I want the audience to first feel some sort of sympathy towards the main character. Then as he finds the fake solution to the problem, some sort of mystifying mood or some sort of ominous feeling that the viewer will start to feel. As he goes everything is going to be seen in a different light, and everything will feel more upbeat and happy.
In the start, he can have a pale looking blue to symbolize that he seems less confident than the other people who will have stronger colors. The colors of his body will not be as strong as the girl that he meets in the first scene showing that he is not confident enough or do not have enough will to impress anyone. Then when he goes through the machine, his color of his shirt will change to a more saturated blue, so that out of the whole entire picture, he is the one that sticks out among of all of the people. There will also be a blue tint to the air in the beginning and then go to a more orange color in the air, showing the difference in mood, and the change in scene.