History WebVideo / Chroma

* JerkassToOne: While Karim and Kamel aren't exactly nice in the comedy moments, what with being prolific {{Deadpan Snarker}}s, the serious parts of their analysis have them somewhat respectful of the movies they review, even those they found bad. The two exceptions, one for each, are "Mac and Me", with Karim delivering the usual end-of-episode cinematographic aesop with genuine anger, and "Silent Night Deadly Night 2", which Kamel explicitly paints as an example of the worst fate cinema could suffer.

* IntentionalEngrishForFunny: The video Jérémy directs in Episode 11 has ridiculously bad English subtitles, most notably when he says "[[Film/Terminator2JudgmentDay Hasta la vista... baby]]", which is subtitled "Until the view... little children".

* PopCulturalOsmosisFailure: Karim and Kamel are alternate selves, but both movie buffs. However when Kamel mentions stuff like ''Film/{{ET}}'', Karim doesn't even know who Steven Spielberg is. [[spoiler: Turns out the possessed Jérémy and Loony Mustached Operator are somehow erasing good movies from existence, leading to Karim and the whole world not remember that they even existed.]]

* ArsonMurderAndJaywalking: Karim point out that in ''Knock Off'', Van Damme's character, a simple jeans salesman, is able to hold his own against the Russian mafia, the Hong Kong triad, the CIA and even fruit sellers.

* BaitAndSwitch: The seventh review starts with OrsonWelles telling Karim in a dream to review [[Film/CitizenKane a film that revolutionized cinematic techniques, where the titular character dies early on and where we learn what happened through flashbacks recounted by people who knew him.]] Karim proceeds to review ''Vidocq''.

* BadFuture: In Episode 7, a portrait of Orson Welles shows Karim a future where good movies have disappeared, resulting in everyone having bad taste, wearing ridiculous outfits or cracking bad jokes.
* BaitAndSwitch: The seventh review starts with Creator/OrsonWelles telling Karim to review [[Film/CitizenKane a film that revolutionized cinematic techniques, where the titular character dies early on and where we learn what happened through flashbacks recounted by people who knew him.]] Karim proceeds to review ''Vidocq''.

** Many of Morvan's jokes have this effect on Karim, he even [[DisproportionateRetribution headbutts him]] in the opening of Episode 1 in response to one.

* KillAndReplace: Heavily implied in the last episode since [[spoiler:Jérémy Morvain kills Jérémy Morvan even though ''Chroma'' is set before ''Crossed'', in which Morvan does appear]].
* LeaningOnTheFourthWall:
** In Episode 12, when Morvain asks how long it took him to find the reel projector (needed to watch the reel they found in episode 10), Karim answers "four months." Four months is the actual time it took for the episode to come out due to technical issues.

** In Episode 12, Karim reacts with disbelief when Gilles and Kamel explain to him that the method featured in ''Carnosaur'' for recreating dinosaurs by genetically engineering chickens is [[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jack_Horner_(paleontologist) actually being tried out by geneticists with some success]].

** Many of Jérémy's jokes have this effect on Karim.
** He also loses it when Kamel says he wishes ''Vidocq'' never existed, even though they both just panned it, because he believes every movie has a reason to exist.
** Kamel does not tolerate parodies of ''Goodfellas'' and when Jérémy shows him one he made, he ''[[ShootTheTelevision kicks the screen]]''.
* BigWhat: Karim has this reaction when he learns that ''[[TheDitz Jérémy]]'' of all people is a fan of Creator/JeanPaulSartre's ''Being and Nothingness''.

* TheReveal: [[WhamEpisode Episode 3]] reveals the existence of parallel universes, allowing Karim Debbache to converse with an alter-ego, Kamel Debbiche.

** In Episode 11, Morvain shows Kamel an awful video he made blending quotes from ''Goodfellas'', ''Film/TaxiDriver'', ''Film/Terminator2JudgmentDay'' and the BulletTime from ''Film/TheMatrix'' with [[IntentionalEngrishForFunny awful English subtitles]] and ''[[Film/Titanic1997 My Heart Will Go On]]'' [[SoundtrackDissonance playing in the background]].

