Green V Red
Color coding in Hitchcock’s Vertigo
A key element in filmmaking (or any visual medium) that helps create the look is how color is used. Not in the grade, but color palettes in production design.
Wes Anderson is probably the most obvious current practitioner.
Even in seemingly naturalistic presentations, a close examination shows most films/TV shows controlled use of color.
A classic example of using color to reveal character dynamics is Vertigo. Right from the opening frames we’re keyed into the special significance of red and green. The red room, cool tones and neutrals of the crowd, and then Kim Novak emerges in emerald green.
