🎨 Storytelling by Colour: A Quick Guide

Colour is like music for your eyes 🎶👀
Even when nobody says anything, colours can make people feel something.

1) ✅ WHAT is “Colour Psychology”? 🧠🎨

Colour psychology means:

• 🎭 Different colours often create different emotions

• 🌍 Not a strict rule (culture & people vary)

• 🎬 But it’s a powerful storytelling tool in videos

📌 In short: Colour = emotion control button

2) 🤔 WHY does colour change how we feel?

Because our brain connects colours with:

• 🌿 Nature → blue sky, green plants

• 🌧️ Weather → gray clouds, bright sunlight

• 🛑 Warning signs → red = stop / danger

• 📸 Memories → old photos look faded, neon looks modern

So when you change colour in a video, you’re secretly telling the viewer:

🎯 “This is how you should feel right now.”

3) 🎛️ HOW do editors control colour? (The 4 Big Controls)

Think of colour grading like 4 mood sliders 🎚️

A) 🎨 Hue (WHAT colour is it?)

Red, blue, green, yellow etc.

B) 💡 Brightness (HOW light or dark?)

• 🌞 Brighter = safer / happier

• 🌑 Darker = serious / scary

C) 🌈 Saturation (HOW strong is the colour?)

• 🔥 High saturation = loud, energetic, playful

• 🌫️ Low saturation = calm, serious, sad, real-life

D) ⚫⚪ Contrast (Light vs Dark difference)

• ⚡ High contrast = intense, harsh, dramatic

• ☁️ Low contrast = soft, gentle, dreamy

4) 🎭 Emotion → Colour Choices Cheat Sheet (Simple Version)

😄 Happy / Fun

✅ Colours: warm (yellow, orange)
✅ Look: bright + more saturated
✅ Feeling: sunny, playful ☀️✨

😌 Calm / Safe

✅ Colours: soft blues, greens
✅ Look: medium brightness + medium saturation
✅ Feeling: peaceful, stable 🌿🌊

😢 Sad / Lonely

✅ Colours: cool blues, gray, faded
✅ Look: darker + less saturated
✅ Feeling: quiet, distant 🥶🌧️

😨 Scary / Tense

✅ Colours: dark blues/greens, sickly green
✅ Look: darker + higher contrast
✅ Feeling: danger, stress 👁️‍🗨️⚠️

😡 Angry / Dangerous

✅ Colours: red, dark orange
✅ Look: strong contrast + sometimes lower brightness
✅ Feeling: heat, warning 🔥🚨

🕰️ Old Memory / Past Time

✅ Colours: warm faded tones, yellow-ish
✅ Look: lower saturation + softer contrast
✅ Feeling: “this happened long ago” 📽️🧡

5) ✅ Step-by-step: How to choose colour for your edit (WHAT → WHY → HOW)

Step 1️⃣: WHAT is the emotion of the scene? 🎭

Pick one main emotion:
happy, calm, sad, tense, angry, mysterious…

📌 Why?
If you try to show 3 emotions, the audience gets confused 🤯

Step 2️⃣: WHY does the character feel that way? ✍️

Write one sentence:

• “She feels lonely because she’s left out.”

• “He feels confident because he finally won.”

📌 Why?
This helps you decide how strong the grade should be (small vs heavy)

Step 3️⃣: HOW do you want the viewer to feel? 👀

Pick one:

• 🤝 Same as character → we feel sad with them

• 🕵️ Different from character → they feel calm, but we feel worried

📌 Why?
This is how movies create suspense 😈🔥

Step 4️⃣: Pick your Colour Plan 🎨🧾

Fill this mini checklist:

• 🔥 Warm or ❄️ cool?

• 🌞 Bright or 🌑 dark?

• 🌈 Saturated or 🌫️ faded?

• ⚡ Harsh contrast or ☁️ soft contrast?

Step 5️⃣: Do the grade (Simple Order) 🎬✅

When you're in your colour tool, follow this order:

1. 💡 Fix exposure (too dark/bright?)

2. ⚪ Fix white balance (too orange/blue?)

3. ⚫ Adjust contrast

4. 🌈 Adjust saturation

5. 🎨 Add colour push (slightly warm/cool)

📌 Why this order?
If brightness is wrong, colours won’t look right anyway ✅