--> All films are political.

--> The meaning of a film shouldn't be altered by [censored] [[EnforcedPlug monetary reasons]].

--> In a film, it is very hard to [[PoesLaw make a difference]] between what's descriptive and what's prescriptive.

* SimilarlyNamedWorks: {{Invoked}}. The ''Film/Troll2'' review starts with a mention of ''Casa 5'', from the same director, and a long and confusing list of films that have similar names and [[DolledUpInstallment serial numbers]] without being related to each other. He later notes that ''Film/Troll2'' isn't a sequel to ''Film/{{Troll|1986}}'' either. And then the list continues.

* The segments where Gilles and Jérémy tell how movies would end if their plots made sense are made with crude HandPuppets.
* Karim and Gilles are both shown to be terrible at drawing, and some segments use their badly-drawn illustrations.

* Karim doesn't even try to hide he's a huge one for Creator/JeanClaudeVanDamme, and spends a long sequence gushing about his badassery in ''Knock Off''.
* He's also apparently a fan of Creator/TerenceHill and Creator/BudSpencer, but he denies it [[BadLiar very unconvincingly]].

* ScrewThisImOuttaHere: Jérémy Morvan quits in Episode 6 after Karim rudely rejects his theory about ''Mac and Me'', and is replaced by Jérémy Morvain.

* DarkReprise: The 8th episode opens with pseudonym!Morvan singing a slowed-down, disturbingly ominous version of [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lNI9falAtqY Allô, allô, monsieur l'ordinateur.]]

* CallBack: The stoic cop saying "papers, please" was already a recurring character in ''Crossed''.
** In episode 5, Morvain mentions that he has a "commerce qualification, option small pets", also a joke from ''Crossed''.

* Karim doesn't even tried to hide he's a huge one for Creator/JeanClaudeVanDamme, and spends a long sequence gushing about his badassery in ''Knock Off''.

* {{Fanboy}}: Karim doesn't even tried to hide he's a huge one for Creator/JeanClaudeVanDamme, and spends a long sequence gushing about his badassery in ''Knock Off''.

* LeaningOnTheFourthWall: In Episode 12, when Morvain asks how long it took him to find the reel projector (needed to watch the reel they found in episode 10), Karim answers "four months." Four months is the actual time it took for the episode to come out due to technical issues.

* AlanSmithee: {{Invoked}}, [[spoiler:Kamel]] explains this pseudonym's meaning[[note]]Directors could use it to disguise their work on a rejected or bad movie.[[/note]] in the third episode.

* TheReveal: Episode 3 reveals the existence of parallel universes, allowing Karim Debbache to converse with an alter-ego, Kamel Debbiche.

-->"Peter Jackson's Brain Dead had to be renames Dead Alive for its release, not to be confused with Dead or Alive, Dead or Alive, Dead or Alive 2, Dead or Alive Final, Wanted Dead or Alive − the film not the series −, Wanted - Dead or Alive, Hell's Fury: Wanted Dead or Alive, Dinosaurs Dead or Alive, Hitler: Dead or Alive, Alive or Dead, More Dead than Alive, The Dead are Alive, or Dead or Alive. They called it that lest people get it wrong."

* AgentScully: Karim acknowledges that this trope can be used to help the audience accept the supernatural explanation by making the down to Earth explanation increasingly unlikely, but he criticizes its use in ''Signs'' (where the policewoman is just being a dick about it) and ''ParanormalActivity'' (where Micah ''does'' believe there is something supernatural going on, but [[ArbitrarySkepticism doesn't trust demonologists]] and [[BullyingADragon does his best to antagonize the demon]]).

** Mocked in the review for ''MacAndMe''. When Jeremy starts doing the same thing with the aliens from the movie, theorizing they were evil, Karim openly calls it bullshit and somewhat racist.
** {{Discussed}} in Episodes 9 and 10, in which Kamel explains why he believes ''{{Film/Halloween}}'' and ''Gremlins'' are misinterpreted by some.

