ABSTRACT
This chapter looks at some contemporary examples of independent films that stand out for having a particular visual edge, whether through dynamic use of color; contemporary design sensibilities; or inventive approaches to shot composition, cinematography, and dramaturgy. Color palettes alternate between highly saturated analogous schemes and more understated complementary schemes, with occasional monochrome backgrounds jumping from one point of the color wheel to the next with each shot—sometimes even within the same shot as the fantasy gives way to manic hysteria. The instantly identifiable nature of Adam Elliot’s sculpture work also goes hand in hand with a particular sensibility when it comes to his use of color. When used at all, in fact, color is sparse and often heavily desaturated. Though Ernie Biscuit wound up a companion film to Harvie Krumpet rather than Mary and Max, the black-and-white world Ernie occupies is at odds with the muted color world of Harvie’s.
