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Text | Qing Shi Yaohua
Editor|Qing Shi Yaohua
«——[·Preface·] ——»
The use of color in Inarido's films has unique stylistic characteristics, one is that the color is symbolic, and the choice of different colors is closely related to the connotation conveyed in the picture. The second is to use highly saturated colors to embellish the picture to form a sharp contrast effect.
This use of color has similarities with the tendency to use color in the aesthetics of violence and the theory of brutal drama.
«——[·Rich symbolic color·】——»
The use of color in some fixed scenes shows a clear symbolic meaning, symbolic color conveys a large amount of information in the picture, directly affects people's visual senses, and the communication of this information can make the viewer have a symbolic association with the scene elements.
In his film practice, Inarido not only uses symbolic colors on iconic elements, but also uses representative colors for specific scenes, which only have an impact on the vision, and also metaphorically express the inner emotions of the characters through the psychological symbolism of the color itself.
In the 80s of the 20th century, the trend of violent aesthetic films gradually emerged, pursuing sensory stimulation and shock effects with an expression that focuses on depicting violent colors, and revenge killings and gang fires are the most common scenes in the series.
During this period, a number of representative genre films emerged, as well as directors with different style characteristics, such as Quentin Tarantino, John Woo, and Takeshi Kitano. Their style is either calm and restrained, or poetic romance, with a sense of unity of ritual and form, which is shaped to a large extent by the use of iconic elements: firearms, blood, drugs, violent scenes or plots, extreme behavior of characters, etc.
In the trilogy works, shooting incidents and car accidents are the landmark events common to the three films, and a lot of bloodshed is arranged in the film, so that red elements fill the scene with visual dominance, blood spills on the wall, the ground and the torso of the characters, extremely impacting the audience's vision, the director renders the elements in these scenes red, symbolizing death and violence. Red also represents desire, danger, warning, and parts related to sex and male and female feelings are presented in dark red.
The red alarm light on Leslie's door, the dark red light in Octavigo's room, Regan and Laura's tryst in the corner, and Leslie's bed scene with Mike in the play are all set off by a distinctly red color. In terms of other colors, orange-yellow gives people a mild look, the dim light in the room is illuminated by yellow light bulbs, and the dim atmosphere of family negotiations is the only plot in most films where you feel comforted;
White light appears as the main light source in various parts of the scene, showing a different sensory experience when combined with the color of the scene objects themselves. For example, blue-gray corridor walls are often associated with scenes such as prisons, confinement rooms, and hospitals, and the intuitive feeling is dark and depressing, making the feeling of ambient light more dirty;
Blue mostly appears during the cooling phase of the film's rhythm. It symbolizes freedom, mystery, depth and unknown, and the overall color expression conveys more of a cold and bleak atmosphere.
When Paul is reborn, the scene is filled with blue.
Sam uses different symbolic colors in his quarrels and calm states, and the movie "Birdman" often uses dark blue to connect different scenes. The theatrical stage is the ideal realization space for the main role, and the aisle connecting the stage and the backstage symbolizes the path to the ideal.
The love tragedy of the drama character Eddie is also shrouded in blue-purple bleakness; Different color combinations also play an important role in the segmentation and emphasis of the picture. In the dialogue scene of the characters, the light bulb and the frame elements together form the "box" in the frame composition, and the door opening is surrounded by colored light strips, which also forms a frame layout; In the room, the light coming in from the window combined with the Tyndall effect makes the picture form an oblique layout and so on.
In the meeting between Mike and Sam on the rooftop, the background is embellished with a large area of architectural lights, and when the camera focuses back and forth between the two, the pane light spots in the building also show a mottled flashing state, and the neon bustle and intoxication on the street fill the color expression of the accompanying part of the picture, and also symbolize the emotional state of the two people who yearn for and are confused in urban life.
Compared with the light arrangement of the floating light, the color expression can be described as brilliant. From the perspective of the corridor and all corners, the purpose of the light setting is the same as the purpose of space scheduling and lens expression, all in order to make the scene an external form of the character's inner collapse, especially the lighting setting during the movement.
The lighting flickering and dimming when the characters pass here shows a floating light and glimpse style effect, and the rhythm of the light and dark switch also achieves a good expression effect with the mood of the character that the director wants to present.