* BullyingADragon: Karim mocks the tendency of Micah in ''ParanormalActivity'' to deliberately antagonize the supernatural presence in his house in a sketch where Jeremy is playing a threatening demon who is being bullied by Gilles like he's a little kid.

* CensoredForComedy: The film's countless product placements and Karim's {{Precision F Strike}}s are censored by a melodica note and a blurring machine in the ''MacAndMe'' review. Of course, by the end the blurring machine breaks and Karim asks the melodica man to stop it already.

* ConflictBall: Everyone in the crew picks it in the first episode where Karim headbutting Morvan out of frustration at his lack of seriousness leads to a lengthy gratuitous fight among the crew plus another man named Professor Kung-Fu. This is contrasted in episode 10, which is episode 1 as it happened in universe 2 (the review being about ''Gremlins'' instead of ''Troll2''): released on schedule with everyone getting along.

* ExecutiveMeddling: [[invoked]] Discussed by Karim in Episode 2, 6 and 8. It has a tendency to ruin the movies of competent film directors, ruining the original intention and alienating said directors from the producer in the first place. Karim theorizes that ''Knock Off'' is a mockery of Hollywood.

* RunningGag: Morvan, the Loony Mustached Operator and Karim all get their right hands wounded at some point (by a [[MakesJustAsMuchSenseInTheContext flag-shaped cup]], a razor-sharp DVD and a gunshot respectively).

* SimilarlyNamedWorks: [[Invoked]]. The ''Film/Troll2'' review starts with a mention of ''Casa 5'', from the same director, and a long and confusing list of films that have similar names and [[DolledUpInstallment serial numbers]] without being related to each other. He later notes that ''Film/Troll2'' isn't a sequel to ''Film/{{Troll|1986}}'' either. And then the list continues.

* StealthSequel: While ''Chroma'' poses as the SpiritualSequel of ''Crossed'' with more budget (although the movies reviewed in ''Chroma'' aren't about video games, unlike in ''Crossed''). It is also

-->'''Karim''': And everyone wins.
-->'''Kamel''': But if everyone wins, no one loses!
-->'''Karim''': Bingo!
-->'''Kamel''': Then, we won!
-->'''Karim''': Tringo!
-->'''Kamel''': Cool! Let's party ''(cue everyone partying)''

* ToiletHumor: Jérémy tells Karim to say "Truck", only for him to fart. This is so bad [[SarcasmMode it offends someone who posts on Twitter]].

* AbsurdlySharpBlade: Karim saw ''Film/KnockOff'' so many times on [=DVD=] that he describes the [=DVD=] as "sharp as a fucking razor". When thrown, it can slice through someone's cheek and get stuck in their head.
* AgentScully: Karim acknowledges that this trope can be used to help the audience accept the supernatural explanation by making the down to Earth explanation increasingly unlikely, but he criticizes its use in ''Film/{{Signs}}'' (where the policewoman is just being a dick about it) and ''Film/ParanormalActivity'' (where Micah ''does'' believe there is something supernatural going on, but [[ArbitrarySkepticism doesn't trust demonologists]] and [[BullyingADragon does his best to antagonize the demon]]).

** {{Invoked}} for ''Film/{{Signs}}'', where Karim and Kamel are identical in everything... except their opinion about the film. Karim thinks the film fails because he forcefully passes plot devices as "divine signals", which can fool the characters but not the viewers. Kamel points out that nothing in the film actually proves that the aliens are hostile, and that the characters who perceive divine signals might just as well be completely wrong; but the viewer is still led into adopting their point of view.
** Mocked in the review for ''Film/MacAndMe''. When Jeremy starts doing the same thing with the aliens from the movie, theorizing they were evil, Karim openly calls it bullshit and somewhat racist.

