
There’s going to be a lot of images and videos on this one. Just be prepared.
In 1939, The Wizard Of Oz did everything it could to show off a new film coloring technique called Technicolor. That was two years after Walt Disney Pictures created all new colored paints to embrace the process, which actually dates back to at least 1916 according to a quick search, possibly a couple of years older. It helped make colors on screen look bright and vibrant.
Look around you. Does color still exist? I’m betting it does unless you have some particular decorating tastes or somehow reading this in a closet or something. However, you wouldn’t know it by watching a lot of TV shows and movies, or playing certain video games. Don’t get me wrong; I know you could point to examples that counteract this commentary, but overall, in the genres I’m mostly interested in, it seems that bright colors are dying off. Action, sci-fi, fantasy, and even some dramas seem have the color saturation turned down low, even properties that used to be bright and colorful. Frankly, it’s a disappointing trend. There are times where this may make sense for a certain visual style, to boost the story, but maybe the problem is too many of this kind of story. At this point I’m trying to pad out for the homepage, but you’ve seen video games that seemed so lacking in color they might as well be black and white. It’s just a sea of browns and greys. Brighter colors are a thing of the past while even darker colors don’t have the vibrancy it used to. And what’s happened to the sun lately?
I just feel the need to vent on that. Oh look, this is good for the homepage, so let’s get into it.
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Hollywood’s Fading Colors
There’s going to be a lot of images and videos on this one. Just be prepared.
In 1939, The Wizard Of Oz did everything it could to show off a new film coloring technique called Technicolor. That was two years after Walt Disney Pictures created all new colored paints to embrace the process, which actually dates back to at least 1916 according to a quick search, possibly a couple of years older. It helped make colors on screen look bright and vibrant.
Look around you. Does color still exist? I’m betting it does unless you have some particular decorating tastes or somehow reading this in a closet or something. However, you wouldn’t know it by watching a lot of TV shows and movies, or playing certain video games. Don’t get me wrong; I know you could point to examples that counteract this commentary, but overall, in the genres I’m mostly interested in, it seems that bright colors are dying off. Action, sci-fi, fantasy, and even some dramas seem have the color saturation turned down low, even properties that used to be bright and colorful. Frankly, it’s a disappointing trend. There are times where this may make sense for a certain visual style, to boost the story, but maybe the problem is too many of this kind of story. At this point I’m trying to pad out for the homepage, but you’ve seen video games that seemed so lacking in color they might as well be black and white. It’s just a sea of browns and greys. Brighter colors are a thing of the past while even darker colors don’t have the vibrancy it used to. And what’s happened to the sun lately?
I just feel the need to vent on that. Oh look, this is good for the homepage, so let’s get into it.
Continue reading →
Tell others about the Spotlight:
Posted by ShadowWing Tronix on October 10, 2024 in Animation Spotlight, Comic Spotlight, Movie Spotlight, Television Spotlight, Video Game Spotlight and tagged commentary, Television and Movies.
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