Customer Reviews

If It's Purple, Someone's Gonna Die: The Power of Color in Visual Storytelling

5 star:		(10)
4 star:		(5)
3 star:		(2)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

I really wanted what this book promised, what it held out to me in the "search inside" feature - but the deficiencies in style, content, and format are severe enough to warrant a serious warning against purchasing this book, or at the very least, this edition.

The text is written like new-age spiritual guidance lit - there are gaps in logic everywhere, and every argument is based off of a story instead of a fact. Providing some acuity on a color or its psychological effects would be what I would expect from a book that costs as much as a textbook, instead, the reader is put in the mood for the upcoming chapter with descriptions of color that read like horoscopes. Reds are divided up into "Powerful, lusty, and defiant reds," & "Anxious, angry, and romantic reds." Why not start off with cool reds and warm reds? Because you're being sold on the words, not on the colors, and not on some sort of proof.

Which leads me to the fact that there are 28 stills from films in this 243 page book. To reiterate: 243 page book on visual storytelling, 28 examples. Oh, there are some nice pictures of road signs and various other stock photos, and - no joke - some paintings the author's students made. 12 of those inside. They're kind of nice. But they are nothing more than a cheap magician's misdirection - these students come up again and again as proof that people "see" a color a certain way. Yeah, red's "anger" or "passion." I don't need a book, or someone else's experience to tell me this - I bump my head, or rub my eyes, and I see red. I want to be told how red communicates anger and passion to an audience. Simply stating that it does so is not providing me with a fact, it's providing a tautology.

Now let's look past the medium and to the message: as long as we take the emotional cues we're told to, we have a little interesting analysis underscored with flecks of color theory, but this is in fact still a problem - the text ought to be centered around the color theory; instead, the sections read like some films were screened, the author wrote down a couple obvious ideas, then filed them by color - and missed the best films and points entirely. Where is Kieslowski's COLORS trilogy? Three top-shelf films, each based around a color, ignored. Talking about the color orange in "The Godfather?" How about, I don't know, mentioning the ORANGES present when main characters are killed? No sir. How about a chapter for black, and a chapter for white? Not technically colors, sure, but we use them as and/or with colors. A lot.

If you're really considering purchasing this book, try very hard to find it at a library first. Or look up a color on wikipedia. If you're set on spending money, buy a color wheel, or simply look further for color theory.

I'm going to donate my copy to the library.

As an instructor of film-studies, I needed a text that tackled color-theory but used terms that first-year college-students could understand (i.e. a jargon-free examination of color in film). Bellantoni's work easily fulfills this need.

Foremost, Bellantoni logically divides her chapters by color (How refreshing to find a technical-work which travels a simple path!!) Within these chapters, are references to both well-known films (ex. "The Godfather," "Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs," "Saving Private Ryan," "American Beauty," "Eyes Wide Shut," "Rosemary's Baby" and "Malcolm X") as well as lesser-watched films (ex. "Mi Familia," "Eve's Bayou, and "The Caveman's Valentine"). The tremendous range of examples ensures that every reader will find a film-favorite for each color entry. (No need to worry about this being another text brimming with obscure/out-of-print works!!)

Now, let me be clear about Bellantoni's work. She emphasizes that there are both "intellectual" and "visceral" responses to color. Her text focuses almost entirely on the "visceral" (which she repeatedly states). Some detractors of the Bellentoni's find fault with her "failure" to explore the "intellectual." Nonsense. Frankly, I prefer this focused approach to a broader (potentially sloppy) work. The richness of this text would have suffered if Belllantoni felt compelled to address every possible interpretation.

While I enjoyed Bellantoni's personal anecdotes, I was occasionally frustrated by her neglecting to cite sources for a variety of evidence. For instance, when she asserts that "red cars get more speeding tickets than cars of any other color," I would have appreciated a footnote citing her source (or even providing the data)(2). Nonetheless, these were minor irritations in an overall informative work. What compensates for this "problem" is her interviews with cinematographers. These frequent "blurbs" lend credence to Bellantoni's work ... if ever you doubted the importance of color, just read a few of these inserts and you will become a "believer."

In my class we read one chapter a week ... by the last week, my students were color-masters!! The assigned films had become exercises in color-exploration ... to the point where I had to stop my class and say "Let's look at other elements also!" What this tells me is that Bellantoni's work is easily accessible to every student and genuinely exciting!! While my class has completed readings on most film elements, they inevitably want to return to Bellantoni's work on color and camp there! That kind of enthusiasm ... well, that's rare!

Thank you, Professor Bellantoni for inspiring excitement in my students! What a gift you have given to professors and students alike!!

This book is definitely on the beginners side of the spectrum. (no pun intended) You're not going to learn to be a production designer just from reading it, but it's a great start to becoming more aware of the use of color in film (or comics, video games or any other visual media) to influence underlying mood of the story. And once you're aware of color's presence, you can start making educated choices on how to use color in your own work.

Although a few more pictures would've been nice, the author does a good job of taking each of the six primary & secondary colors and defining its role in general and then giving numerous specific examples of the different visual and emotional tones each color can take.

If nothing else, this book added about 8 movies to my Netflix queue.

Bellantoni's book is interesting, a nice light read on colour in film. It is nothing in comparsion to Bruce Block's 'The Visual Story' which explains colour, whereas this book is just a series of examples. It's both the author's interpretation and she's interviewed a number of DOP's etc of note. I'm not trying to say this book is of no value (it has good interviews, great colour stills and covers a lot of films), but I feel a more accurate review is required on this book given the other reviews are clearly written by Bellantoni's New York and LA friends. The back of the book says please review this book online, which indicates the publishers know the value of these reviews, and therefore seek to send out a few themselves.

