Vice Versa ep 1
This won't be short, so settle down and make yourself cosy...
Sooooo...the colours in Vice Versa.... Obviously it's early days - too early to see if there will be a pattern to how the series uses colours -> is it just a cool design element or are the use of colours intentional? Do they have meanings associated to them or will any patterns be purely coincidental? Who knows… BUT here are my observations in case anyone is interested in following/noticing their useage as the series progresses…
It's so very interesting that the series starts with a explanation about the job of a colourist and with interpretations of some colours - more on that in a moment - but right from the get go (even from the trailer) it seems that this series is leaning heavily on the red/pink and blue theme. Is it from the red/blue oni? Or just a stylistic choice?
Regardless, throughout ep 1, blue is especially used (it's the episode's theme - ocean blue) but it's definitely paired with pink/red in several scenes: Talay's friends are all in blue with one friend in a blue and red striped top at dinner; Talay in pale blue with a pale pink bag at the airport (which actually look more or less colourful depending on the shot - thus proving what Talay was saying at the beginning); so much red and blue at the airport with the uniforms, the security guard, the boy and his mother, and the guy they thought was Puen; the red blood and blue clothes when Tess is being beaten up; the pale pink hospital gown, the blue nurses uniforms, and blue phone and pulse sensor in the hospital; the pink walls and blue clothes in the association; the blue and red of the nightclub; and Tess in blue with his brother Thanin in red at home. I mean, they're practically smooshing it in our faces.
Two other colours also stand out for me - yellow and green. The green gets introduced first with little splashes on the film set, and then is paired with yellow on the beach with the surf boards. Later, Tess' mother has a green shirt in the hospital, and Phuwadol's id strap is also green - at this point I wonder if green might represent assistance and help for our main characters. This was the moment I really sat up and took notice...because the yellow tape looked to be too deliberate to be coincidental at this point...
Right after the scene with Phuwadol speaking to Talay in the wheelchair we see the shot of the skyline and the light on the building changes from green to blue. And then we're into this fantastic shot:
I think it's interesting how Talay has a darker background in his archway, and that Phuwadol has the yellow lights above her head - similar to the dinner at the beginning with the yellow lights above Talay's head:
There's more green and yellow in Tess' apartment, with the cushions and grass outside, and then his clothes in the wardrobe are basically just red, blue, dark green, and yellow. More pops of yellow are used in the association and in the nightclub…and I'm curious as to why the last letter of the association sign is in green…and whether it has any meaning...
Quite a few scenes have all four of these colours together…for example here:
and here:
And including this iconic moment when Tess/Talay and Tun look at each other through the bar - with the blue, red, green, and yellow bottles.
Two other colours seem to have importance this ep and they were both mentioned at the beginning when Talay interpreted the three interviewers. Talay connects orange to the man who "seems lively but who has something on his mind". Then we see Talay in an orange car with a lively Gyo asking about Puen but Talay has the interview on his mind. In the very next scene, Puen walks in and the two assistants have orange socks. There are other pops of orange on the film set amongst a swathe of blue. Right after this scene, the shot cuts to a blue and orange boat on the water. I haven't been able to interpret how Fuse's orange t-shirt fits in with all of this though…but it's interesting how the show has threaded this colour through some scenes.
Talay also connects brown (or horse shit brown to be precise!) to the guy who seems "serious". The first time we see brown is on the film set - a place of work which necessitates being serious and not messing around. Then it's on the hip flask that Fuse offers Tess/Talay in hospital but Talay doesn't take it (unlike the party boy Tess who probably would), he stays serious and tries to understand more about the world he's found himself in. Talay wears brown trousers/pants when he finally goes home from the hospital, needing to be serious around his parents; he's sat on a brown wooden area when Phuwadol and Joobjang are telling him about the portkey and dying in the different universes - all serious stuff; and the friend's coffee cup is brown when Talay asks him about death - the rest have been blue. Lastly, his brother is wearing a brown stripy sweater when Talay goes into work - another place to be serious.
The other colour Talay connects with one of the interviewers is "pickled cucumber green" with the guy who is "calm and passive". Right now, I don't really see the connection with this and the other instances of green in the ep…but maybe it's there and will become clearer later. Although, it seems next week's ep will be green centric, so perhaps that will shed some light on this one...
This has gotten SO LONG, so well done if you've made it this far, but I just want to highlight a few more things before I finish. First, I'm curious about the alpaca/llama on the hat - I wonder if it will be a recurring thing or just a one off? I also thought there's something interesting about the the fact that the first time Talay and Puen see each other is through the mirror, like they're not seeing their true selves or something…(also note the soft yellow and green in the background...or is it beige and yellowy-green?...):
And then I also wonder if the film scene is perhaps foreshadowing a future scene where Puen will be leaning over an unconscious Talay in real life...
Anyway, I'm suitably hooked and fascinated and I wish I had the time to properly analyse it like I did with Bad Buddy…but we'll see how it goes. I hope you'll join me on the ride if I do!
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