As filmmakers we have the power to elicit real emotion from viewers using only images and sound, and colors play a significant part in that biological response. But why do humans react to certain colors? To get to the foundation of color theory in filmmaking, we have to look at the evolutionary reasons why some colors affect us differently than others. In the MZed course “Directing Color,” educator Ollie Kenchington explains some of the innate reasons why humans respond to colors like red and green more than we do to blue. It turns out that it’s less to do with creating feelings of love and joy, and more to do with life or death evolutionary instincts. Color Theory and Why Blues are Background Noise Most mammals use scent to survive, partly because their eyes are far apart which makes them terrible for depth perception. But primates and humans have eyes closer together and in front of our faces, instead of snouts, so we rely on our binocular vision as well as red-green-blue color vision, also called trichomacy. (You can read more about this research here) As a pure representation of color spectrum, a digital camera sees red, green, and blue wavelengths at equal distances from each other. The way a camera sensor records that color information is further explained in my previous article, An Introduction to ARRIRAW. But before it records the colors, a digital camera sensor perceives colors by comparing wavelengths to determine the difference between them, and it...
Published By: CineD - Wednesday, 16 February, 2022