In the past decade, an abundance of writings on color aesthetics and technologies has created a rich subfield within film studies. Yet, this research (Gunning et. al. 2014, Higgins 2007, Coates 2010, Misek 2010) tends to focus almost entirely on cinematic color processes (such as hand-tinting and Technicolor) and their symbolic or affective impact on film spectatorship. Given the  prevalence of digital technology over the last half century, it is surprising to see color in electronic and digital media, as well as broader intermedial frameworks, yet to receive the same attention. When it comes to color studies in electronic media, recent publications by Kane (2014), Somaini (2016), and Murray (2018) demonstrate a desire to apply color theory and aesthetics to non-cinematic media forms, but this field has yet to address the more complex sub-topics of contemporary media culture.

This panel explores nuanced color aesthetics and technologies across media, paying particular attention to the ways in which electronic and digital media challenge established theories of visual perception and moving images. We are especially interested in questions of materiality, ephemerality, and transcoding across media platforms.

Some questions to consider:

-       Does digital media render color more ephemeral? Does algorithmic or digitally manipulable color as seen in platforms such as Photoshop create a more immediate or detached experience of color?

-       Does digital color represent a rupture from the experience of color in analog media and the plastic arts, or is it simply part of a broader transhistorical narrative?

-       Is color intrinsically intermedial? If not, what claims can be made about color’s relationship to medium-specificity?

-       What is color’s relationship to convergence? With digital streaming and color grading, how do we distinguish between color film, television, and Internet aesthetics?