A Cinematographic Approach on The Lord of the Rings Trilogy: An Analysis of the Color Composition

Studies on Cinematography and Narrative in Film

Introduction

It is well recognized that since prehistoric times, humans have made efforts to communicate their observations and experiences to their surroundings. The storytelling traditions, which initially took the form of oral conversations around a fire, eventually transitioned into written form through books. Subsequently, visual content started being disseminated through the use of photos and photography. Cinema, referred to as the 7th art, is widely recognized as a narrative medium that has a significant influence on society when examined from artistic, aesthetic, narrative, communicative, and technical perspectives. The success of the film narrative relies on intentionally crafting the codes. Cinematic narrative is a storytelling technique that combines hypothetical fantasy components with everyday facts to create a meticulously constructed and fictionalized version of reality. According to Adanır, “in a narrative film, it is evident that each step, from start to finish, goes through a reasonable filter, and the emotions shown are largely influenced by rational thinking. Although the statement may be completely false, it may be argued that the emotions are shown convincingly and that the film effectively captures the “emotional reality” in human relationships, even though the narrative does not address any essential truths or realities” (2014, p. 6). Based on this statement, the viewer and the story establish an intricate and intellectual connection. An individual seeking solace from the monotony of their daily life finds solace in the artistic realm, connecting with fictional characters and experiencing emotional catharsis. The audience interprets the information they receive by mentally processing it and translating it into visual representations. The primary objective of the artist is to influence the viewer's perception in order to mold these images according to a specific topic. According to Adanır, “people ascribe a secondary significance to what they perceive. The director's responsibility is to control the audience's perception of what they see, guiding them to adopt a specific perspective and ensuring that they interpret the image as intended” (2014, p.3). Therefore, the audience will comprehend the production inside a specific framework, and the intended emotional impact during the production will be conveyed to the customer. In order to establish the desired setting, a vocabulary exclusive to the realm of cinematic storytelling has been created. In the realm of cinema, images are employed to construct a world of reality. These images serve as perspectives through which individuals interpret and assign significance to the things they observe, within the context of their personal experiences. John Berger argues that the “making sense of the image depends on the way of seeing” (2013, p. 10). Due to cultural upbringing, individuals may interpret the same object in diverse ways. However, Barthes initiated a fresh discourse by raising the inquiry, “How does meaning get into the image? Where does it end? And if it ends, what is there beyond?” (1977, p. 269). Every indicator that is generated conveys a certain message that the person who made it intends to communicate. These messages are concealed using either universal or cultural codes. The language of cinematography draws upon storytelling techniques from other artistic fields, including literature, theatre, and painting. Cinematography encompasses various parts of the production process, including location designs, actor selections, costuming, camera angles, lighting, editing, sound and music design, and color editing. The primary objective is to structure the narrative and influence the audience's perspective on which they observe the story, with whom they form a connection, and the emotions they experience. People who have developed the skill of mentally imagining stories through literature over a long period of time, choose to see carefully chosen pictures in the cinema. The director's role is to prevent the viewer from perceiving the images in a random or unintentional manner, to establish a visual framework, to direct the viewer's attention towards a specific focal point, and to ensure that the intended message is accurately received by the viewer. According to Michael Ryan and Douglas Kellner, films do not simply reflect a situation, but instead present specific ideas through carefully chosen and combined elements. By doing this, they convey a particular perspective or viewpoint to the audience (1990, p. 19).