Functional color usage in science fiction cinema

The use of color, that has been experienced since the human's first attempt of painting on a surface, has become one of the significant factors of art and design in time, and in addition to that it has turned into an area that is studied by some philosophers, artists and scientists both in theory and in practice. The colors, which has an important place in the film art, are used by the artists for the purpose of creating meaning, transferring emotions and supporting the aesthetic and psychological effects of the images. There are three basic functions that ensure the use of colors for the purposes mentioned. Zettl calls these three main functions; informational function of color, compositional function of color and expressive function of color. Science fiction cinema has gained importance in parallel to recent developments in science and technology. As far as the historical pattern of this genre is considered, it can be noticed that the importance given to visuality increases simultaneously with the technological advancements. Therefore, colors as elements of visual narration, play equally crucial role in the cinematographic narration of this genre. The aim of this study is to examine three main functions of color usage in movies that are selected based on their specific themes and sub-genres of science fiction cinema. In theoretical framework of the study, color and science fiction topics are examined through various aspects. Then, the color usage for three main functions is examined and interpreted in Gattaca, Dark City, The Matrix, Blade Runner 2049, Mad Max: Fury Road, The Road, 2001: A Space Odyssey, Star Wars series, Avatar and Arrival films selected with the purposive sampling method. Keywords: Color, Cinematography, Visual Narrative, Science Fiction.