La La Land: Using Color | VIDEO ESSAY

A video essay regarding the color in La La Land and how it makes the film what it is.
Song: Nikk Blvkk - The Emergence

[@EmilynWood]

Something really interesting to me that I noticed when rewatching the film was that how in the What a Waste of Lovely Night scene, Mia is wearing Yellow, almost like representing optimism, and the next day she's not wearing yellow but her PURSE is yellow, almost like she's carrying the memory of last night with her.

[@MyGreenCrystals]

Wow what a beautiful observation! I just got the chills lol

[@user-bu4nr3nn3h]

This is a good metaphor 😃

[@hsmacaraig]

Wow!

[@rahultej2248]

@Akash Akks Yeaah. That tangible conscious representations are not what makes it great. It is something more. It works as a 'whole'.

[@jasonleetaiwan]

She has a yellow purse on her way to work, but when she leaves work, it is that same red one. Did she change purses some how at work?

[@alanpeople1]

"I could go on for hours" I'm waiting.

[@siamandhaniya2083]

yes

[@larissapsalc2582]

Same🤣🤣

[@MakeTheStand]

"I could go on for hours about color but nobody would want that." I WANT THAT!

[@wellingtoncarneiro8008]

So. I liked the way that you saw colors on the movie, but man, I have complety different theory about the colors in this movie. The colors represent something, and their representation fit in every scene. To me the colors would be like this: Red represents their love, the blue represent their dream, the yellow, I'm not sure, I'm still trying to figure out, purple would be passion, and green would be relationship, this is a wild guess, I'm not totally sure and it is a theory. So, let's go for exemples. Take the first scene, when they are dancing and singing, the man that represents Sebastian, and the woman that represents Mia approach a blue truck, meaning that they are approaching their dreams (something explored in the whole movie), and inside the truck are people in red playing instruments, meaning that on their chase of dreams they will find love. The first time that we see Mia in an audition she is with a blue coat, and almost the whole place is blue, meaning that she wants to take that job, she desires that so bad that she almost blend with the place. And the green is really powerful on the dining scene, you can see that the green consumes Mia, but it takes just a little part of Sebastian, he isn't totally invested on their relationship.The first time that purple screams at our face is when they start dating, they fell in love, and in the end the club of Sebastion is completely blue, because that's his dream, there is passion for jazz in that place, and when Mia in leaving the club she turns around to look at Seb, you can see the purple behind her, they are still in love, but they must move on with their lives. Anyway, I hope that I explained it well. Defenitly I will try to see this better, and, please, share your insights, couter points, whatever.

[@KarstenRunquist]

Wellington Carneiro Wow, I really like that. Can't really disagree with anything you have to say either, it's that good. I'm just spitballing here but maybe yellow has something to do with location. Not necessarily the dream but more of like LA specifically. I see it pop up a lot when LA is being discussed but I could be so wrong. Regardless, really amazing analysis, man. You should make a video yourself if you have the time because this is definitely worth getting out there!

[@hendrikstrohle7785]

I think Linus Sandgren said somewhere that he chose the green color to make the scene feel a little bit off and less fitting. He wanted an athmosphere as if an advertisement screen was right in front of the window.

[@tatotjip]

I actually didn't even think about the other colors but definitely saw something in yellow: 'something new'/ 'the next step'. The movie starts with the woman in yellow dress singing, Emma was wearing the yellow dress with their first dance, Keith was wearing yellow when seeing Seb and offering the job, Amy from casting was wearing yellow as well. But that's just my speculation about their wardrobe :P

[@AhummerD]

The green light in the duet scene was the result of Damien Chazelle watching Vertigo by Alfred Hitchcock the night before they had to shoot the scene (at least that was what he said in the commentary). I'm not going to get into specifics, but the green light in Vertigo was used to represent a sort of dream or fantasy for John Ferguson (Jimmy Stewart). In La La Land, I think it's used for the same effect. Both Seb and Mia are, in my opinion, at their happiest and in their most hopeful and content state when they sing City of Stars together. They are sort of living in a dream at that point where they believe that everything will work out because they are together and both passionate about their dreams. So the green light in the background is used to represent them living in a dream state and unaware of the sacrifices they are both going to have to make to achieve their dreams. Side note: Vertigo's a great movie and must see for anyone in love with film.

