Couleur du Jouris a short film inspired by the idea of having “perfection” in society. It questions whether having a “perfect” life
with only happiness really is what we want. The piece achieves this theme by showcasing Margot, a
character that can control the emotions of her day through the colors she uses to mark her calendar.
She has strived for perfection and happiness her whole life, which seemed very superficial. As the
yellow marker ends, she is forced to face the truth about life not being all that happy, seeing it through
different colored lenses. Although having tough moments has a negative connotation, the audience
slowly makes a connection with the piece by relating to their own sad or angry moments.
The ending is also another indicator that the story could be happening in real life because
Margot wakes up from her dream. Everything that was just watched, was just a bad dream.
It makes the audience realize that like Margot at the end, everyone has all different colors
at their sight and have the liberty to feel what they feel in the moment.
The whole look of this piece has to do with colors and their meaning. In the social media page,
posts are organized by color and go in the order of the film’s scenes ( starts with yellow, ends with
normal colors ). This was a clever option because I could transform feelings onto something visual
( other than face expressions). The fonts used in the poster were very creative looking and had a
harmonious combination. The frequent use of yellow would also develop a sense of brand onto the
project.
Couleur du Jour possesses many different aspects of an experimental film. To begin, experimental
films are usually breaking the “right” way to make productions. My narrative relied heavily on colors and
feelings, and less on interactions with others and surrounding aspects. Another thing is that it has a very
vast number of interpretations. Because the story isn’t so dependent on surroundings but rather inner
feelings, the theme of the movie is very susceptible on perspective. Because of its elasticity, the social
media page for Couleur du Jour has posts that ask the audience very thought-provoking questions that will lead them to keep thinking
while watching the short film. Besides, one thing in common among target audiences for experimental
films is that they are able to understand meanings with greater depth, trying to find the symbolism
behind stories and are open-minded to hear different interpretations.
My choice for a social media platform was Instagram, mainly because it is the most popular one,
and appeals to the widest age ranges. Experimental films need a certain maturity level to be enjoyable,
and therefore I think Instagram would be a great fit. It doesn’t have mostly a young audience or just an
old one, it rather combines both. Another thing was that the visual aspect and misé-en-scene elements
were very important to me. I wanted to market my brand with this aesthetically pleasing look. I sold
that idea when making the instagram posts because they are all very coherent and look in place.
The colors are organized and the pictures have good quality. I like to think that when someone is
watching an experimental piece, they have great odds of being more artistic, which would lead
them to care about the film’s aesthetic. A good point I thought of was that experimental films can
be very abstract and therefore its looks can be the one thing that drags the audience’s attention.
On my blog, I did a lot of research on color theory. This helped me because it made me learn
which colors create certain effects, how color combinations can change the meaning of a color and
how different tones can also be an important factor. I also did research on shot types, which allowed
me to create fluency in my short film, as well as create visual interest. I used a lot of different
inspirations from different directors like Wes Anderson and Luca Guadagnino to try and come up
with a very interesting and eye-catching look. I also would write about my current life situations,
which, although might not be traditionally considered research, put me to thinking about how I
was able to really explore the concept of happiness and learn things about myself I did not
even know. The process of research for experimental films should not be the same cookie cutter
as other genres. I had to research myself, and my own emotions to try to get an insight of how other
people might have also been affected. Not only that, but I also went up to friends and asked them
questions about what their definition of “perfect” is, and if they are content with their lives while
looking at influencers that are doing fun and expensive activities.
I wanted to brand the film to be a very artistic and slightly abstract concept. I wanted it to be
called an experimental film because it is the most liberating label out of all other genres.
Although I do recognize all of my hard work put onto this film, I have a lot of things to point out.
Firstly, I felt like the story was a little too long for an “approximately 5 minute” video. I felt like I had
to cut down a lot. On the other hand, the middle of the production felt somewhat boring. It might be
because I had to watch it over 50 times, but I wish my piece was more engaging. I did appreciate the
shot variety and how much I got to experiment and learn from this film. What puzzled me in this was
that I had a conflict, a climax and a resolution, but it needed something more. Maybe it was because
I wanted to portray the beauty in having different emotions but had little screen time to bring all I
wanted to life. I could have stuck with something a little simpler, or just thought about it in a less
detailed way. What I know is that I still managed to show society’s issues in creating the common
goal of having a “perfect life”.
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