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Playing Matrix for some kids with audio description on. A line sounds to my ear like "Now at a night club, couples in skimpy leather outfits and studied colors grind to the beat."

I can't make sense of what I hear to be "studied colors". The adjective "studied" means not spontaneous or something achieved with effort. I have never seen it used to describe colors. The people in the scene wear black and other dark colors. As far as I know, "studied" is never used to mean "dark". Am I wrong? Or did I hear it wrong?

The clip can be found here.

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    I'm voting to close this question as off-topic because transcriptions and listening exercises are off topic.
    – rjpond
    Oct 29, 2017 at 17:01
  • What @rjpond said. I haven't listened to the clip, but given the context it's bound to be studded collars.
    – FumbleFingers
    Oct 29, 2017 at 17:11
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    Audio transcription is outside the scope of the site, but this question is asking whether "studied colors" means something in English, not "what was said in the clip".
    – ColleenV
    Oct 29, 2017 at 18:13
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    Comments are not for extended discussion; this conversation has been moved to chat.
    – ColleenV
    Oct 30, 2017 at 1:08
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    It's an American accent. He does pronounce "collars" rather oddly, IMO. Almost as if he had gotten tripped up by the vowel in stud(ded). That said, the phrase studied colors (which is not what he says) could refer to deliberate avoidance of certain colors. If they're wearing only blacks and grays, those colors could be called "studied colors".
    – Tᴚoɯɐuo
    Oct 30, 2017 at 12:03

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The narration sounds like it might be computer-generated. The cadence and tones don't seem to match naturally spoken English. This can often lead to hard-to-understand words.

In this case, I think "he" said "studded collars", which would not be an unusual thing to wear for someone in a skimpy leather outfit:

enter image description here

Edit

To answer the rest of your question,

The adjective "studied" means not spontaneous or something achieved with effort. I have never seen it used to describe colors

You found the correct definition of studied, and you're correct that this adjective wouldn't be used very often to describe colors. A possible use might be in the world of art criticism. In the world of outfits worn to nightclubs, it would seem out of place.

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  • It has a sort of "reportage" cadence, like a "60 Minutes" voice-over.
    – Tᴚoɯɐuo
    Oct 30, 2017 at 12:10

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