The Thing has been chosen to be looked at as it set in the Arctic and it will be interesting to see how it's applied to such a setting. Since all the other films have mainly been rocky scenes and indoor spaces looking at colour in a snowy setting will give a broader insight into the use of colour into this media.
The images above depict a part of the station (where the scientists are situated) to be abandoned. Both use a monochromatic scheme with shades of browns that contrast with the white snow. The characters remain silhouetted with the background making them stand out more and also show their lack of connection to the scene.
The dominant colour in this blue but its so dark it makes the room look like it represents night time. The characters profile projects on the wall with the lighters raise contrast with the scene. Light reflects of the scientist face making the overall tone of the scene worry because he seems unsure himself what he expects to see.
The is strong use of complimentary colours of blue with tones of pink and purple lighting the way for the scientist in this picture. Yet it remains unsafe with the shadows on the left contrasting with cold blues.
Below are my sketches from 'The Thing' I was exploring how the film uses light and shadow. Below is the starting sequence where something goes wrong at the station.
by painting the shot it gave me ideas of the colours being used which I then used to create the same scene in my own way I try express a sense of fear. Making use of an ambient shadow to create space and using the silhouette again makes this sense unsettling.
From doing the image above it gave me an idea of colour temperature with pink, light purple and dark purple with the blue fluorescent light and huge shadow in the back creates fear in this painting.
We see complimentary colours here such as yellow and blue being played together with the use of intense light and dark makes this sense really dramatic.
Since most of the film is based in the dark how does colour work? Since this is based on an alien world naturally humans will not be felt welcome and this will show within the set taking place.
Cold dark blues of light pours in key areas in the cave that actually bring them forward since the blues in the background are de-saturated which creates a sense of depth. The rocks create sharp shadows and we instantly feel unsafe. Dust clouds the light sources heightening the atmosphere in the scene.
The image above is primarily greys and blues, cast shadows diffuse on the rocks creating grainy textures we can see reflected light at the bottom of the cave again creating depth. There is a huge space between the ground in save and the light hitting the top of the rock. At this point in the film a character is being cut free from a rope leading into the cave that a monster quickly swoops past to try and attack. Space can be a great form of creating fear.
The planet goes through a long night cycle. This show is when the creatures are making their way out the caves to begin their hunting of the survivors of the ship crash. There is mainly browns and oranges and since we see the sharp rock ridges we know something is going to happen. The rocks are angled toward leaning towards the lighter oranges on the left so we get the sense of where the sun is coming from.
This show here the survivors are making their way to a ship for safety. This is is really dramatic, we see the warm sun on the right with almost half the scene in total darkness. From this shot there is this feeling of very little life. Again there is use of browns and oranges, ironically the colours are warm we don't feel familiar with the terrain. The silohutte of the character on the right indicates to use that safety is in this direction.
Our eyes are instantly drawn to the turquoise fluorescent lights that guide the survivors through the rockery plains of the planet. Bounce light reveals edges of the creatures that surround them this helps create the frame for this shot but we know there is activity going in the shadow. This creates tension because the creatures are unpredictable and could attack at any time.
The image above is the point where the survivors are losing light in a canyon. Mostly browns are used in this scene with highlights of rain create a screen waiting it scarier than the shadows but nothing can be seen at all. Center light hits off the rocks creating rough textures making this area unwelcome.
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