Transcription: Researching Environments

After understanding the period in which the story is set, I decided to do some initial research for the environment. I began by identifying German Expressionism in film, and how it was used back in time to create delightful yet dark and creepy environments.
Distortion is an important feature of German expressionism cinema, but also high contrast shadows, something I will need to pay a lot of attention, to design really atmospheric environments.
The films I looked at were Das Cabinet des Dr. Caligari by Robert Wiene, Genuine by Robert Wiene, Von Morgens Bis Mitternachts by Karl Heinz Martin, among many others.



Das cabinet des D. Caligari, 1919, Robert Wiene

Genuine, 1920, Robert Wiene

Von Morgens Bis Mitternachts, 1920, Karl Heinz Martin

In particular, Der Golem directed by Paul Wegener in 1920, caught my attention because the use of different colour lighting in different parts of the film. for instance, it would start by having blue then changing to green or any other colour, a technique, I have never seen used in cinema. Interesting nonetheless.


Der Golem, 1920, Paul Wegener

After looking at the trailers, I have found some film stills and started by building some influence maps, which will aid me when creating my environments.

Alongside of my research to find German Expressionism in the environments of film, I thought it would be also a good idea to understand Expressionist architecture. So I did some more research to identify buildings which belong to that art movement and understand their characteristics.

Finally, earlier this year I was presented by my girlfriend Ivana to this animation by Czech animator and filmmaker Jiri Barta, a adaptation from a  well-known tale into an stop-motion animation, which dark, distortion and creepiness are very present.

I will put only the 1st part of the animation, where he shows the city of Hamelin. To better describe what I am talking about.

Artists Researched: 


Painters & Printmakers
Erich Heckel 
Ludwig Kirchner


Filmmakers:
Robert Wein
Karl Heinz Martin
Paul Wegener
Jiri Barta


Architects:
Jean Renaudie
Daniel Libeskind
Frank Owen Gehry

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