461: Chapter 461 Color

...

After the meeting ended in the morning, the only group that wasn't called out was the costume and makeup department.

The white woman in charge of the costume and makeup department was named Melanie.

This name means "darkness" in Greek. As a name, it usually symbolizes depth, stability, and substance.

However, this clearly didn't match her personality.

The work of every department is closely linked. Although she hadn't been called out, she still took plenty of notes. Just when she thought the meeting had finally ended—

"Mel, you stay behind. Let's talk."

"...Okay, Director."

Ms. Melanie was initially attracted to Lin Chuyan's looks, but after learning he had a girlfriend and witnessing his aggressive three-hour communication style, she was completely disillusioned with him.

"Take me to see the costumes, and then help me and the female lead with styling."

"Okay, Director!"

Lin Chuyan called Ruan Xingyu, and the three of them moved to the wardrobe room.

Ms. Melanie complimented everyone she met: "Miss Ruan, you are truly the most beautiful Chinese woman I have ever met."

Lin Chuyan: "..."

Why did that sound a bit familiar?

However, Lin Chuyan was curious about one question: "Mel, do you all... think that her type is beautiful, right?"

"What do you mean? She's too beautiful, okay!"

"It's nothing. Maybe it's stereotypes, maybe it's your marketing. It's probably just the look of Easterners that you Americans like... In our eyes, it's a bit strange. You know, it's not a beauty in the traditional sense, and it can't even be called a beauty."

Melanie blinked: "Director, you should think about it this way: Since the East and West have a common aesthetic for Western stars, why is it different when it comes to Asian artists?"

"Mel, you're right." Lin Chuyan looked at his girlfriend, "Beautiful is beautiful, it's the same everywhere."

Of course, there was one thing he didn't say out loud: Why should the right to define beauty be in the hands of others?

They arrived at the wardrobe room.

This room only contained the clothes for the male and female leads. Looking around, the various costumes were extremely vibrant in color, making one feel a bit dazzled.

Melanie began to introduce them to Lin Chuyan.

"The two of you have a total of 50 outfits..."

Lin Chuyan interrupted her: "Do you remember the drawings Producer Zhang Man gave you?"

"Were those drawn by you, Director?"

"Yes, I want to see those."

As for the main styling for the leads, Lin Chuyan had simply drawn them on paper and had Producer Zhang Man give them to the team here to find and create.

This wasn't just thrown together; it had to follow color psychology.

Melanie naturally understood this as well, and the two of them began to explain it to Ruan Xingyu, one after the other.

"White shirt + deep blue windbreaker —"

"Xingxing, this is the outfit you wear to the audition after having coffee spilled all over you. It looks a bit dowdy because it needs to show your somewhat messy life situation, hinting at your ordinary beginning on the path of chasing dreams, and it suggests you might encounter some minor setbacks."

"Bright yellow dress with flower accents —"

"Bright yellow is the most eye-catching. This represents the warming of our relationship, as well as the budding of love in your heart. You have a different color now, full of hope and expectation for the future, and your whole state has become vibrant."

"Peach-colored full-skirted lapel dress and pink pencil skirt —"

"These two outfits are worn after falling in love. The peach-colored one, in my vision, should be worn on an evening. You are wearing it with the sunset behind you; your dress and the sunset are the same color... Yes, you are integrated with the beauty around you. The pink one looks sweeter, warmer, and more stable."

"Black slip dress —"

Lin Chuyan shrugged: "This is the outfit for when we meet five years later. The fabric is high-end, highlighting your identity as a successful actress, representing your growth and transformation, and also implying the distance and changes between you and me."

"White dress —"

"This is for the final imagined scene of us dancing among the stars. It represents beauty, and also has a dreamy, romantic feeling. Of course, I prefer to call it transcendence, as if... your life is entering a new stage."

After the few important outfits were introduced, Ruan Xingyu's eyes lit up.

Every outfit in front of her was designed according to her height and figure — which girl doesn't like pretty clothes?

Moreover, although the application of color psychology in film sounds simple, it... was very thoughtful, wasn't it? Her boyfriend is just amazing.

Worship.

Looking at Lin Chuyan's clothes — brown vintage shirt, blue Cuban collar shirt, camel suit, blue pinstripe suit, black suit, brown three-piece suit, red vintage jacket... Hmm, she was already starting to look forward to how her boyfriend would look wearing them.

Lin Chuyan pulled her hand: "How is it?"

"I feel like I have a deeper understanding of this play and this character."

Lin Chuyan nodded.

Actually, this was also his intention in bringing Ruan Xingyu over. By using this simple explanation of costume colors, he could quickly bring her into the play.

The profession of a director involves many aspects; it's not something you can just film casually while laughing and dating.

Moreover, the use of color in film is actually not that simple.

Let's take the Long take song and dance scene in the first act, for example.

How do you make people who don't like musicals "force themselves" to keep watching?

It's like the beginning of a web novel; some people don't like your genre, so how do you make them "force themselves" to keep watching?

The answer is to add some color.

Some novels have the character say something explosive in the first sentence, like "Is it in yet?", or "I really want to XX", or even worse, just "Take off your clothes"...

la la land does a different kind of color.

The colors of all the cars and the characters' clothes were carefully considered and adjusted. The overall picture was coordinated and brilliant, dazzling the eyes; it wasn't just about "singing and dancing."

And this is just the application of art; what's harder is actually the camera movement.

Especially since he was directing and acting, he couldn't sit behind the monitor all the time, so the role of the cinematographer became even more important. In many places, the cinematographer needed to fully understand his filming requirements to achieve the effect he wanted.

There is still a long way to go.

...

In the afternoon.

The two separated to get their styling done.

Lin Chuyan's hairstyle was actually easy to do; after it was done, it was quite similar to Gosling's in his past life. But after all, the race was different, and Lin Chuyan felt that his overall temperament seemed more like... Chow Mo-wan from "In the Mood for Love."

"How is it?"

Melanie: "I think I pay too little attention to Chinese male actors."

Lin Chuyan didn't continue this topic; if they kept talking, he would likely hear more flattery.

"Let's go, let's go see our female lead."