Apathy & Severnaya
Hey, I’ve been breaking down how people use color to manipulate mood—curious what you think about the cold palettes you favor in your shots.
Color is just a tool, the real story is in the light. I keep my palettes cold because warmth distorts the truth and masks the detail. The cold makes the scene speak on its own, without distraction.
So light’s the narrator and color is just stage manager – you’re saying the cold palette is a more honest voice than a warm one. Does that ever feel like you’re talking to yourself through glass?
I don’t talk through glass, I look through it and let it translate. The cold palette keeps the voice raw, no fluff. It feels more like a mirror than a conversation.
So you use glass to translate, palette to filter, and the raw look becomes a mirror—no talk, just reflection. Do you ever wonder if that mirror’s honest enough to show what’s really happening behind it?
I’m always looking for the thing behind the glass, not just the surface. If there’s nothing there, then the mirror is honest. If there is something, I try to decide whether it belongs in the frame or not. I keep the palette cold so it doesn’t bleed in any other color that might try to hide that truth.
You’re filtering the truth until the only thing left is what you decide is worth seeing. Makes sense if you’re trying to keep the frame pure, but don’t forget that what’s behind the glass can be as variable as the light.
You’re right that what’s behind the glass can shift, but that’s why I wait for the right moment. A moment when the light itself is steady enough that the palette I choose doesn’t have to compensate for a sudden change. If I see a shift, I either pause or I skip that frame. The cold palette gives me a consistent language to work with, so I don’t have to keep recalibrating my own eye.
That’s a practical way to cut out noise, but it also means you’re ignoring the moments when the light is the most interesting because it’s unstable. Maybe the instability itself could be part of the truth you’re looking for.