FILM UNIT
COLOUR
LESSON CONTENT
• Colour
COLOUR
The colours used in movies send powerful
visual messages to viewers. Old western
movies, where the good guys wore white and
the bad guys black, show that the idea has
been around for a long time.Viewers
commonly associate certain themes and
moods with particular colours, and filmmakers
will use these associations to represent ideas
or emotions. For example, red often
symbolises danger, blood or desire, purple can
indicate royalty or mystery, while brown can
mean nature, home and earthiness.
Colour
Common cultural meanings
Blue
Peace, tranquillity, truth, dignity, power, melancholy, coolness, heaviness. It is regarded as being therapeutic.
Yellow
Happiness, cheerfulness. It can suggest caution, decay, cowardice and sickness.
Red
Warmth, urgency, passion, heat, blood, excitement, danger and hostility. Used as an accent colour, it can promote
expectations and quick decision making.
Green
Growth, fertility, health, cheerfulness, vegetation, money. It signifies life, new growth, energy and faith.
Grey
Cool detachment, bleakness and lack of intensity.
Purple
Wealth, royalty, sophistication, intelligence, mystery. It is also the colour of passion and love.
Black
Death, rebellion, strength, evil. Associated with the supernatural, it can also suggest inner strength and determination,
as well as power and formality.
White
Purity, chastity and cleanliness.
Black and white
Nostalgia, seriousness, truth, detachment.
Brown
Credibility, stability, neutrality, earthiness, nature, home.
Orange
Warmth, strength of personality. Associated with autumn, it also has broad appeal.
Answer the questions on the
following slides in your book.
Have a look at the following
scenes and their colour
scheme. What type of
emotions, mood, or
atmosphere is the scene
evoking based on the colour?
Refer back to the table to help
you.
Why do you think the actress
is given a yellow dress? What
do you think it represents?
What mood/atmosphere is
this scene giving off?
COMPLETE COLOUR ACTIVITY