[@bellacontess6212]

Wow. This is an amazing theory.

[@maiu1922]

A little thing I noticed is that in the 'A Lovely Night' scene, Mia's dress is yellow, her bag red and high heels blue...we know what that means, primary colours! Seb is in a black and white suit, quite the opposite. Then Mia swaps her blue heels for black and white tap shoes, identical to Seb's and that is their first connection.

[@KieranSWeller]

This is so damn clever, i love that everyone is all putting their own ideas on it too. This discussion of art is what i live forrr

[@krittikapaul355]

Exactly! this is exactly the kind of artistic dream all of us have, of sitting and discussing, even if it's not in the library but in KZbin comments.

[@siamandhaniya2083]

exactly

[@hunterc8943]

Id argue each of the colors represents a character and/or a concept such as fame or dreams.

[@hattodieandere]

I have a totally different thesis, loved the way you think though! I think the colors represent the characters. Blue being Mia, Red being Sebastian and Yellow being the Dream they are following. When the green appears, both in city of stars and also in the scene where Sebastian makes a surprise dinner and they fight, they both have very mixed feelings, they stand between themselves and the dream, which brings us to the green color. Everytime someone does something for or in the thought of the other person, the persons color appears primarily, but as the movie goes on and they grow up, the colors will be more and more washed out, which shows the process of growing up and losing their youth (and energy & happiness ) they had in the beginning. But in general I absolutely adore the use of colors in this movie, i've never seen such work before.

[@raphaelsalles580]

to emphasize your idea about seb being red and mia beig blue, in the scenes they are falling in love, we see purple, wich is the mix of these two. in the first dating scene, the sky is what? purple. observatory? the galaxy is also kinda purple. i may be COMPLETELY wrong, but thats what i think for now. sorry if i wrote something incorrect, not a native english speaker.

[@danh7805]

That's what I see, Mia is blue, her truest self is blue. She takes on red when she is either passionate or daring. When Seb is in blue, he is with her mentally. When John legend wears Red in the show, he is living his best life and sort of represent the bold move that Seb made into success. Everything that stands out is in red, while Mia brings in the blue. I didn't focus so much on the yellow at the time (i only watched it for the first time yesterday), but I'm thinking that Seb brought the yellow into her life and when she's enamored by him she gets to wear yellow. Something that I found done so beautifully is the transition of her pink dress into a blue dress in the green light (possibly for Seb's yellow and her blue) when she steps back into the comfort of herself and their relationship. And of course the Seb logo had to be blue, because that's Mia influencing him.

[@ashitaa.9794]

I felt almost the same while watching. And if you notice after they come in a relationship mia usually wear purple, blue and red and blue and light red combination clothes which shows their connection i.e blue and red i.e Mia And Sebastian.

[@nekireperi]

One of the best essay channels out there, under 10 mins goes through the topic and does it with passios and detail...

[@22films32]

Another amazing detail- when Sebastian and Mia first interact, and really though the early stages of her relationship, they wear a lot of reds, oranges, and yellows, and the theme overall is warm. When they look at each other for the final time, the surroundings are blue, purple, and they wear muted colors, showing the maturity and distance from each other they have gained

[@amekat]

my opinions on colors, its mainly primary colors (red, yellow, blue) but in important times of change or character development its complementary with shades of purple and green and i loooove it

[@jlgirlxox]

In colour theory, purple + yellow, blue + orange, red + green, are complimentary colours, found to be soothing combinations. You might consider looking into other aspects of colour theory to see how it benefits your own for La La Land :)

[@lua3086]

yes, the cinematography is great! but color in this movie isn't because of the cinematography, it's actually because of amazing color grading in editing and amazing production design

[@brunareivax3258]

I LOVE when filmmakers pay attention to the use of color in film. It just gives it another meaning. It not only affects the photography in a way that it looks much more appealing and well planned, but it also helps develop story and characters. It is amazing!

