Chapter 4 Storytelling with Light 147Exposing Colors
With the introduction of color, cinematographers had to deal with not
only the parameters discussed earlier, but also with the task of matching
colors from shot to shot (particularly blue skies, oft en diffi cult to control!).
Naturally, there are also the artistic choices of the use of color, which are
made through the concerned members of a fi lm production, including the
director, cinematographer, production designer, costume designer, and any
other person introducing color into the image.
In fact, one factor introducing colors into the image is the actors. One
of the most important concerns for laboratories is the proper registration
of the full range of human skin tones. Color fi lm is the result of chemical
compounds and interactions tested for favored results, and it was designed
for greatest sensitivity to peach-toned color values. Another challenge to
cinematographers is to use the particular qualities of fi lm stocks and digital
sensors to fi nd the proper exposure, balancing, and consistency of skin
tones between the various actors of a motion picture. Both within shots
and throughout sequences, the skin tones are expected to be photographed
appropriately according to the visual style of the motion picture.Digital Color
You will remember that in digital photography, the image is made up of
pixels that have a brightness value and a color value. Each pixel has three
numbers assigned to it corresponding to the red, green, and blue to make
a single distinct hue. Th e number of bits per pixel determines the number
of possible color choices there are for that single pixel. For a 24-bit imageFigure 4-29 Daylight scene
in digital color with dramatic
focus in shadow. (Courtesy of
Carl Casinghino)Copyright 2010 Cengage Learning. All Rights Reserved. May not be copied, scanned, or duplicated, in whole or in part. Due to electronic rights, some third party content may be suppressed from the eBook and/or eChapter(s).