** In-universe, in Episode 3, [[spoiler:Kamel]] criticizes Highlander 2 for going for the cliché "CorruptCorporateExecutive trying to monopolize a vital resource" plot and says it never happens in real life. Well this kind of people do exist, as the [[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/California_electricity_crisis California electricity crisis]] proves it, to [[spoiler:Kamel]]'s shock.
** In Episode 12, Karim reacts with disbelief when Gilles and Kamel explain to him that the movie's method for recreating dinosaurs by genetically engineering chickens is [[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jack_Horner_(paleontologist) actually being tried by geneticists with some success]].
* ArcWelding: Each episode of Chroma not only focuses on a movie, but also presents an overarching plot in which the greatest movies ever made are [[RetGone disappearing from existence]] and similar movies of far worse quality have become notorious in their place.
* ArsonMurderAndJaywalking: Karim point out that in ''Film/{{Knock Off}}'', Van Damme's character, a simple jeans salesman, is able to hold his own against the Russian mafia, the Hong Kong triad, the CIA and even fruit sellers.

* BaitAndSwitch: The seventh review starts with Creator/OrsonWelles telling Karim to review [[Film/CitizenKane a film that revolutionized cinematic techniques, where the titular character dies early on and where we learn what happened through flashbacks recounted by people who knew him.]] Karim proceeds to review ''Film/{{Vidocq}}''.

* BullyingADragon: Karim mocks the tendency of Micah in ''Film/ParanormalActivity'' to deliberately antagonize the supernatural presence in his house in a sketch where Jeremy is playing a threatening demon who is being bullied by Gilles like he's a little kid.
* CallBack: The stoic cop saying "papers, please" was already a recurring character in ''WebVideo/{{Crossed}}''.
** In episode 5, Morvain mentions that he has a "commerce qualification, option small pets", also a joke from ''WebVideo/{{Crossed}}''.

* CensoredForComedy: The film's countless product placements and Karim's {{Precision F Strike}}s are censored by a melodica note and a blurring machine in the ''Film/MacAndMe'' review. Of course, by the end the blurring machine breaks and Karim asks the melodica man to stop it already.

* ConflictBall: Everyone in the crew picks it in the first episode where Karim headbutting Morvan out of frustration at his lack of seriousness leads to a lengthy gratuitous fight among the crew plus another man named Professor Kung-Fu. This is contrasted in episode 10, which is episode 1 as it happened in universe 2 (the review being about ''Film/{{Gremlins}}'' instead of ''Film/Troll2''): released on schedule with everyone getting along.

* DoNotDoThisCoolThing: {{Discussed}}. Creator/FrancoisTruffaut's famous quote about how anti-war movies all end up being pro-war is mentionned in the ''Film/{{Goodfellas}}'' review to point out that the film is very fast paced and yet, contrary to ''Film/Scarface1983'', does not end with an epic battle and an iconic death, but with the protagonist leading the kind of mundane and boring life he didn't want, thus avoiding that pitfall to an extent.

* ImpaledPalm: In Episode 10, the Cerberus shoots a bullets through his hand the second he shows his [=ID=].
* ItsALongStory: Jérémy holds the evil Gilles at gunpoint. Karim asks how he got a Beretta, and when Jérémy says the stock phrase, Karim just tells him to continue. Jérémy proceeds to recite his whole colorful life, getting sidetracked for so long the evil Gilles escapes when they were distracted by Jérémy's speech.

