Jean-Pierre Jeunet

As a fan of French filmmaker Jean-Pierre Jeunet (Delicatessen, City of Lost Children, Amélie), I am always impressed with his attention to color. On the commentary track for his most recent film, 2004's A Very Long Engagement, he talks about the extensive color grading he applied to different scenes—how he overlaid tones of mauve and warm green over the golden sepia of the heroine's world, how he struggled to nail just the right shade of grey-green for the trenches of the Somme. Amélie was treated similarly, but had a much more precise palette, and Jeunet's manipulation of color in that film involved navigating the constant balance of blue, green and red (if you watch, you'll see that no frame is entirely one color—there is always a balancing touch of another palette tone).

From a design perspective, A Very Long Engagement is exciting for not only its expanded spectrum of colors but also for its CGI, which is often applied in subtle, seamless ways. Sure, it's a war movie, so there are several obligatory FX explosions, but Jeunet also applies digital effects to landscapes, interiors, even the eyes of one actor during a death scene. It all blends together beautifully, and nothing is glaring or too obvious, which is how I think CGi is best utilized. Jeunet creates imaginative visual environments that breathe with their own unique vitality. I highly recommended revisiting his films with your design eyes on.

Additionally, if you're interested in color and film, watch anything by Almodóvar.