18 Comments

It’s neat to be able to see the differing color moods in the film laid out in a strip.

Posted by Jeremiah on March 6th, 2009 at 8:44 am

Great explanation. Are there any good books on color theory you’d recommend?

Posted by Bo on March 6th, 2009 at 9:30 am

Fascinating post!

Posted by Joseph Nilo on March 9th, 2009 at 6:00 pm

Right on! What a great post on color as it relates to tone, atmosphere and emotion. Everything that goes on screen should be in service of the story.

Posted by Paul Zadie on March 9th, 2009 at 9:54 pm

Credit where credit is due. Slawomir Idziak came up with the colour palette on Black Hawk Down not Ridley Scott. Thats part of the DP’s job after all.

Posted by Stephen Murphy on March 10th, 2009 at 7:48 am

I did credit Idziak as the DP, and he did an excellent job, but Ridley Scott is consistently strong on color no matter who his cinematographer is. He’s probably the strongest modern director from a visual standpoint, and from reading about him I think he does nearly all of the heavy lifting when it comes to conceptual work on how he wants his movies to look.

Posted by Isaac Botkin on March 10th, 2009 at 10:05 am

Thanks for posting this Isaac. It’s very helpful to see something like this visually for those like me who were straining to imagine things while listening to the MP3s from the academy.

Posted by Joshua Moore on March 10th, 2009 at 11:03 pm

Great article. It should be covered well for indy filmmakers, that teaches a lot. Thank you for posting this! Especially cool is the overall overview, must have been a bit of work?
Thanks again!

Posted by Peeter Nieler on March 12th, 2009 at 8:12 am

Sorry Isaac but i think thats highly insulting to all the wonderful cinematographers who have worked with him over the years. Ridley is a superb director and is very strong visualy but he does not design the photography of his movies as you seem to imply in this particular article. You mention Slawomir once at the end of the article. I think if you spoke to either Ridley or Slawomir they’d paint a different picture.

Posted by Stephen Murphy on March 13th, 2009 at 12:45 pm

Thanks for the article, this is really appreciated. Possibly the best article you’ve featured on this website yet, and that says a lot. If the Lord wills I will implement these strategies in my current project.

Posted by Cameron on March 13th, 2009 at 6:37 pm

Very interesting. I would have loved even more! Thank you.

Posted by Elizabeth Appell on March 15th, 2009 at 12:06 pm

I for one, really enjoyed hearing you discuss this at the film academy this year. Being a first timer and not knowing the makeup of cinematography, I found it to be fascinating! Naturally, I’ve always imagined that the creation of a film was a work of art and the result of extreme diligence and tireless labor,but I had no conception of how much detail went into the making of it! Also, I recently read your book “Outside Hollywood” and was deeply impressed by the solid, reformed, theological views that you conveyed and the immense amount of Hollywood history that you revealed to open the eyes of your readers and share with them the truths and the agenda of its humanistic,statist,marxisist(the list goes on..)heritage. I applaud your diligence and efforts in creating this book and pray that God will raise up many leaders in this generation and the next that will create god-honoring, biblical films. Keep up the good work! :)

Posted by Esther Bowman on March 16th, 2009 at 7:35 pm

Wow, really neat post. I’m sure this will come in useful. Thanks alot.

Posted by Timothy Grindall on March 16th, 2009 at 9:39 pm

Stephen,

I think what Isaac is trying to point out is that the color scheme of Scott’s movies are not purely dictated by lighting and grading but also by the production design. These images are not achieved solely by gels and post color correction, but also through thorough set and costume design.

This signifies that Scott puts in a significant effort in the planning stage to pull off his strong visual style. Of course, like everything in filmmaking, this is a collaboration (between the big three: director, DP, and Prod Designer). But the fact is apparent that Scott is a the helm of these creative decisions.

Posted by Tim Morgan on March 17th, 2009 at 1:02 pm

That’s a trip! Thanks!

Posted by Quintessential Studios on March 28th, 2009 at 10:57 pm

Nice article, thanks. It gives a completely new way to shed light in color of movies.

Posted by Stefano on January 10th, 2010 at 4:59 pm

interesting and educative…i see this as an eye opener…thanks

Posted by kagho crowther idhebor on August 14th, 2011 at 3:43 pm

Isaac your passion towards your profession creat’s a passion toward you for sharing you experience.thanks

Posted by Leo.D on December 29th, 2011 at 7:57 pm