Colour used for transitions in emotions of an individual.

Transitional colours are those colours associated with a character or an idea that change, either drastically or gradually depending on the character arcs or turn of events in a story. Such use of colour helpsto add an extra layer or meaning to the story through visuals.

An emotion a character is experiencing can be identified by what colour the character is or turns in to. A character might turn red when they are angered or embarrassed, yellow when happy, or blue when sad. Such use of colour is seen in animated films more that live action movies. In a live action film, the colourpalette of background might change to the same colour the character is associated with. Sometimes, a character will change clothes to reflect what they feeling that particular day.

The storyteller can employ any of these methods to portray emotions by dropping colour cues. Subtle colour changes in a recurring element in the story also convey the gradual change of emotions.

Colours often have dual meanings.

• Red: Anger, embarrassment, passion, or lust, violence.
• Blue: Shyness, sadness, or calmness.
• Yellow: Cowardice, happiness, or caution.
• Green: Disgust, envy, friendliness, or greed.
• Purple: Pride, fear, or courageousness
• Grey: Depression, regular sadness, or stoicism.
• Black: Coldness or mournfulness.
• Pink: Cheeriness, embarrassment, or love.
• White: Shock, fear, coldness, or mournfulness.

That being said, directors often select their own colours and stay true to their assigned meaning them throughout the film. You as a creator, thus have a choice to select your colours. Blue can be a happy colour in your story, if you surround it with joyous events and happy.