Brightness & Saturation

 When Nico and I were working on editing, we came across a bit of a disagreement. The film takes place in two places: Ryan's home and a public gym. I wanted Ryan's home to come off as less vibrant and more monotonous, mainly illuminated by dim natural lighting. On the other hand, the gym was supposed to act as a more vibrant contrast, a sneak peek to the more exciting life Ryan will discover in pursuit of his powerlifting competition. 

But here's the issue. Nico wanted to desaturate the shots at the gym to show that, even in a public environment, Ryan is still pretty empty, lacking any sort of direction. On the other hand, I wanted the gym to be intentionally bright, putting Ryan out of his comfort zone. We decided to take a desaturated version and its original side-by-side. Therefore, we could see if the light was too excessive, or if the grayer appearance is a little too obvious. Here's how it looks:

On the left is original, while the right is more desaturated. It isn't an extreme difference, but it is somewhat noticeable. We eventually decided on sticking to the original, to show that Ryan is out of his comfort zone. This is especially noticeable when you contrast the brightness of the environment with his darker clothing, making him appear as a 'black sheep' at the gym. While the change is pretty minor, it goes to show how even vibrancy can make a huge difference in storytelling. I didn't realize how big of a role saturation played in conveying emotion subtly.

That's all for today! The film opening is starting to take shape - exciting!