A commentary on color palates

Hello, friends! Bashful Bi is becoming aware that my interest in BLs has grown beyond seeking self-validation through LGBT+ representation into an actual interest in film. I've never really gotten involved with any communities that create or review film, even as a hobby, but I have nonetheless accumulated some thoughts on a particularly artsy aspect of TV--the color palate that is predominantly on the screen, and what it means for the show.

Vibrant, dark, muted, or pastel are all words that came to mind after watching a few episodes of different shows. After noting these different characteristics, it became clear to me that they were part of the story the show was trying to tell. The most salient example I can think of are the bright, saturated colors that pervaded My Engineer vs the softer, less vibrant colors of Love by Chance. Seriously, My Engineer has the greenest trees in the entire BL genre (see below):

A still from My Engineer

A still from Love by Chance, for comparison

See what I mean? The trees in Love by Chance are a more yellow, less rich green. The entire scene has softer, lighter colors. The contrast between these two screenshots, I think, is actually quite representative of the contrast in the colors for the rest of the show.

This may totally be a stretch aggravated by recently having to write many literary analyses, but I do believe these different colors underscore the dynamics between their respective show's characters. In Love by Chance, the relationship between Ae and Pete, the main couple, seems very soft and delicate--they have many quiet, slow conversations, and dote on each other to express their love. In My Engineer, on the other hand, Bohn and Duen, as well as many of the other ships, spend much more time teasing each other and getting into comical situations, leaving to a more lively and fun atmosphere. Therefore, my thesis: soft color=soft character dynamics, lively colors=lively character dynamics.  I guess I should be planning for a PhD in English, not in neuroscience; alas, I want a job when I grow up. But that's irrelevant.

Another example: Until we Meet Again. That show has a lot of dark scenes, both thematically and visually. While they didn't go as far as finding a way to make scenes basked in daylight less bright than they are, there are a lot of plot pieces that occur in rather dark spaces, in comparison to other shows.

  

There were a lot of dark scenes in Until We Meet Again

It may be confirmation bias, but I'm pretty certain that there were more scenes in dark rooms in this show than in any other.

Color palatte is certainly a detail that takes some deep thought to craft intentionally, althouh it's often kind of intuitive. It's an extra thing to worry about when doing set, costume, and lighting design, as well as post-production, on top of the heaps of other decisions that have to be made about that. But the visual input of color for a viewer as they're watching a show is like breathing--you're usually not consciously aware of it, but it is enormously important. Color is a critical aspect of subconsciously underscoring everything that is happening on screen, in BLs and beyond.