It’s a measure of how intense the colors in the image are. ChromaĬhroma is often referred to as saturation in video and photo tools and programs.
In film and video applications, value is called luminance. More modern color wheels increase the number of shades and hues of reproducible color by factoring in the saturation and lightness of the color as it approaches the center of the circle.Īt the outside of the wheel, the colors are at full saturation and approach black or white as they get nearer to the center, depending on whether the wheel represents an additive or subtractive color.Īll characteristics of color can be reduced to three component values: Valueīoth value and luminance reference the brightness and contrast in the shot. Various versions of the color wheel over the years. Traditionally, the wheel is divided into seven to twelve sections, with the hues of visible light reproduced around its circumference. The color wheel has undergone constant refinement and improvement over the three centuries since its adoption. Originally envisioned and laid out in 1704 by none other than Sir Isaac Newton, the color wheel lays out the relationships between colors. The most foundational tool in color work is the color wheel. Let’s look at the tool that we’ve used for over 300 years to determine how a limited input set of colors can blend to reproduce nearly any hue in the visible spectrum of light. As most readers likely know, additive color uses red, green, and blue primaries to get cyan, magenta, and yellow secondaries, which mix to create white light. Subtractive color mixing is used in paints or dyes, amongst other media.Īdditive color is used when mixing light to achieve color reproduction, such as in screens or cameras.
Subtractive uses cyan, magenta, and yellow as its primary colors, which blend in the correct ratios to create red, yellow, and green as secondaries that combine together to create black. Image via robin.ph.Ĭolor theory is subdivided into two main categories-additive and subtractive. These rules and applications have shifted over time and adapted to encompass new mediums, while also serving as a concrete reference point and planning any visual artwork. These rules are known as color theory.Ĭolor theory is hundreds of years old, with its roots reaching back to none other than Sir Isaac Newton. From the colors of the costumes and set decoration to the camera’s filters and the tones emphasized in the grading process, the best films work from a common internal language of the colors they use.Īll visual media relies on common understandings concerning how colors interact with one another. Let’s examine the rules that dictate the language of color-color theory-and one of its most important tools, the color wheel.Ĭolor in film is an artistic decision in its own right.