* MagicAIsMagicA: In Episode 3, Karim criticizes Highlander 2 for not obeying the clear established rules of the previous movie, saying that it takes the spectator away from the movie, and is a sign of disrespect.
* MistakenForRacist: In episode 10, Karim faces the Cerberus, who's dressed as a policeman, only for the latter to ask "papers, please". Karim is pissed, apparently thinking the policeman is controlling him because he looks Arabic[[note]]face-based identity controls are an actual and serious problem in France[[/note]], while it was actually a riddle. As Kamel figures out, the policeman was asking to see not his "papiers" (papers) but his "pas-pieds" (not-feet), meaning his hands.
* MotorMouth: As a succesor of ''WebVideo/{{Crossed}}'', Karim Debbache's fast elocution is par for the course.
* MultipleEndings: Highlander 2 has two endings, making Karim [[spoiler: (Kamel in reality)]] realize that the movie had a chaotic production, lifting some of the blame he's had for it.
* PoliceBrutality: Even though the Cerberus' legitimity as a policeman is questionable, the trope is invoked when he coldly asks "Papers, please" and then shoots through Karim's hands.
* PopCulturalOsmosisFailure: Karim and Kamel are alternate selves, but both movie buffs. However when Kamel mentions stuff like ''Film/{{ET}}'', Karim doesn't even know who Steven Spielberg is. [[spoiler: Turns out alternate Jérémy and Gilles are somehow erasing good movies from existence, leading to Karim and the whole world not remember that they even existed.]]
* RedFilterOfDoom: In Episode 8, the introduction features the alternate Jérémy erasing many movies from existence in a room, the whole scene being filtered in red.
* RetGone: Morvan and the Loony Mustached Operator make good movies vanish from existence in Karim's universe, so the crew and supposedly everyone forgets about their existence.

** Kamel Debbiche doesn't say his name at the start of the third episode and the background is red this time, hinting that he's not Karim Debbache.

* RunningGag: Morvan, the Loony Mustached Operator and Karim all get their right hands wounded at some point (by a flag-shaped cup, a razor-sharp DVD and a gunshot respectively).

* SimilarlyNamedWorks: [[invoked]] The ''Film/Troll2'' review starts with a mention of ''Casa 5'', from the same director, and a long and confusing list of films that have similar names and [[DolledUpInstallment serial numbers]] without being related to each other. He later notes that ''Film/Troll2'' isn't a sequel to ''Film/{{Troll|1986}}'' either. And then the list continues.

-->"Peter Jackson's Brain Dead had to be rename Dead Alive for its release, not to be confused with Dead or Alive, Dead or Alive, Dead or Alive 2, Dead or Alive Final, Wanted Dead or Alive − the film not the series −, Wanted - Dead or Alive, Hell's Fury: Wanted Dead or Alive, Dinosaurs Dead or Alive, Hitler: Dead or Alive, Alive or Dead, More Dead than Alive, The Dead are Alive, or Dead or Alive. They called it that in case people would get it wrong."

* SpiritualSequel: ''Chroma'' is basically ''Crossed'' with more budget; the main difference is the movies reviewed in ''Chroma'' are nor video game adaptations neither movies about video games in general. It can also be considered as a '''prequel''', since Kamel explains his presence to Karim by saying that his backstory could become source material for a sequel.

Since the plot involves parallel universes, here are the characters for the sake of clarity:

* Kamel Debbiche, Karim's counterpart in universe 2 who travels to universe 1.

* The Loony Mustached Operator (or "Mustache Gilles"), also from universe 2, who does follow them.

* AbsurdlySharpBlade: Karim saw ''Film/KnockOff'' so many times on [=DVD=] that he describes the [=DVD=] as "sharp as a fucking razor". When thrown, it can slice through someone's cheek and get stuck on the head.

* AluminumChristmasTrees: In-universe, in Episode 3, Karim criticizes Highlander 2 for going for the cliché "CorruptCorporateExecutive trying to monopolize a vital resource" plot and says it never happens in real life. Well this kind of people do exist, as the [[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/California_electricity_crisis California electricity crisis]] proves it, to Karim's shock.

* BrickJoke: In the first episode, Morvan mentions the "Pseudonyms", undefined monsters that "drink your blood and replace it with urine". A few episodes later, [[spoiler:Mustache Gilles and the Pseudonym-possessed Morvan]] are shown to bleed urine.[[note]]It's a pun on the French expression "pisser le sang" ("to piss blood" i.e to bleed heavily), inverted in "saigner de la pisse" ("to bleed piss")[[/note]]

* DoNotDoThisCoolThing: {{Discussed|Trope}}. Creator/FrancoisTruffaut's famous quote about how anti-war movies all end up being pro-war is mentionned in the ''Film/{{Goodfellas}}'' review to point out that the film is very fast paced and yet, contrary to ''Film/Scarface1983'', does not end with an epic battle and an iconic death, but with the protagonist leading the kind of mundane and boring life he didn't want, thus avoiding that pitfall to an extent.

