Color Sets the Scene

• 

Kalki Janardhanan is the movie buff behind the viral Instagram account Color Palette Cinema, dedicated to showcasing the color combinations of movie scenes to illustrate how cinematographers set mood.

“I love every aspect of filmmaking, and the choice of the color palette being one of them, I love how colors have a big impact on how we perceive things and I love how filmmakers utilize this tool to convey emotions, setting a tone, etc.”

– Kalki Janardhanan

_{“2001: A Space Odyssey” (1968)}

_{“2001: A Space Odyssey” (1968)}

Janardhanan starts by choosing a still image from a film, and pulls out 10 significant colors from the scene. He then arranges the hues in a row below the image. From the cold, futuristic hues of 2001: A Space Odyssey to the warm desert tones found in Mad Max: Fury Road, it’s clear to see how the respective cinematographers made a conscious choice on color and mood.

_{“Mad Max: Fury Road” (2015)}

_{“The Shining” (1980)}

_{“Uncut Gems” (2019)}

_{“Split” (2016)}

_{“Joker” (2019)}

Long form articles:

Movie Lover Reveals How Filmmakers Use Color To Set the Mood of a Scene

https://aframe.oscars.org/news/post/color-theory-goes-to-the-movies

Design Lover Reveals Striking Color Palettes of Beloved TV Shows, Films, and Music Videos

Cinephile’s Ongoing Project Reveals Color Palettes Found in Famous Films

Designers’ Must-Have App Matches Colors in the Real World with Their Exact Pantone Swatches

https://aframe.oscars.org/what-to-watch/post/most-visually-striking-films

Design Lover Reveals the Brilliant Use of Complementary Colors in ‘The Queen’s Gambit’

Top 5 Free Color Palette Generators to Make Color Selection a Breeze

How Filmmakers Use Colors To Set The Mood Of A Film

How color helps a movie tell its story

Color, The Film Reader (In Focus: Routledge Film Readers)

Published by Routledge (2006)

ISBN 10: 0415324424 ISBN 13: 9780415324427

Chromatic Cinema: A History of Screen Color

Misek, Richard

Published by Wiley-Blackwell (2010)

ISBN 10: 1444332392 ISBN 13: 9781444332391