The language of colour. Applying cinematographic colour semiotics in classroom

Colour is a component of the audiovisual language capable of communicating ideas, messages and meanings. Appreciating colour in cinema as an educational resource increases the possibilities of acquiring knowledge through mass media. In consequence, students learn how to interact with films, how to decode them and how to develop certain values. This paper defends the importance of audiovisual literacy in education. It introduces a series of teaching plans regarding cinematographic colour semiotics. Furthermore, colour's functions are applied in several cinematographic examples and catalogued by the most common chromatic combinations in films as: complementary, discordant or desaturated colours. After the study, it is shown that the activities presented are suitable for all educational levels. Chromatic function in cinema proves having a series of advantages, such as pedagogical adaptability or a wide range of topics and tools to obtain critical thinking in class.