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COLOR SCRIPTING

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COLOR IS

EVERYWHERE

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Color is deeply rooted in our subconscious. We make judgements quickly based on the color we see.

We are attracted to see

Contrast immediately through pattern, color and values.

Nature demands our survival for it.

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Color is so powerful…

Elicit psychological reactions with the audience
Draw focus to significant details
Set the tone of the movie
Represent character traits
Show changes or arcs in the story

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(There’s that “feeling emotions” thing again…….

Emotional Accuracy =

EMOTIONAL ‘CURRENCY’ IN COLOR

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As you explore your color ‘thinking’ consider the color impact on our deeper state of mind.

How Color affects us in visual energy has much to do with the way colors interact with one another.

Contrasting Colors, for example, complimentary colors can raise the intensity of conflict or excitement. Analogous schemes can act as unison and provide a harmonious or serene effect.

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Choosing colors is a deeply conscious and creative examination.

As you select colors, you’re also responsible for identifying and refining tones, and additional colors to the content of the message.

Some tips:

Consider Environment time of day and light sources
%Warm vs. %Cool and %Cool vs. %Warm
Saturation at focal points / Desaturation at non-focal points…

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Three things to keep in mind:

Identify the Hue with Accuracy

Learn to distill the composition into a few basic colors

Develop a system for storage.

recommend Adobe Color, Adobe Capture

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“The Key to using reference effectively is to perceive beyond the literal or superficial aspects of what everyone else sees” –Hans Bacher

Be Patient and be Involved

Understand how color affects

Composition
Emotion
Visual Unity

Develop a system to your palettes. Sometimes methodical approaches can help simplify the process.

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LEFT:

Strong Value analysis…versus mismatched color/value/tone work…and at the bottom, WAY too many saturated hues and options.

RIGHT:

Much more appropriate to narrative options through value, color and tone.

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Remember ASSOCIATION is one of those tools in a story-tellers toolbox.

As see color, we can use the power of association to generate the connection to the emotional content.

NOW, this is very different then just “jumping on board with local color” as your first option.

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COLOR SCRIPTING:

At the most basic level, a story has three Color Symbolism points.

For example: Conflict, Peace, and the Transition between those two words.

This means that the animator will create color symbolism palettes: one for Peace, which is different than Conflict, which is different than the Transition between Peace & Conflict.

Riley Wagner, Color Symbolism, Color Scripts 2017

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