«——[·Contrasting highly saturated colors ·] ——»
The theory of cruel drama is a theory of drama advocated by the French contemporary dramatist Antonin Aalto, whose core theory is mainly derived from "Drama and Its Ghosting" published in 1938. The cruelty he advocates is not simply a pile of blood and violent elements, but "a more terrible, inevitable cruelty that things can inflict on us." ”
He advocated performing mysterious spectacles such as moans, screams, pulsating light effects, dazzling props, etc., to shock the audience. He regarded the universe itself as an ontology with cruelty, and the nature and human society that existed in it hid cruel factors, human nature was full of violence, and human existence was inevitably restricted and constrained by cruelty, which was a restriction on human freedom. He likened this cruel factor to a social plague, where suffering and extinction can purify society, and showing the harsh nature of this existential reality is a direct revelation and exposure of evil, a more powerful way to express it than the element of violence.
From the point of view of the expression of thematic ideas, Inarido's revelation of human suffering is a kind of inheritance of cruel expression, and the "problem characters" portrayed under this expression have a strong subjective consciousness, and their stubborn resistance to fate is precisely the dissatisfaction and resistance to the cruel status quo, and it is an extreme expression of yearning for a free life.
In film practice, Inarido shows the "cruelty" in his theme through strong contrasts and eye-catching colors, which is similar to Aalto's expression on the theatrical stage. On the whole, the tone of the film shows a clear difference, creating a sense of jumping for the film, which contrasts strongly with the overall style of dull and gloomy. Bright colors in dim scenes, and sudden changes into colorful scenes in a monotonous environment, are commonly used in films, and this slightly abrupt twist matches the jump of the plot rhythm to form a unique viewing experience.
For example, the Mexican nanny runs in the yellow desert in a bright red dress after the wedding banquet, and in the aerial shots, the red point is submerged in the vast barren land, as if the hope of survival continues to appear and disappear; A section of bizarre colors is suddenly added to the bleak and bleak street, presenting a dreamlike scene, and the complementary color combination of red, green, yellow and blue forms a huge color contrast inside.
Similar jumps or embellishments appear from time to time in the passages of the film, inadvertently stirring the audience's attention to capture color.
Whether it is Aalto's expression of the theory of cruel drama or the pursuit of sensory stimulation by violent aesthetics, the embodiment of its expressive power in drama or film falls on the control of light and its color, and the most direct sensory influence is formed through the change of light and shadow to achieve the shocking effect.
At this level, Inarido's realistic presence and violent aesthetics in the film also attach importance to the important role of sensory experience in the sublimation of the connotation of film and television works, which is a catalyst for creating a tense atmosphere and a source of oppression and weight in the plot.
On this basis, in the process of simulating reality and pursuing real lighting and color, the Yi-style film has integrated the two forms of expression to a certain extent, abandoned the bizarre side of Aalto, realisticized the perverse and brilliant light, and eliminated the overly bloody side of violent aesthetics as much as possible, made props and symbolic use, and used the tension of color to serve the storyline.
Aalto's interpretation of "pure spiritual activity" in his theory is precisely this rejection of the aesthetic of violence. Through the combing of Inarido's films, it is not difficult to find that this process is in line with the development of his works, in "Love is a", shootings and car accidents are the main clue events throughout the plot, and there are many direct descriptions of violent scenes and blood splatters in the film. In the subsequent trilogy works, such scenes and elements gradually decreased, although firearms remained symbolic elements in the work.
However, in "Babel", the tone of the film is obviously more inclined to use the discussion of human nature to narrow the distance between the audience and the film. "Beauty Mistake" is a work of Inarido's search for a breakthrough and balance, followed by "Birdman" and "The Revenant"
Inarido's grasp of light and color is more mature and stable, not only maintaining the emotional color of the trilogy, but also interpreting the senses more deeply and naturally, and realistic light and shadow and symbolic color have become an indispensable part of his style.
«——[·Epilogue.]——»
With the advent of the UGC era, new media forms such as live broadcast and interactive films have emerged one after another, and immediacy and interactivity have put forward more requirements for the adaptability and creativity of creators and audiences.
Throughout the course of Inarido's works, he always strives to break the inherent inertia of thinking in the way of expression, break through the expectations of watching movies, strengthen the sense of participation and immersion, and the documentary characteristics and dynamic image style are becoming more and more obvious, perhaps intentionally or unintentionally catering to the requirements of the development of the times.
In any case, it is the constant breakthrough and exploration that allows Inarido to maintain his vitality and creativity in the creative process.
«——[References] ——»
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- WANG Xianping. Violent Films[M].Beijing: Communication University of China Press, 2007
- LIU Yongsi,LIU Xinxin. Film and television light creation[M].Beijing: Beijing United Publishing Company, 2015
- DU Hua,WU Qiuya. Grammar of audiovisual language[M].Beijing: Peking University Press, 2013