The Expressive Function of Color in Modern Non-Fiction Films

The article examines four contemporary Russian documentaries shot in 2018–2020, two of them monochromatic and the other two polychromic and achromatic. Based on non-fiction films, the study analyzes the use of color as means of translating the documentary maker’s artistic vision. It sees into the process of live video filming for a documentary that may confront the videographer with the challenge of the color treatment, so that his skill depends on his ability to readily assess the color harmony regardless of hampered shooting conditions. The ongoing development of photography and cinema equipment and the improvement of color rendering in video images help the film directors to develop a deeper understanding of cinematography, to master the technique of digital video processing. However, technology is no more than an aid to the creative thought of documentary filmmakers who are responsible for the aesthetic vision and representation of reality. To what extent the author manages to render his artistic vision in a screen document depends on the level of his excellence. Documentary filmmaking gives directors freedom of reproducing their world views, so color as film medium is used by authors more focused on the picturesque aspects of color. Therefore the article points out the chromatic and achromatic properties of color as components of the film imagery affecting the perception of the documentary film maker’s artistic conception.