tenragblogs

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Color Study: Narrative

Charlie and the Chocolate Factory uses color to make the candy feel real almost like you can taste it just by looking at it. Tim Burton plays with contrast to make the factory feel like a completely different world from the one outside. Before Charlie steps inside everything is dull gray and lifeless. His house is desaturated the town looks cold and uninviting and even the golden tickets stand out because they are one of the few things with any real color. Then when the factory doors open it is like stepping into another reality. The colors are so exaggerated that the candy does not just look good it looks like something you could reach out and grab.

The chocolate river room is the best example of this. The river itself is this deep rich brown with a glossy texture that makes the chocolate look thick and smooth like you can smell it just by looking at it. The way the light reflects off it makes it feel warm and creamy almost like it is flowing straight out of a melted candy bar. The grass and edible plants are bright green making them feel fresh and soft while the candy growing from the ground is covered in warm inviting colors like red orange and purple. The giant lollipops and striped candy canes stand out against the scenery looking so sugary and artificial that they seem like they would be bursting with flavor.

Every room in the factory follows this same idea. The Nut Room is mostly white and sterile which makes the nuts and chocolates look shinier and richer like they are fresh out of a wrapper. The Inventing Room is filled with neon blues purples and reds making it feel chaotic like everything inside is some kind of unpredictable experiment. Even the Wonka bars themselves use color in a smart way. The gold wrappers make them feel rare and valuable while the chocolate inside looks rich and smooth making them seem like more than just a regular candy bar.

Lighting also plays a huge role in making the sweets feel even more tempting. The chocolates always have a soft glow that makes them look velvety and the hard candies have this glossy shine that makes them feel crisp and sugary. The colors are not just there to make things look pretty they are designed to make the candy feel like something you could smell and taste.

What makes the movie’s use of color so effective is that it does not just make the factory look magical it makes the candy feel real. Every scene is filled with colors that trigger a sense of taste and smell making the factory feel like a place where everything is edible. It is not just a colorful world it is one that makes you want to step inside and take a bite.

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Response to Eadweard Muybridge, Zoopraxographer

Thom Andersen’s film not only showcases Muybridge's dedication and hard work but also the creativity and influence that has seeped into today's age. The storytelling displayed by Muybridge is a style that is seen in different forms of media, whether it’s a film of any kind or a photographic series. His archival work is still studied, as it is seen as a type of genius that was way ahead of its time, something only achievable by Muybridge.

 His use of moving images has influenced the use of diptychs in many photographic works throughout the decades. This resonates with me as it is something that I am looking to experiment with in my Intro to Digital Photography class. I am also familiar with his influence, having completed a course on the movement of the body in portraits whilst living in Argentina. Muybridge’s work still influences different sectors in the way media is used. Whether it be a GIF on X, an analysis of a high school football game in a locker room, or even the use of surveillance in criminal cases. Muybridge created a language that can be understood by many.

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Response to Susan Sontag's In Plato’s Cave

Susan Sontag makes a comparison between her current reality with Plato’s Cave Allegory. Photography seems to be a reflection of the images that are mirrored onto the cave’s wall. With the consumers being those observing the shadows that are being fed to them. One can also make a connection between the perpetrators of the images in the cave, to real-life photographers who can control the narratives in their photographs. 

Her opinion on the desensitization of people through media currently holds strong when compared to the reality lived in the 2020’s. With social media at its peak, the distortion between reality and this false narrative created by influencers has become very clear. Yet, people still consume this false narrative and find comfort in it, refusing to accept the reality that awaits them “outside the cave”.

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My thoughts on HyperNormalisation by Adam Curtis.

In Adam Curtis’s Hypernormalisation, his concept is to showcase a “reality” that is completely fake and just a concept, one that is not seen on a surface level by everyone, although painfully obvious to a select few. I will explain this concept further in this post, as I feel that it needs some light shed upon, not for the sake of this assignment, of Curtis, or myself, but for the sake of showcasing the truth.

His use of archival footage is very strategic. I noticed how he used footage that was accurate to the time and setting of the particular events. He used longer footage to display a buildup before pivotal moments in the film. The crucial moments were showcased in a very fast and sped-up manner. Following a pivotal moment, Curtis focused on the aftermath and fully displayed every emotion experienced by a turn of events. He incorporated eerie music and imagery captured in mundane settings, to set the scene's tone. 

My thoughts on this film can be derived from the feeling of interconnectedness. Just as the film was all interconnected with itself, I felt that feeling of being interconnected with the film. It expanded on an epiphany that I have been pondering about for many years, even still to this day. The thought of the human race living in control willingly/unwillingly. This idea is reflected everywhere, in media, politics, the countries that govern its citizens, etc. The United States of America is a made-up idea in itself, an idea that has control over people’s thoughts and perceptions of themselves. Wars are fought for this conceptual entity, and individuals place their hopes in governments and leaders to fix external conditions instead of turning that hope inward and trusting in their own ability to create change. 

Just like in George Orwell’s 1984 (a notable archive), this dystopian world is accepted as the norm, and any rebelling thought against it is considered taboo. As a photographer, it is important to document this rebellion that happens in the mind. Expressing it through my photos allows others to engage with such thoughts and truths, exposing the lies around us.