The use of lighting and filters for colours is not just used for simple illumination but it is more meaningful. It helps to understand the characters and focus our attention on certain objects and actions. The colour can be used as a motif, an occurring manifestation in which the shades themselves become an important part of the story, reflecting emotions, altering situations and underlining scenes. (Bordwell, Thompson and Smith, n.d.) Eduard Grau, the director of photography of A Single Man, creates a specific palette for the film. He plays with the saturation, making us see the happy sporadic moments ( throughout the past and the present) in bright colours sharply separating the two different ways of George behaving with people and surroundings. Grau says about the decision of him and Ford to choose Kodak 5279 “It has very …show more content…
Full of maroons and greys. What it seems to be Charlotte as a kid is more vivid and saturated. A totally different version of what is seen in the present part of the film. Kenny is initially surrounded by greys and colder saturation but while the relationship between Nicholas Hoult and Colin Firth 's characters progress, the shots are warmer. Mise- en- scéne is a French term employed by the English language, it has origins in theatre and it is referred to "the contents of the frame and the way they are organized". (Gibbs, nd) It includes lighting, costume, décor, how all this is in relationship to the camera and the audience 's view. Following Gibbs definition, colour is an important part of mise-en- scéne and we can see it in A Single Man. As stated before, costumes and décor, affected significantly the impression of the audience and it defined a statement for Ford as a director. The costumes were chosen carefully for the various parts: black suit for George 's present, staple dresses and heavy make- up for Charlotte and white clothes for both Jim, Kenny and past