In films, one must prepare to show the audience visually rather than vocally what one is trying to say. Some films do the visual storytelling very well, others rely on dialogue to completely tell the story. Both ways can be done well but using visuals are more memorable to an audience watching something on screen.

Between cinematography and production design, the visuals of the film have to be told here. The camera angles, the background setting, even the kinds of furniture in the film tell a story by themselves. They can all tell you where a character's been, where they are going and what they are feeling.

Color is a big attribute you can add to your film to tell the story. The color of the lights can set the mood for the film and the characters. You could have a yellow tungsten lit airport or a bright red one and that will give you a different story. A woman wearing sharp pea green high heels is a different woman compared to one wearing dirty blue tennis shoes. Painted black walls gives a different feeling about a person's apartment than that of yellow and pink colored walls.

There are few example directors who have stretched the boundaries of color in their films and have told the story based on colors and production design. Paul Thomas Anderson, with films like Magnolia, Boogie Nights and Punch Drunk Love, has explored the colors of different eras and clothing and how they affect the character so much. Wes Anderson with films like The Royal Tenenbaums and Rushmore has also pushed the boundaries of creating characters who are defined by their attire and the colors that surround them.

But probably the most prolific director who has made films that rely heavily on objects' color, the style of clothing, hairstyling and the background setting is David Lynch. His films transcend storytelling through the actual story and in films like Mulholland Drive, Blue Velvet and Twin Peaks, Lynch's use of color overcomes the film. Everything stands out in bold. Each frame is like a painting.

Black is a color that works great on characters. Characters wearing black are seen as harsh, determined characters who don't talk much. They are sleek and set in their ways. Whether wearing a t-shirt, a black suit or little black dress, the character is bold enough to not wear a color. They are happy with who they are no matter how they are seen.

A black background sets up gloom and doom. Black walls are not usually used in films because camera lights cannot reflect off the colors white or black well. The background will be either too dark for black or too washed out for white. However, black is used in lighting. When it comes to shadows, you can have a very mysterious or scary movie with dark shadows in the background. This gives the illusion that something will come out of the shadows when least expected.

White is a hard color to shoot. When you have a white background, it can be undistinguishable where you are. It could be a good thing as well because it does give the illusion of someone being lost or on a stage. Actors are usually told not to wear white because it is hard to light someone with white on. Wearing white makes it hard for the camera to pick up other colors in the right way unless you use special film or balance it in post. But white is of course the color of virginity or a very pristine color. Wearing this means that an actor is pure or cold. They can be rigid or they can be enlightened.

Red has many different connotations when it comes to film. In American Beauty, the color red is used in many different ways. All the doorknobs are a deep red color. The forbidden teenager has red flower petals fall on her naked body. In most every scene, there are red flowers sitting around. It can infer lust, anger, forbidden fruit, hate, wildness. Forbidden fruit is apple red, a blood red represents anger and deep red represents lust.

Blue is a color of serenity. Light blue is the color of the sky, something peaceful and beautiful. A darker blue could be the ocean, a vast space that is beautiful but with danger. A navy blue represents boldness like in A Few Good Men. The officer's uniforms represent their love off the law and what kind of people they are. But blue can also represent death as in cold as a fish.

Green can be a color of sickness but it can also be a color of spring. Green can represent newness and happiness. It can represent wonder and nature. In ET, the great clearing that ET goes to is a beautiful green when he first lands. But when ET is lost, the green clearing as fresh a green color as it was before.

Gray usually represents gloom. The cloudy skies, a sickness, gray hair. Gray things tell us that things are getting old or people are getting sick. Gong back to ET, when he gets lost, he is a sick gray color that scares the audience into thinking he's dead. But there is also a sweet gray color that reminds us that older can be wiser. It's a lighter yet fuller gray.

Using color can be an effective way to tell your story. But be sure to find out what colors mean and what they mean to your characters. Each color will mean something different to each character.

Links: www.imdb.com, http://www.factmonster.com/ipka/A0769383.html

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