The choice of colour can contribute to the overall mood and atmosphere of the film, add visual contrast: to make a character stand out or contribute to our understanding of the action.
Viewing Activities
If unusual colours are used in the film discuss why this might be. Does it add to the atmosphere or make a certain element stand out? Colour can be used for dream sequences or to show passage of time.
In Meat the Campbells the colours give a quirky cartoonish quality - making it clear that the film isn't 'realistic'.
For simple clips and activities on colour symbolism visit mariaclaudiacortes. And poissonrouge has some great colour and sound related games for a younger audience, and there are useful notes on considering colours in our art department section.
Follow On Activities
- Look at the use of colour in graphic novels / comics.
- Discuss warm/cold colours - create warm/cold landscape paintings.
- Create a storyboard using blackline outlines. Photocopy and then colour one with warm colours and one with cold colours. Try the same idea with dark, gothic colours.
Reluctant readers can be enticed into fiction through Graphic Novels - Shakespeare's plays and classics by Robert Louis Stevenson are available.