Setting The Cinematic Techniques

In addition to architectural elements and set decoration, production designers rely on color, tone and texture to help realize their vision. Often the main characters in a script are assigned color and fabric palettes. When choosing a palette, designers consider the characters’ emotional journey as well as their social and cultural background. The chosen colors may show up in the characters’ costumes, in the props they use, or in the décor of their habitat. Colors can have culturally specific symbolic meaning. In Western cultures, for example, red usually denotes danger; white denotes purity. In the Chinese culture, white is the color of death, and red signifies happiness and health. Like any other visual technique, color in the mise-en-scène may function as a motif. 9 Color tones and shading are also important in art direction. Saturated, deep colors convey a sense of seriousness and intensity, while bright colors suggest lightness and delicacy. Black-and-white photography reproduces the world exclusively in tones of black, gray and white. Therefore, a production designer working on a black-and-white film must be aware of how the colors of his or her set are going to translate into those tones.

b. Lighting

The intensity, direction, and quality of lighting have a profound effect on the way an image is perceived. Light affects the way colors are rendered; both in terms of hue and depth, and can focus attention on particular elements of the composition. Much like movement in the cinema, the history of lighting technology is intrinsically linked to the history of film style. Most mainstream 9 Maria Pramaggiore and Tom Wallis, Film: A Critical Introduction London: Laurence King Publishing Ltd, 2005, p. 86. films rely on the three-point lighting style, and its genre variations. Other films, for example documentaries and realist cinema, rely on natural light to create a sense of authenticity. There are various styles of lighting that a cinematographer can use. Lighting style is generally determined in consultation with the director and often the production designer, and depends on the setting, mood and character of the