Reference: Dennis Petrie, 2011. The Art of Watching Films. 8 Edition. McGraw-Hill Humanities/Social Sciences/Languages.

New Designers Exhibition

I went to the New Designers Exhibition with classmates in London last week. It was a fantastic show that inspires me a lot. Not only for the short film part, but also comes from other aspects, such as illustration, graphic design, production design, media, etc. There are so many talented students who study art have many amazing ideas and put that in their works. And we also watched some short films which were made by some students from different universities in UK. Some of them are quite good. The costume and props have been designed and the location has also been considered, so that the image looks very suit for the story. But some of the short films also have some problem. Such as soundtrack, some part the voice is too high, and there are some noises in some part. Compare with school's work, I prefer our school's works, especially a story associated with painting and imagine. I think the script is very creative, and the frames in that film are also fantastic.

Reflective journal: Use of colour in production design

Production designers function as architects, interior designers, … historians, … diplomats, and ultimately, observers of human behaviors-and all of the fragilities of the human heart…

-----Wynn Thomas, production designer

Nowadays, 95% of films are colour film. Most modern filmmakers feel that colour cinematography allows them to create more powerful, realistic images and to communicate better with audiences. So that colour as a symbol in films can create many useful meanings. The production design is not only use different colour to decorate films, to make it more fantasy, but also use a serious of specific colours to make the film have time and symbolic.

As members of the design team plan the look of a film, they are likely to consider establishing a colour palette – a limited number of specific colours used or emphasized throughout the film to subtly communicate various aspects of character and story to the viewer. Colour used in this way becomes more than mere decoration for the film; it enhances the movie’s dramatic elements.

With the development of audience’s requirement through colour films, the film makers need to stay current with developments in colour photography and keep its impact on viewers in mind as they plan a movie’s visual design.

Reference: Dennis Petrie, 2011. The Art of Watching Films. 8 Edition. McGraw-Hill Humanities/Social Sciences/Languages. 

Reflective journal: Different film stock

The definition of smooth-grain and rough-grain film stock.

Smooth-grain film stock produces an image that is extremely smooth, or slick.

Rough-grain film stock produces a rough, grainy-textured image with harsh contrasts between blacks and whites and almost no subtle contrasts.

A cinematographer may use both types of stock for different effects in films. For example, a romantic love scene would probably be shot with smooth-grain film, a riot or a furious battle scene with rough-grain film. So, the same colour in film can also bring different effects by using different film stocks. Smooth-grain film stock can create fine tones, artistic shadows and contrasts. Because of the clarity and artistic perfection of these images, they often have a more powerful visual impact the does reality. Rough-grain type often associated with documentary here-and-now quality. Thus, we can change different effects in post-production phase to make the frames and tone more close to the scripts.

Reference: Dennis Petrie, 2011. The Art of Watching Films. 8 Edition. McGraw-Hill Humanities/Social Sciences/Languages.

Colour wheel

Colour attracts and holds our attention; our eyes are more quickly attracted by colour than by shape or form.

Colour affected by many aspects, such as saturation, intensity, lighting, value, etc. value refers to the proportion of light or dark in a colour, coloured surface with the normal value of a colour which we can expect to find the colour represented on a colour wheel. Artists use this device to help clarify the relationships between the primary and secondary colours.

Anything lighter than the normal value is a tint; anything darker is a shade. Therefore, pink is a tint of red, and maroon is a shade of red.

Finish editing about colour testing

Colour testing through three different lens

These frames were shot in the same period of time. From these photos, we can see that when we use different lens with a same camera, the footages of the colour are different.

When we use the same lens, different focus are also can create different colour. Focus in the former, the details is more clearly, more saturated colors. The focus in back side, the colour is more clutter.