Bradford Young thinks of using color in the film “in the same way painters used paint.” He aspires to capture dark-skinned people with accuracy and sensitivity, just as a painter would use colors to realize realism as much as possible. He uses rich colors to characterize the fabrics of African Americans, an exquisite kind of lighting to add a blue undertone to the Black skins and natural lighting and the intensity that comes from shadows. He thinks of mixing tones together as a way to approach black.
He paints his imagery as flamboyant, space-age and assertive as African American textiles have been for 10,000 years. By using a digital camera, he allows for shine and shim to Black skins to make possible the reality of Black skins. Adenike