[@RedJet-bq6fq]

La La Land is such a lovable masterpiece. Always finding new things to love about this piece of art

[@luisruiz4165]

The usage of color archetypes in here is amazing. I did a full breakdown once. I had the color wheel in front of me and what the colors represent and with each scene I dissected it and it makes the movie one of a kind and it’s so god damn mesmerizing. This is one of my favorite films ever and this movie and blade runner 2049 are in my opinion 2 of the top movies of not only this decade, but century thus far.

[@VanessaOliveira-zb2ug]

i could listen to you talk about la la land forever

[@mikayla4222]

la la land has no right being so beautiful and heart wrenching. even though the film gets better with every watch, i still wish i could watch la la land for the first time again.

[@eartha6110]

4:49 Actually I would love that :D

[@JohnnyMcCore]

+1. Definitely deep dive into colors for some of scenes would be interesting.

[@spandeetachakraborty]

yes...finally...the first time i watched this movie (pardon me , cus it was just YESTERDAY,LOL ),the most captivating thing for me was the costume design and the color scheme ..like...i could not help but notice it...like said in the video ...every single shot or scene has it's own color pale tte and which represents the tones and the emotions in the respective scene ...like ..in the city of stars duet...the bg is lit by a green light symbolizing the presence of freshness in their relationship. .like ....could write an essay. ..but who am i kidding right ? one more thing ..in the last scene Mia is seen to wear an all black dress....the only time she wears black.....

[@fiona1996716]

liked! The analysis on the ending part is wonderful! life isn't like that! if everything go perfectly, there is no emotion and temperature.

[@jacobmacdonagh4070]

Another reason it's so densely colourful is because thankfully it's shot on 35mm so inherently looks much more rich and colourful than most movies currently

[@alyssaking3663]

Colors in La La Land link directly to the story, I'm really glad I wasn't the only one to see that. And the end of La La Land is honest. Sometimes what we want and what we need aren't the same person and that's okay. The hues of blues, purples, and red blend together as they fell in love but the lack of color in the end doesn't mean lack of love. Maybe it implies a deeper understanding of what it means to let someone you care for go and dream for yourself again.

[@Sclonder]

This really helped in writing a very long and very important paper, thank you so much.

[@Aly_Hassan]

Loved it!! Couldn't help thinking last night about the color connection between La La Land and Van Gogh's painting. I looked up the Internet and I found this video

[@MostafaSheshtawy]

loved this essay ... great job

[@jordant686]

oh my god this makes waY MORE SENSE NOW

[@WifeOfLoki]

I love this. I love la la land and this just emphasized this love and omg. I LOVE THIS

[@cassi94]

The colors narrated the story and it was incredible

[@JonSosidka]

Kurstan sounds smart

[@demitrisalloum5131]

ye..."sounds". It's the basic 'video essay voice' that is used. Don't know how it started, but now people who do video essays have to use this monotone voice that sounds like they're hiding in a closet in order to sound composed and intelligent. It's a nice little trick ;)

[@blake.mp4]

And so it begins...

[@djstarsign]

The use of so much bold color is a direct reference to how beautifully color was used in The Young Girls of Rochefort (another musical)

[@jamesglazier436]

We’re not going to mention the brilliant color symbolism Moonlight had ?

