All the colour in his films is exaggerated, whether it is making it dull and less colourful than it should be. He always uses a contrast between bright and dull in his films. In Strictly Ballroom all the dancers are wearing very bright and shiny costumes, which are greatly exaggerated. At the beginning of the film Fran's dress is very dull and plain but when she dances with Scott at the end she is dressed in the same vibrant style as the other dancers. Also inside the dance hall everything is bright, vibrant and exaggerated but whenever we are taken out of the dance hall it is almost as if we are watching it on a black and white screen as there is no colour at all. This is another way in which Luhrmann reminds us of the separate isolated world, in this case the world of the dance hall.
There is not such a big contrast in Romeo and Juliet; however there is still a contrast in the form of what the actors are wearing. The Montague's wear loose Hawaiian shirts in contrast with the all black cowboy style of the Capulet's. This contrast in colour also highlights the concept of good and evil. Also when Mercutio is dying all the colour begins to drain from the scene.
Like Strictly Ballroom, Moulin Rouge has vast contrasts in colour especially when there are scenes outside the world of the Moulin Rouge. The courtesans are dressed in bright vibrant colours in very much the same way as the dancers in Strictly Ballroom. As in Strictly Ballroom when we leave the Moulin Rouge and go into the outside world all colour is lost and everything is extremely dreary. The Moulin Rouge is coloured very prominently red which is a colour often associated with passion or love and reflects the actions of those who visit it.
Another technique that defines Baz Luhrmanns directing is his use of music. He uses music in several different ways such as for building up the atmosphere or mirroring what's going on in the scene.