we think of early films as black and white, but these days, color is an integral part of films, and it has incredible power over how we perceive the film and the characters.

Feinberg looks at the opening of WALL-E (2008) and said: “We had to do massive visual storytelling because there’s no dialogue — only robot boops and beeps. Yet, we needed the audience to understand that we’re on Earth, that it’s polluted, and that WALL-E’s the last one left. So we limited the palette to tans and oranges”. Their production designer was adamant that there be no green anywhere because he wanted a visual punch when WALL-E finds a plant for the first time. Therefore, color amplifies this important moment. “Your eyes have been washed in a limited palette and suddenly there’s intense green,” said Feinberg. “It cerebrally makes a difference.”

How we use different colors has a dramatic impact on how we subconsciously relate to the characters. Taking The Breaking Bad as the perfect example, as it shows Walt, a character just starting to do bad things, slowly being consumed by evil, and by removing his redshirt and revealing a darker one, we’re seeing the progression of his character. And when it comes down to it, that’s really the best use of color — to serve the characters and move the story forward. It’s easier to make the color look good, but harder to make it serve the story. Just because you can do something with the colors in the scene doesn’t necessarily mean you should, but if you can enhance a scene by utilizing color to your advantage, the film is going to benefit. With the powerful color correcting tools at our disposal, we have an even greater degree of control over that element than at any point in cinema history —but we must use those tools wisely.