* TheEndingChangesEverything: A lot of twists happens near the end of each episode, changing the persective of what's been happening during it.
* EvilTwin: The alternate Jérémy and Gilles are apparently up to no good, making good movies disappear.

* FluffyTheTerrible: Horrible monsters able to replace someone' blood with piss are lurking around. Their names? Pseudonyms. Downplayed as he word isn't cute sounding but doesn't sound threatening either.
* {{Foreshadowing}}: Episode 3, which places an emphasis on Canon, features Jérémy and Gilles acting out of character. It foreshadows the fact that they are merely alternate selves of the original crew belonging to a parallel universe.
* ImNotDoingThatAgain: In the ''Troll 2'' review, he notes that the only way to be scared by the film would be "to watch it on a smartphone, chased by twenty hungry wolves." Before adding "And that's something I'll never do again."

* RetGone: Morvan and Mustache Gilles make good movies vanish from existence in Karim's universe, so the crew and supposedly everyone forgets about their existence.

** In episode 11, you can see the movie posters in the background gradually disappearing as Mustache Gilles and Morvan keep erasing good films from existence (and since "all films are linked together", some films disappearing means that others never get made). In episode 12, as Karim and Gilles start remembering good movies, the posters also start reappearing.
* RunningGag: Morvan, Mustache Gilles and Karim all get their right hands wounded at some point (by a flag-shaped cup, a razor-sharp DVD and a gunshot respectively).
* SequelHook: The last scene of the final episode features Mustache Gilles appearing in the frame.

Funded popularly on Ulule, Chroma got a budget of a whooping 200,000€, allowing the show to have more special effects, a completely redesigned setting for the show, and creating an overarching plot besides the movies each episode is focused on.

The first (and so far only) season is complete with 12 episodes:

* AbsurdlySharpBlade: Karim saw Knockoff so many times on [=DVD=] that he describes the [=DVD=] as "sharp as a fucking razor". When thrown, it can slice through someone's cheek and get stuck on the head.

* AlienBlood: The evil Gilles has yellow transparent blood instead of red blood, betraying his inhuman nature.
* AlanSmithee[[invoked]]: Karim [[spoiler: in reality Kamel]] mentions Alan Smithee, a pseudonym directors could use to disguise their work on a rejected or bad movie.

* AlternateUniverse: Different parallel universes are featured, the one Karim lives in being apparently devoid of Creator/StevenSpielberg.

* JerkassToOne: While Karim and Kamel aren't exactly nice in the comedy moments, what with being prolific {{Deadpan Snarker}}s, the serious parts of their analysis have them somewhat respectful of the movies they review, even those they found bad. The two exceptions, one for each, are "Mac and Me", with Karim delivering the usual [[AnAesop end-of-episode cinematographic aesop]] with genuine anger, and "Silent Night Deadly Night 2", which Kamel explicitly paints as an example of the worst fate cinema could suffer.

* AnAesop: Each of Chroma's episode contains one in relation with the movie the episode is about.

** Several of Karim's friends appear in episode 6, notably the WebVideo/JoueurDuGrenier, whose own episodes Karim is writing.

* DoNotDoThisCoolThing: [[invoked]] Creator/FrancoisTruffaut's famous quote about how anti-war movies all end up being pro-war is mentionned in the ''Film/{{Goodfellas}}'' review to point out that the film is very fast paced and yet, contrary to ''Film/Scarface1983'', does not end with an epic battle and an iconic death, but with the protagonist leading the kind of mundane and boring life he didn't want, thus avoiding that pitfall to an extent.

* PoliceBrutality: Even though the Cerberus' legitimity as a policeman is questionable, the tropes is invoked when he coldly asks "Papers, please" and then shoots through Karim's hands.