As a student first looking into the true meaning behind film, I enjoyed "If It's Purple Someone's Gonna Die". In order to recognize the cultural significance of a film, its necessary to notice and understand the emotions that the director wishes to display which cannot always be conveyed through dialogue. Through references to films that have greatly impacted American society, Bellantoni does an excellent job of helping the reader see the crucial role color plays in film.
One of the things I enjoyed most about this work was the stress placed on the feelings and reactions of the audience when certain colors take over the screen. For example, purple, seen as a color that represents royalty from an intellectual perspective actually has associations with the noncorporal in the context of human emotion. However, I did feel that Bellantoni did not provide evidence to support many of her claims. For example, when discussing the color green, Bellantoni states that people hesitate to consume green foods or drinks because of its correlation with evil. Though this may be true, her statements sometimes seemed subjective. Statistical evidence may have made these points more effective.
Lastly, I thought that Bellantoni's work is an overall success in expressing the role color plays in film because of the connections made to the reader. Whether or not one is a film student, Bellantoni cites groundbreaking films that have had an effect on all of our lives. Many can recall the girl in the red coat in Schindler's List and our implied connection to her or the progression through the primary colors representing an emotional and intellectual journey in Malcolm X. These examples presented in the text make it possible for the reader to refer back to a film whose use of color affects them physically and emotionally. By relating to her audience, and providing memorable, relevant examples, Bellantoni makes it possible for the reader to understand the visceral effects of color in film.

As a student in a university level film-studies class, I found this text to be not only intriguingly insightful but also truly helpful in regards to one's ability to intelligently dissect a film. The only minor drawback to If It's Purple, Somebody's Going to Die is Bellantoni's steadfast determination to reference anecdotal factoids without backing them up. While her insightful commentaries on how colors make one feel and what they indicate are impressively well researched, I found her off hand references to red cars getting pulled over more than others etc. to be a bit unfounded.

In addition to the aforementioned fact dropping, it appears Bellantoni starts every chapter by calling the color in question a dual-purpose, contradictory, or multi-use color. While she does always clarify how/why these colors have the ability to produce opposite reactions from the reader, the nitty-gritty of these explanations becomes tedious (95% white yellow, 50% white yellow, 100% pure yellow etc.).

Overall, once you accept the fact that Bellantoni truly knows all there is to know about color in film, and believe me, you will after you see enough people wearing purple die, then this text becomes an invaluable resource. I'm giving it four stars as an indication of how easy it is to ignore the few downsides mentioned above. Definitely an excellent resource.

I read this book as soon as I could. I make films, and even in the world of documentaries where color and lighting are often outside my control, this book was an invaluable asset from page one.

I was in the final stages of color correction on "The Aristocrats", when I came across "If It's Purple" and I had no idea the degree to which my color choices were affecting the mood of my film. I was pleased to discover that many of the choices I had made from sheer intuition were spot on. Others were simply beyond my control, but as I applied the ideas and facts that Patti Bellantoni has spent a lifetime studying, I could see how deeply important this information is.

Think of "If It's Purple" as a genius in lighting and set design that you can hire for 26 bucks. And it won't eat any of your craft services!

If you are a film buff, guess what? There's something you didn't know. Go buy this book and learn, in very easy to understand language, why color and set design are the "OTHER" sound tracks that play with your emotions like a passive aggressive mom.

And did I mention pictures? Wonderful, colorful pictures! If you can't read, BUY THIS BOOK!

Although this book will appeal most to the artistic community, I have found that the concepts explained are enormously useful for my MBA students. Few of them have ever considered the effects color has on the "mood" of an office, the ambience of a conference room, or the first impression made to customers. They are clearly surprised by their reactions and have experienced more than one "aha" moment. This is a book for everyone selecting colors in any aspect of their lives.

Most books on cinematography cover the manufacture and names of major lights, color temp., and possibly a few pages dedicated to zones, a small number of lighting setups outside of the basic 3 point, at best. Many are the recollections of talented cinematographers, with very little practical knowledge. It has always been difficult to find any material that covers the use of color in film, and even more difficult to find a book that covers the material in an accessible and lively manner.

"It It's Purple..." uses examples and technical, but manageable terms to outline the use of color in film in ways that most books do not. Its a good read, a great reference, and quite a bit of fun. I recommend the book.

This book is very thought provoking. Some of the theory is similar to other books on color and its importance and psychological, physiological impact, but keeping it completely grounded in the "sexy" world of feature films makes the book very readable and interesting.

My biggest issue is that many of the author's personal opinions are delivered as facts. Color is just not that black and white if you'll pardon the joke. If you can read it and be prepared - and well-schooled in color theory - to ignore or disagree with some of the author's conclusions, then you will like this book a lot.

Her research seems to have been pretty self-guided and ignores a pretty wide body of work. I also would have liked to have seen more interviews with the actual people who made the movies about which she makes certain assertions. In some cases, I'd think the film makers would disagree with her "facts" regarding their movies. In other cases, her insight into the color schemes are very interesting and thought provoking and some of them ARE based on the actual artists involved in the making of the films.

Basically, it IS an interesting book. There is really nothing else like it, but you need to take it with a grain of salt. Many of the other reviewers here are actually referenced IN the book, so you need to take THAT with a grain of salt as well.

At the same time, I bought "The Visual Story: Seeing the Structure of FIlm, TV and Media." It has a chapter or two devoted to color that seem much more grounded in "fact." But for a whole book on color in film, this is the one. ... and it's got a great title.

Steve Hullfish
Co-author, "Color Correction for Digital Video" and author of the upcoming "The Art and Technique of Color Correction"