Use of color in film
color
serves three functions in film and television: informational, compositional and
expressive. The information color
provides can be literal or symbolic. In
either case, it tells us something more about an object or event. Directors also use color to control and shift
emphasis within the frame. Arranging
colors in harmonious and contrasting ways is part of the art of
composition. Lastly, color is used to
make viewers feel a specific way
In
contrast to color, little has been written about the influence of black and
white, or monochrome, film and television presentations on emotional
responses. One notable exception is
desaturation theory (Zettl, 1990) which states that for certain types of scenes
desaturated colors, or black and white, can produce stronger emotional
reactions. For events that are
“extremely internal, such as an
intimate love scene, a mother nursing her baby, [or] a wounded soldier waiting
helplessly on a battlefield” color may actually dampen viewers’ emotions (p.
79, emphasis in original). Zettl (1990)
suggests that color makes these kinds of internal events external and does not
allow people to get involved emotionally.
According to desaturation theory, color leads people to look at rather
than into a scene. Black and white, on
the other hand, “invites the audience… to fill in the missing elements,” and
typically leads to a more profound emotional experience of the event portrayed
(Zettl, 1990, p.80). While desaturation
theory seems quite plausible, it has not been empirically tested. One of the goals of this study is to see if
the theory applies to brief film and television clips.
In the sixth sense,
the color red is used prior and during any scene where the supernatural is
present. This is in contrast to the rather drab colors used throughout
the film.
For instance, Cole made a red tent that he hid in when he saw a ghost in his house. At one point, a a corner of the tent came undone. When Cole went to his tent to hide, he found a ghost inside.
Another example is when Cole's schoolmate threw him into the storage space and locked the door (there was a ghost in the space). He began to scream. His sweater was red.
Late in the movie, Cole received a box from a ghost (the girl whose mom poisoned her). The box was striped red and the video inside had a red ribbon in it.
For instance, Cole made a red tent that he hid in when he saw a ghost in his house. At one point, a a corner of the tent came undone. When Cole went to his tent to hide, he found a ghost inside.
Another example is when Cole's schoolmate threw him into the storage space and locked the door (there was a ghost in the space). He began to scream. His sweater was red.
Late in the movie, Cole received a box from a ghost (the girl whose mom poisoned her). The box was striped red and the video inside had a red ribbon in it.
If watched you realize that every time we see Willis he is
wearing or carrying his red sweater, the balloon in the attic is red, the
church door is red, his pajamas in the start with the wife who commited suicide
in
the kitchen is red...and so on. So in summary: red = ghost
about to appear.
Schindlers list
Although the film is primarily shot in black-and-white, red is
used to distinguish a little girl in a coat. Later in the film, the girl is
seen among the dead, recognizable only by the red coat she is still wearing.
According to Andy Patrizio of IGN, the girl in the red
coat is used to indicate that Schindler has changed: "Spielberg put a
twist on her [Ligocka's] story, turning her into one more pile on the cart of
corpses to be incinerated.
The little girl's jacket is red so that she stands out from
the masses. When color is used, it makes a point and an impression. And
Schindler?s soul is touched by the child, he feels her pain, cries for her. The
plight of the one little girl in red touches him in a way the shear numbers
make unreal, it is easy to get lost in numbers. He transforms the faceless mass
around him into one real palpable human being. This one child is a symbol of
all the 6.000.000 victims, exposed to ruthless slaughter. The little girl in
the red coat footage gives a feeling of hope. You think that she may be able to
get away, that she has a chance. But then you see her later, and she is dead.
She has already been killed, and you feel the despair and a lot of anger
towards these Nazis.
The opening scene is in color, as is the closing sequence
(which features the surviving "Schindler Jews", each accompanied by
the actor who played their character, placing a stone on their savior's grave).
There are also two instances when color is allowed to bleed into the blacks,
whites, and grays. One little girl's jacket appears red so that she stands out
from the masses, and a pair of candles burn with orange flames. When color is
used, it makes a point and an impression.