[@theemeraldaxe1414]

Really late reply but he made a video on that

[@melanie-df8ey]

you need different people for different seasons, i think thats why the seasons are so prominent in the film. they were both not doing very well career wise in winter, but when they met and started dating they became more successful and gave eachother the motivation and push. it just couldn’t last forever, they helped eachother get to where they were in the end, they had everything but eachother. if they had stayed together neither of them would’ve achieved their dreams it comes full circle in the end, winter. they are very successful but like in the beginning they dont have eachother. you need different people for different times of your life, and for mia and sebastian they had run their course

[@girl4eversweet]

Loved this video, your analysis was wonderful. And thanks for not having one of those forcefully over-excited voices that turn me off many film channels. Subscribing.

[@divergentgurl1414]

THIS IS SO INTERESTING I'M AMAZED

[@ssrag_]

This deserves more recognition

[@selenakaram7420]

This video essay is the best thing ever

[@em12a]

YOU JUST BLEW MY MIND

[@itsfine_txt]

I love the casual humor in this

[@ritzkashyap8288]

One of the best videos on KZbin

[@luizaanderle]

About 1:58: Yellow, orange and red are also analogous colors, which could mean that they both need each other by their side to achieve their dreams, not only that they were separated.

[@batmag3951]

The second after I saw the film I did a very crude essay of my own on the color tones and mixing and how it reflects the films story beats perfectly. I thought I was the only one who saw this haha. Good vid!

[@neonerfilms]

4:55 I want that...

[@ProfBowen]

Be aware that color palate is a major responsibility of the production designer and that much of the credit for color should go to David Wasco

[@AcolytesOfHorror]

And I don't think it's a coincidence that the first creative choice of that whole movie is changing the opening credits from black and white to color

[@emilianocaballeroh]

Oh wow, I just realized the movie reads Jean Luc Godard all over. It's such a french new wave cinematography.

[@djstarsign]

Rammevil Jacques Demy too

[@histubeness]

Interesting video, but the most iconic scene in LLL, color wise, is the dinner/argument scene, with it's use of green, clearly inspired by the crucial scene in Judy's apartment in Vertigo. That wasn't done in LLL by chance.

[@PartyVelocity]

This video puts into words what I love about this film ❤

[@merces0700]

PREACH!!! I agree with you in everything you said! I think La La Land is such a piece of art! An amazing example of cinematography! Its details throughout the movie, like the colours that make you connect with the characters, and even the music and dance, are what makes La La Land such a breathtaking movie! Honestly it made me kinda sad when it didn't win the Oscar for best picture, because this movie enhances EVERYTHING that is needed in a piece of cinematography! For having all that it just makes it an amazing movie! It's so good and every time I watch it, I notice even more details that just make me stand with my opinion of how good this movie is! Thank you for your video! It's awesome to see someone who shares the same opinion! :D

[@h.beauty1954]

The scene, when Mia and Sebastian argue at dinner, you can see the curtain's green colour shining behind them. I think it should represent their waiting dreams and hopes that still burn inside of them, while they sit in the shadows, cinfined by realism and their struggle to make their comfort zone work. The purple always appears whenever they are together or Mia reconnects with Sebastian. Both are dreamers and see the world through the lens of their hopes ans dreams. Everything that is not real yet is represented by that purple colour. So, in the end, when she enters Sebastian's jazz club, the purple light reappears. Now, the unrealistic dream is being with Sebastian. It's all shifted. :)

[@bookwormgirl000]

this is super cool! great insight and the comments here are excellent too

[@raquela.monasteriosc.7346]

You had me at hello. Keep going for hours, I'll listen!

[@ckdk6445]

I think it should have won by Silence The cinematography is just breathtaking

[@rw3452]

Great video essay! One thing I wasn't sure about was a lot of what you've mentioned seems to be the art direction rather than the DoP's role although they can and do blur lines. Most DoP's I've worked with aren't in charge of making those decisions or haven't been concerned as much with colour in terms set, costume etc. That may speak more to them than the overall industry. I am curious to hear what your thoughts on that are.

