Colour discussion with Milena: RED

I have been reading a book called If It’s Purple Someone’s Gonna Die and have been very inspired by my findings. Each week I will focus on one colour and discuss how it is implemented by filmmakers to convey and provoke different emotions.

This week’s colour is red, according to my book red is the caffeinated colour. It gives the illusion of coming forward and can manipulate our sense of space; it is fast, exciting and provides energy. When using red you need to be very aware of how you want the production design to assist the story. It is the most powerful colour in the spectrum and therefore extra care needs to be taken when using it. Bright red can raise anxiety and heart rate; warmer reds are sensual and lusty and burgundy reds are mature, regal and elegant.

In The Wizard of Oz Dorothy wears a disempowering pale blue dress, without her ruby slippers Dorothy wouldn’t have the visual strength to move forward in her journey. This can be compared to the use of red in The Schindler’s List. The colour of the little girl’s coat isn’t pink but a transparent red, a red that was robbed of its colour. The colour symbolises both life and death and sets us up for the dramatic ending. You can also examine how reds are used in films like Shakespeare in Love. The architecture is filled with greys and browns so that when red is present our senses respond accordingly; a darkened room with a hot red bed cover appears more intense and sensual.

This is only a brief insight into how red can be used in film. Each film that I looked into has used it to convey something different, which just shows that if enough thought is put into it you can manipulate the colour to convey a great number of powerful emotions.