Genre Specific Color Grading and Ideals in Film
Author
Lind-Valdan, Carla Cecilie
Term
4. term
Education
Publication year
2013
Submitted on
2013-05-22
Pages
124
Abstract
Flere professionelle colorister mener, at nutidens film bruger genrespecifik color grading (farvegradering), og nogle er bekymrede for, at det begrænser de kreative valg. Dette speciale undersøger, hvor meget genrekodet farvegradering i horror og sci‑fi påvirker, hvilken genre folk mener, en film tilhører, når de kun ser farvebehandlingen. Forskningsspørgsmålet er, i hvilket omfang sådan farvegradering påvirker både eksperter og ikke‑eksperter, når de skal tildele genre til en ellers genreneutral sekvens udelukkende ud fra farvegraderingen. Der blev gennemført tre forsøg: to pilotforsøg og et hovedforsøg. Først fik deltagerne vist enkeltbilleder fra trailere for at se, om de kunne gætte en films genre; det kunne de overordnet set. Derefter blev en sekvens, der var tiltænkt som genreneutral, testet; svarene viste en skævhed mod drama, men sekvensen blev fastholdt. I hovedforsøget blev den samme sekvens farvegraderet i en horror‑udgave og en sci‑fi‑udgave og vist for to grupper (eksperter og naive deltagere). Deltagerne skulle angive, hvilken genre de mente, hver version tilhørte, og oplyse hvor ofte de ser film, samt hvor stor en andel af deres visning der er horror eller sci‑fi. Samlet set kunne deltagerne ikke pålideligt genkende de tilsigtede genrer alene ud fra farvegraderingen. Der var dog tegn på, at vurderingerne afspejlede visse ‘genreidealer’—forudfattede forventninger til, hvordan en genre bør se ud. Dataene tydede også på, at eksponering hænger sammen med den personlige fordeling af sete genrer snarere end med profession. Afslutningsvis peger specialet på forhold, der kan have påvirket resultaterne, og foreslår forbedringer til fremtidige gentagelser.
Many professional colorists argue that today’s films use genre‑specific color grading, and some worry this limits creative choices. This thesis examines how much genre‑coded grading in horror and science fiction shapes what people think a film’s genre is when they see only the color treatment. The research question asks to what extent such grading influences experts and non‑experts when they must assign a genre to an otherwise genre‑neutral sequence based solely on its color grading. Three experiments were conducted: two pilots and one main study. First, participants were shown single stills from trailers to see whether they could infer a film’s genre; they generally could. Next, to prepare the main study, a sequence intended to be genre‑neutral was tested; responses revealed a bias toward drama, but the sequence was retained. In the main study, the same sequence was graded with a horror look and with a sci‑fi look and shown to two groups (experts and naïve observers). Participants indicated which genre they thought each version belonged to and reported how often they watch films and what share of their viewing is horror or sci‑fi. Overall, participants did not reliably identify the intended genres from color grading alone. There were, however, indications that judgments reflected certain ‘genre ideals’—preconceived expectations about how a genre should look. The data also suggested that exposure is better explained by personal viewing proportions than by professional status. Finally, the thesis notes factors that may have influenced the results and outlines improvements for future replications.
[This abstract was generated with the help of AI]
Keywords
Color Grading ; Film ; Color theory ; Color perception ; Memory colors ; Ideals ; Movies