Colour and Lighting
The first use of colour was seen in films such as "Voyage a Travers l'impossible" by the Pioneer Georges Melies in 1904. Here the film was hand painted frame by frame. The next development was the introduction of two-strip-technicolor using only red and green, e.g. The Mystery of the Wax Museum. First full three strip technicolor was Becky Sharp (1935).
From the 1930's to the 1940's black and white represented reality and colour represented fantasy and spectacle, to this day the opposite is true. The Wizard of Oz is one of the movies that had a black and white/sepia reality and a colourful fantasy.
Denotation & Connotation
Denotation - the literal description of an idea, concept or object.
Connotation - what we associate with a particular idea, concept or object.
Connotations for the following are:
Red - Warning - Blood - Danger - Romance
- Hot - Love - Stop
Blue - Clean - Calm - Relaxing - Sad
- Sea - Peace - Tranquillity
- Cold - Death
Green - Natural - Nature - Peace
- Tranquillity - New Life
- Rebirth - Sickness - Go
White - Cleanliness - Purity
Colour works on the subconscious to create mood.
Lighting
This is the standard lighting setup:
Key Light - is the brightest and most influential.
Back Light - helps counteract the effect of the key light or creates an outline or silhouette.
Filler Light - helps to soften the harsh shadows that the use of key and back lights create.
Under Lighting
This is when the main source of lighting comes from below the subject. Used in Thrillers and Horror films.
Top Lighting
This is when the main source of light comes from above, highlighting the features, used to create a glamorous look.
High key & Low Key Lighting
Low key lighting is created by using only the key and back lights, this will produce a sharp contrast of light and dark areas on the screen as very deep, distinct shadows are formed.
This is known as Chiaroscuro
High key lighting uses more filler lights and the lighting appears realistic.
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