Color in Film

If I were to make this story into a film I would chose to make it in color versus black and white.  I think that it is important to show the audience color because of many reasons.  One reason would be to show the colors of Ramona’s drawings.  One moment that is important for making the film in color is when Ramona is reviewing her Christmas list after finding out her father was lost his job.  It is a very important moment and it gives the audience a better image when it is filmed in color.  On page 2215 ‘Ramona studied her crayons, chose a pinky-red one because it seemed the happiest color, and printed one more item on her Christmas list to make up for all she had crossed out.  One happy family.  Besides the words she drew four smiling faces and beside them, the face of a yellow cat, also smiling.’  Another moment that seems to make the story important to be in color rather than black and white is when Ramona gets her sheep costume and is about to be in the play at church.  ‘She yanked off the white terry-cloth headdress with pink-lined ears that she was wearing and stuffed it into the pocket of her car coat……She squirmed on the lumpy terry-cloth tail sewn to the seat of her pajamas.  Ramona could not pretend that faded pajamas printed with an army of pink rabbits, half of them upside down, made her look like a sheep, and Ramona was usually good at pretending.’ (2243)  Throughout this chapter, Ramona and the Three Wise Persons, it is important for the audience to feel what Ramona is feeling every time she looks down at her faded pink pajamas.  Her father tries to convince her that no one will notice, with one of his grandmother’s quotes, “Those pink bunnies will never be noticed from a trotting horse.” (2243)  Ramona feels better when she meets the girls playing the three wise persons and one of them paints a black nose on Ramona.  Somehow the black nose takes away the feeling of not looking like a sheep with her faded pink rabbit pajamas.  ‘Ramona felt so much better, she could almost pretend she was woolly.  She peeled off her coat and found that the faded pink rabbits really didn’t show much in the dim light.’ (2245)  There are even small things within the story that really help the audience paint a picture in color.  A small reference to color is made on page 2244, ‘Ramona’s eye caught the reflection of her face distorted in a green Christmas ornament.’  Even though it is such a small reference, the audience wouldn’t have that knowledge of the smallest detail such as a green ornament hadn’t the film been made in color.