How much (use of the color palette you choose) is too much?

[Ville Leskinen]

Hi! I'm new here. I'll be working on my first semipro short film as a production designer (although there might be more emphasis towards the set design on my half) and it troubles me that the color palette I've chosen seems too limited. It contains five different colors (with copper green being the main, dark brown being the second and beige being the third. Orange and purple/blue being the "accents". ). The movie will be a mix of film noir and neorealism and I really don't want to push the look too far with the color palette. So what should I do? Should I add shades, more colors, less colors (to even go for a three or two color scheme)? The sets won't themselves be that much of a problem but if the clothes should only contain the said five colors then I feel like I may be in trouble. Help?

 

[mörkö]

I've usually considered the color palettes as a rough guide to give direction, or just a simple tool of communication. How religiously you want to follow the palette depends on the style etc. So I wouldn't worry too much about the palette. Reference pictures (found or self created) are better in communicating how you want to use color, and other aspects of the look, imho.

As to whether you want more or less colors in the design, hard to say. Limited palette works for some stories, others maybe not If it's low-budget and you shoot in many locations however, you might be in trouble implementing a very limited/stylished look, so that's something to consider.