[@intreoo]

I love how in the post-break-up scene of Mia and Sebastian, everything is so toned down. Unlike the scenes before, the scenes showing Mia and Sebastian's new lives are all set in daylight, with minimal colors. That is until the Epilogue scene, where we are suddenly drowned in a plethora of different colors, tones, and atmospheres. Color represents the youthful love of young Mia and Sebastian in Los Angeles; something they gradually matured out of. The Epilogue scene was a reminder of what their love could've been, and we see that in the end, where the different shades of color are matured into an afternoonish warmth during the "City of Stars" scene. So beautiful...

[@bethanymcguckin5590]

i love color theory and it’s role in films and it’s clear you also do, please make more videos on this topic!!

[@camilasantos8157]

"I could go on for hours" I'm waiting

[@bee-jb7rl]

you just blew my mind bud great job

[@rahultej2248]

Every scene feels like a beautiful, stitched ‘Artifice’. The whole atmosphere always tries to represent the ‘technicolor world’(in their words). The main idea is how close Dreams and Reality are, and especially in a place like Hollywood. They are not just pursuing their ‘dreams’. They are living in the dream itself. That’s why I think La La Land has best justification for being a ‘musical’. It is the best way to integrate and merge the Hollywood reality and Dreams. So, rather than looking at it in a way so pin pointed(this colour represents this, and this to this) which really reduces its abstract beauty, it is better to feel it as a whole.

[@rahultej2248]

@Akash Akks Woah. Thanks, man. I am presently into intense cinephilia. What I can't bear is superficial understanding of profound aspects in Cinema. That's why I sometimes burst out and present my inner thoughts. I can't do that evreytime because that feeling lies in subconscious, and I can't articulate it in concrete way. But sometimes it works. Thanks again.

[@rahultej2248]

Akash Akks I am studying. Completed my 12th now.(I’m 17). About to go for under graduation.(BBA). I still don’t know I have plans to make films(I mean I’m not so sure). But Cinema is what I’m thinking about majority of time now. What about you? What do you do?

[@rahultej2248]

Akash Akks And if you want to find some more of classic Cinema which are available on KZbin with just a click, I made this playlist: kzbin.info/aero/PLYfkctDXjVet9nkFMQ_ccYyN6QjUfKeoK

[@rahultej2248]

Akash Akks “Aspiring film maker”? OMG. That’s awesome. Glad to talk to you. I live in Hyderabad. So sad that your short film is stopped. And yeah. That playlist was helpful. Don’t miss to check out that Bergman stuff. Where do you live btw?

[@rahultej2248]

Akash Akks Do you use FB?

[@NinjaVestos]

Also t(d amount of colour in this film can also be a call back to the golden age of American cinema the 1950s and 60s mainly dominated by Alfred Hitchcock he loved to use colour in his films and the green light8ng behind Seb and Mia is very similar to the scene in vertigo when Scottie and Judy are talking about madline and it’s clear to see that Scottie wants Madeline as there is green lighting behind her within the same style as the background of the city’s of stars scence. This shows the envy of Scottie apt hat he can’t ge5 madline back he only has the betech actor of her it also shows Mia’s envy of seb as seb is doing well with his music.

[@gracealiceemily6159]

ITS SO TRUE. MIND-BLOWN

[@bensztainberg8241]

I semi-agree, because to met he colors stood out a lot in the clothing which wasn't touched on as much. I can't place my finger on exactly what every color meant, I'd need a rewatch for that, but when they weren't together one of them was either in blue or red, or both in one of the colors. When they were together, everything was purple (a mix of blue and red for those who passed 4th grade and didn't have to look it up to confirm like I did), specifically their clothing. Right before she leaves her first boyfriend to go to be with Ryan Gosling, she's wearing all green. Similarly, in their big fight that ultimately leads to their breakup, the setting is in all green. There's more to this but I believe that color represents more of the relationship standpoint, less of hollywood or not. I think the full answer is somewhere in between, I enjoyed this video nonetheless.

