Colour and Lighting
Through most of the film colour is particularly drab and muted, but several sections are more colourful. For example the opening titles of the film show Billy jumping on his bed, with his colourless surrounding strongly contrast to the smiling joy on his face and the electricity it is spiky hair.
The Elliot’s house is small, claustrophobic and miserably furnished. There is little natural light is usually dark and artificially lit. Note that it's not until Billy receives hisacceptance letter to the Royal Ballet School that natural light even enters the kitchen.
There is a fairly even balance between interior and exterior locations but allthe scenes all remain fairly colourless. Colour (or lack of it) is to highlight the differences between Billy's world and the world he is moving in to.
The limited use of colour reminds us that the family world is collapsing just as new horizons are opening up to Billy.
The scenes that are meant to be taking place outside the community of Durham are generally more open and colourful. The exterior of the ballet school is white and imposing. Billy’s and his father walk across a large expanse of lush, green grass (the first lawn we have seen in the film) to arrive at school. The interior of the school is open with immensely high domed ceilings, clearly contrasted with the closed, claustrophobic yet familiar world of Billy’s neighborhood.This spaciousness symbolises the new possibilities for Billy and his new path into the world. The clean white lines at the ballet school are also strongly contrasted to the blackness of the coal mines. This reinforces that Billy’s way is opening up just as his family’s world and traditions are collapsing
The Elliot’s house is small, claustrophobic and miserably furnished. There is little natural light is usually dark and artificially lit. Note that it's not until Billy receives hisacceptance letter to the Royal Ballet School that natural light even enters the kitchen.
There is a fairly even balance between interior and exterior locations but allthe scenes all remain fairly colourless. Colour (or lack of it) is to highlight the differences between Billy's world and the world he is moving in to.
The limited use of colour reminds us that the family world is collapsing just as new horizons are opening up to Billy.
The scenes that are meant to be taking place outside the community of Durham are generally more open and colourful. The exterior of the ballet school is white and imposing. Billy’s and his father walk across a large expanse of lush, green grass (the first lawn we have seen in the film) to arrive at school. The interior of the school is open with immensely high domed ceilings, clearly contrasted with the closed, claustrophobic yet familiar world of Billy’s neighborhood.This spaciousness symbolises the new possibilities for Billy and his new path into the world. The clean white lines at the ballet school are also strongly contrasted to the blackness of the coal mines. This reinforces that Billy’s way is opening up just as his family’s world and traditions are collapsing