MovieChat Forums > Erin Brockovich (2000) Discussion > Why is the cinematography so yellow??

Why is the cinematography so yellow??

posted 12 years ago by 4friedchickensandacoke
6 replies | jump to latest

Watched this movie on cable TV (really liked it ), ,but didn't like the color of the film.., so blamed it on maybe a bad cable feed . . Bought the High definition dvd of this movie to play on my Sony Wega 46inch and it was still crappy..

Not vibrant or even colorful in most places like most high def pictures are and almost all the outdoor images were drab-dreary yellowy/ reddish images ..

Did the cinematographer do this on purpose to relay the underneath of the poison toxic centerpiece?????

[–] 12 years ago

[deleted]

[–] beja-4 12 years ago

No 4fried, it wasn't your TV. The movie is meant to be filmed that way to bring a certain feeling to it. Definitely on purpose. It's far from the the 'Dogma concept' although some of the scenes have the resamblance to the concept. Especially when it comes to the scenes shot in Hinkley which often have the color, like you said, yellowy/reddish.

When it comes to the camera and the lens that's used in the movie it has a
"Moviecam Compact, Cooke S4 Lenses."

http://www.cookeoptics.com/cooke.nsf/products/s4i.html

The lens is also different if you compare Soderbergh's other movies, for example 'Oceans's Eleven' where he uses Panavision Primo Lenses.

The 'Aspect ratio' in Erin Brokovich is 1.85:1, while it's 2.35:1 in Ocean's. Which means less widescreen in Erin B.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Aspect_ratio_(image)

It's quite interesting once you begin to read about it and it's easy to just look up the technical specifications for any movie here on IMDb.

[–] siobanphotogirl 11 years ago

It definitely gives that dry California desert feeling. I think that was the aim.

[–] charlotte_goldenblatt 10 years ago

It's soderbergh's style. If u watch magic mike, out of sight, contagion etc they all look yellowish.

[–] PotassiumMan 10 years ago

I noticed this and it didn't bother me at all.

[–] curious_chaos 8 years ago

Cinematography, my friend!

There's a movie with golden cinematography, called The Day of the Locust, about Hollywood Corruption in the 1930s. The golden yellow colors are gorgeous, yet seem artificial, almost like a dream (the Hollywood Dream?) and gave the movie a sparkling warm atmosphere.

Erin Brockovich also had a yellow cinematography, which I assume was to give the movie a hot, Southwestern and desert quality. I really liked it, the scenes out in Hinkley were quite beautiful, especially the interior shots of residents' houses.