[@allegraalberoni]

I noticed this when I watched the movie for the second time and oh my is this movie good.

[@MeggEmbers]

I want more!!!!

[@MrTuca007]

Amazing video! And film

[@giangminhtuan82]

I want moreeeeee

[@chvp4605]

That was so interesting and amazing!!Great job!!💕😊

[@jen-np9ye]

your voice is so soothing to me

[@frankieocchiogrosso6431]

Amazing. Thank you so much for sharing this.

[@jamietaylor2042]

masterpiece

[@UnbelievabIeMontages]

In other words, Sebastian stops chasing his ambition and Mia starts chasing hers.

[@tatehildyard5332]

UnbelievabIeMontages What are you doing here? I thought you hated this movie.

[@UnbelievabIeMontages]

i do hate this movie. it's plagiarism.

[@tatehildyard5332]

But my question is that if you despise this movie as much as you do, why are you on over a dozen La La Land themed comment sections? That would be like going to the DMV for fun.

[@UnbelievabIeMontages]

to destroy the movie

[@edengallagher1044]

^ I'm sure you single-handedly will change everyone's mind about what a great film it is (Also they pulled inspiration from classic movies, that doesn't make it plagiarism)

[@alejandrocervantes2288]

dude this rocked

[@Kerunou]

I’ve seen more and more people bitch and moan about color grading these days, I guess because of its inherent unreality, and THIS is why it’s important. I do not care why you don’t like it, color grading is used to convey MOOD and ATMOSPHERE and TONE, we need more of it, not less.

[@Madieh17]

very interesting way to look at it

[@aaliyahhaddox3630]

Can you explain what purple, yellow and green represent in the movie

[@deshong5047]

“I could go on for hours about what the color says in each scene” Ummm please sir do go on?? That’s what I want. Like I will pay.

[@coshcosh3753]

Perfect

[@jonolow]

nice to hear a young karstens opinion

[@ashleywilliamson4828]

i stopped right at the start, went to netflix to watch it for the first time, and now im back.

[@saranyaa541]

You just got another subscriber that was great

[@hardhirbajwa542]

I also felt red and blue represented one of them and when they started to blend together we get purple even when they started dating garbage bins and walls are also purple means their worlds are mixed now.but purple is always at back. But red and blue are shown on the characters at starting point of their relationship and when movie ends Seb sees Mia in purple light which to me shows she is there but she is in background and same for seb they are not main focus other their story at that point. Other than that I also feel yellow and green were Mia's colour and grey and black Sebs but the end of their love story Mia were wearing grey white and black and Seb was in all the shinny shiny blue and reds. Showing how she became what sebastian was passionate for the art and how Seb sold out for fame and money. As you said plastic and fake.

[@risarisa930]

Genius

[@lillimcguire7147]

in love w this

[@futbol121711]

Great video! Good points

[@areyougonnareplynook7316]

I loved this

[@Jen.d.arc.]

i would like you to go about for hours on the examples! subscribed

[@strikemasterice2004]

"The colours Mason, what do they mean!"

[@ashareeoo]

So awesome.

[@reinadhavemita1483]

Definetly agree🖤

[@sarahs1821]

FUCKKK this was so good!!!! could I use this concept to analyze another movie for an essay?? I'll give you credit!

[@thevoicesoflogic]

Arrival should have won best picture.

[@juliagomes6458]

really great video

[@magdalenwills4653]

I really like this :)

[@elsiekarlak741]

good video definitely subbing

[@topaz_no_life9440]

god, i love this movie.

[@nerdfighter_and_unicorn2422]

Thank you youtube recommendations

[@drjaz106]

4:50 wrong. I do.

[@mclovin457]

La La Land Should have won best Picture

[@itsfine_txt]

Ok wow that conclusion kinda hurt

[@PitaBorges]

Thanks for sharing 🍀 Hugs from Brasil