What’s your favourite pastime? A popcorn, dim light and a series or maybe going to a multiplex with your friends and enjoying the movie you were planning for so long – now that would be a perfect evening right?
Whenever you watch– a film or series you often manage to connect with a certain character or maybe a particular scene. And sometimes this character or a scene has a major impact on you, do you ever think why? Okay, have you ever thought about, how do you come to know that certain scenes are more intense than others? Or how and when a movie or series has taken a serious tone?
Hey I know I know you just want to chill and watch a movie but in this article, I would reveal how music and colours play a vital role in the cinema and how it helps you connect with the character/scene and how it helps you decipher the depth of the situation overall it plays a significant role in making the whole process impactful.
You know watching a movie is a wholesome experience it gives you a story, conflict, resolution, character, adventure, romance, comedy, horror but it is shaped by music and colours. Well, consider this imagine a horror movie without any sound. Do this thing, watch any trailer of the horror movie by muting the sound and then watch it with sound, the effect of the same trailer would be different. Also, when you watch a horror movie what kind of setting do you generally see? Maybe a dark room or forest in the night so here generally the background is black and the colour black is often associated with secrecy, something bad/evil. Now keep this black colour in your mind and infuse a mystery sound in it, now imagine its late in the night, its pitch dark outside absolute black you can’t see anything, suddenly you hear a creaking of the door so you advance towards it slowly and while you are advancing there is a mysterious sound effect in the background. Suddenly, the door opens widely due to roaring wind and you do hear the sound of wind- while I narrated it you could actually imagine and infuse the sound into your imagination right? So this display how a sound is alerting its audience and colour is giving an idea of the situation. It is expressing a certain feeling in a horror movie, it is invoking fear and indicating danger. Well not only in horror also in comedy- have you ever watched F.R.I.E.N.D.S or How I met Your Mother? You might have noticed in many scenes that there is a background sound of laughing and this sound comments on the scene indicating that it is funny and if I must give you an example of an Indian serial it would be “Tarak Mehta ka Ulta chasma”- if you watch this serial then you will know that there is always a background sound for jethalal’s (a character) comedy and this sound has an effect on you it certainly conveys you how to react. Also, music sets an era for you, for instance, in a serial like Mahabharata or a movie like Jodha Akbar which is set in history, a different era altogether. Along with setting, props and costume the music also contributes to creating that era- imagine “Azeem-oh-Shaan-Shahensha” playing in the background when a king enters, doesn’t it give an effect to that scene? The nature of the music is traditional and you will see a traditional instrument like drums and trumpet.
Now, let me take you to the colours with music even colours help you understand the difference between the era, for instance, watch “Bombay Velvet” and then “wake up sid” the movie is in Mumbai only but the era is different. And the difference is created with the help of frame and colour.
Let’s take an example of a romantic movie- the colours of a beautiful sunset or the bed-room. The use of red shows the passion like in “The 50 shades of grey”- The Red Room, or in “Dilwale” movie the Gerua song which has striking visuals. Even “Jagga Jasoos” for that matter have very striking visuals as they have used quite bright colours in the background to make it look attractive conveying different feelings and showing how the world of love is so beautiful and colourful.
Music and colour go hand in hand as the music tells you “what to feel” about the colour in the scene, how you ask? Consider this, colour red indicates both passion and danger, now in a movie, there is a scene where a room is filled with red helium balloons and a red velvet cake, a guy is waiting with a rose and there is soft music playing in the background then you will know it’s a romantic scene whereas the entire scene is same but the music is more mysterious and serious then it would indicate a danger as in it will make you think that a guy is lunatic or dangerous.
Therefore, music and colour communicate to you about the situation, intensity, time and depth of the scene it also shapes your emotion, feelings and reaction.
The cinema is an amalgamation of all arts and it makes you live and feel all the colours and music.
I hope you’ll enjoy music, colours and movies.
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