Something that has really interested me this semester is how color impacts scenes in film and how it communicates meaning. I had previously written on this theme when blogging about "Paris, Texas", but I thought it was worth revisiting. Where as descriptive verse and word must be used in written story telling, film is has the unique ability to use color and tone to its advantage when communicating information about a scene or an event within the film. What a character is wearing, the light on the set, the location of lighting, the intensity or color of said lighting, all convey aspects and tones for how the audience is supposed to encounter a scene. A darker scene with dim secondary lighting and darker color tones will automatically put the audience into a mood to expect mystery or the unknown. That being said, the lighting has set the tone for the scene before anything within the scene has even happened. Lighting color can act as the great non-verbal communicator in film. Red is a great example. Red is a color of passion, danger, death, sex, intensity. A scene with a great deal of red in it can non-verbally convey and communicate those tones into the scene for the audience. I think this goes along with the idea of film being a visual narrative. The color "speaks" to the audience and functions as the descriptives and scene setter.
I also think red is an important color in films this semester for religious reasons. Red is the color of blood and fire. These are two very religious symbols. The blood of Christ and the Burnt Offering are just two examples of how they are incorporated into religion. Red liquid can harken to the idea of Jesus' blood, red flame can be the image of the spirit of God. Overall, color is crucially important in film, and I think that specifically red plays a large role in religious imagery in film.
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