The Psychology of Color in

Film
Dr.Bassant Mourad
►There are both positive and negative
components to each color at your disposal.
Within each color are a multitude of hues
you can break down even further to
specifically hone in on the exact level of
emotion you're seeking.
►Film color palettes might be one of the
most underutilized parts of your filmmaking
process. It can be the difference between
immersing your audience in a world or
boring them to tears.
 How can color tell a story?
Color can affect us emotionally, psychologically and
even physically, often without us becoming aware.
Color in film can build harmony or tension within a
scene. Bring attention to a key theme. And that’s just
the start. When telling a story, colors:
• Elicit psychological reactions
• Draw focus to significant details
• Set the tone of the movie
• Represent character traits
• Show changes or arcs in the story
So choose your color palettes wisely! Because with
great power comes…
 The color wheel in film
A color wheel or color circle is an organization of
color hues around a circle, which shows the
relationships between primary colors, secondary
colors, tertiary colors, and other color
combinations.
• Color is not just how you balance the camera,
but also how people are dressed and how
sets look on screen.
• Think about all the magnificent work done by
Wes Anderson. His movies are defined by
their color palettes and what emotions are
expressed through those images.
color wheel

color wheel
The colors expressed in this frame gives us
the poppy world of this movie and set the
dark and depressed tone of the film.
The three main components of a color are:
1- Hue: the color itself.
2- Saturation: ( intensity of the color).
Saturation is another color property that
describes how intense of a color we're getting.
It's the deepness of the color at hand.
3-Value : (The darkness or lightness of a color).
The value of a color describes whether or not a color
is dark or light. A dark blue would have a higher
value. A light blue, a lower value.
►many colors take on specific feelings. You need
to support the color with actions and set pieces
within the screenplay. You can't just add color
blobs. You need to have artistic intention behind
every frame.
►Color Psychology in film refers to what complex
emotions each hue can create when mixed with
saturation and value.
A strong red color has been shown to raise
blood pressure, while a blue color elicits a
calming effect.
• RED: anger, passion, rage, desire,
excitement, energy, speed, strength, power,
heat, love, aggression, danger, fire, blood,
war, violence
• PINK : love, innocence, healthy, happy,
content, romantic, charming, playfulness,
soft, delicate, feminine
• YELLOW : wisdom, knowledge, relaxation,
joy, happiness, optimism, idealism,
imagination, hope, sunshine, summer,
dishonesty, cowardice, betrayal, jealousy,
covetousness, deceit, illness, hazard
• ORANGE: humor, energy, balance, warmth,
enthusiasm, vibrant, expansive, flamboyant
• GREEN : healing, soothing, perseverance,
tenacity, self-awareness, proud, unchanging
nature, environment, healthy, good luck,
renewal, youth, vigor, spring, generosity, fertility,
jealousy, inexperience, envy
• BLUE: faith, spirituality, contentment, loyalty,
fulfillment peace, tranquility, calm, stability,
harmony, unity, trust, truth, confidence,
conservatism, security, cleanliness, order, sky,
water, cold, technology, depression
• PURPLE/VIOLET: erotic, royalty, nobility,
spirituality, ceremony, mysterious,
transformation, wisdom, enlightenment, cruelty,
arrogance, mourning, power, sensitive, intimacy
• BROWN: materialistic, sensation, earth, home,
outdoors, reliability, comfort, endurance, stability,
simplicity
• BLACK : No, power, sexuality, sophistication,
formality, elegance, wealth, mystery, fear,
anonymity, unhappiness, depth, style, evil,
sadness, remorse, anger
• WHITE: Yes, protection, love, reverence, purity,
simplicity, cleanliness, peace, humility, precision,
innocence, youth, birth, winter, snow, good, sterility,
marriage (Western cultures), death (Eastern
cultures), cold, clinical, sterile
• SILVER: riches, glamorous, distinguished,
earthy, natural, sleek, elegant, high-tech
• GOLD: precious, riches, extravagance. warm,
wealth, prosperity, grandeur.
It's a movie that plays off the cold of the snow
but relates us to the warm characters
searching for love and acceptance and family.
these colors give feelings of mystery and
excitement.
 color schemes
(Color Concepts)
There are four main types of color schemes based on
color concepts that work well together.
 Monochromatic
• A monochromatic color scheme is when a single
base “hue” is extended out using shades, tones,
and tints. Tints are achieved by adding whites, and
shades by adding black. Like how The Matrix is
based around the color green. It's in almost every
frame, and becomes part of the movie.
 Analogous
An analogous color scheme in film or TV refers
to colors that are neighbor on the color wheel.
Filmmakers often choose from either warm or cool
colors for their analogous schemes because they
generally fit the theme of the movie or TV show. The
idea here is to get colors that find balance or
harmony together.
They tend to occur in nature and create a
harmonious feeling that is pleasing to the eye.
EX: Children of Men’s analogous color scheme
seemed to match the dangerous state of its world,
there were no more men being born.
In general when creating an analogous color
scheme, one color is chosen to dominate, a second
to support, and a third (along with blacks, whites
and grey tones) to accent.
 Complementary

• Complementary color
schemes are when two
colors from opposite
sides of the color wheel
are used in conjunction
with one another to form
the color palettes.
• complementary colors helps in storytelling.
Like if you're trying to bring a couple
together and to show their chemistry as
well. And set them apart from the backdrop.
Dueling colors are often associated with conflict,
whether internal or external. combine warm and cool
colors to produce a high-contrast, vibrant tension in
the film.
Orange and blue are complementary colors used in
many blockbusters.
 Triadic

A triadic color scheme is when three colors that

are evenly spaced around the complementary
color wheel are used in conjunction.
►One color in the triadic colors scheme is
chosen to be the dominant one with other two
used in complementary fashion.
Triadic color schemes are somewhat less
common.
They tend to lend themselves to a “comic
book” type of color palette.
 Tetradic
Tetradic colors consist of four colors arranged
into two complementary pairs. The result is a
full palette with many possible variations. As
with most of these color harmonies, one color
is usually dominant.
EX: “Mama Mia’s” colorful party scene falls
into the example of a tetradic choice of colors
creating a well balanced and harmonious
palette in a scene that could otherwise have
looked like a bad disco.
 Discordant Scheme
Discordance is a intentional choice by the director to
deviate from the balanced types of color schemes and
color palettes to refocus attention . It's one way to
create symbols.
EX: the girl’s dress in the otherwise black and
white Schindler’s List is a clear symbol.
All it takes is mismatching the colors a bit in the
right places.
 ASSOCIATIVE COLOR SCHEMES
Associate colors in film refers to when a
recurring color or scheme represents a theme
or character in a film, thereby connecting
visual spectacle with emotional storytelling.
EX: Christopher Nolan’s beloved comic-book
epic The Dark Knight gave both key characters
in the drama their own associative colors
palettes. Contrasting with Batman’s dark
blacks and grays were The Joker’s slightly
muted clown colors of purple and green.
The clash between them came to represent a clash
between the simple order of dark tones and the fun-
house horror disorder and confusion of the joke’s
mismatched colors.
One of the most famous associative uses of color in
movies was the role of orange in The Godfather.
Orange is associated with death, the movie
approached violence in a more brutal and ugly fashion.
So it made a kind of sense that in a world of crushed
blacks and desaturated tones, a bright mismatched
orange tone would indicate the coming violence.