Various Set Designs The Diary of Anne Frank

Various Set Designs The Diary of Anne Frank

The Impact of Sets • We all know and accept that particular word choice (syntax), and character descriptions adjust the MOOD of a story. The choices that an author makes rely heavily on the TONE of the writing to impact our MOOD in the reading. • The same can be said for the design of what we see. • In Visual Media (including film, television, video, and games), the design of the set should be taken into consideration just as much as the description of a character. In the same way that a character may be described as confident, beautiful, or weak, (and this impacts the mood) the set design impacts what we are meant to understand, feel, and react to in the story. • Sets are designed to serve as forms of an additional character. They create the world of the story and are often responsible for our first understanding of the THEMES, CHARACTERS, CONFLICTS, and MOODS.

Below are a few sets from famous films/television. Take a moment to discuss how the specific choices in the design (color, lighting, décor, shapes) that directly or indirectly impact the MOOD of the piece. Central Perk Café from the television show Friends. A dank sewer from a horror film.

A beautiful dinner in Titanic. A front stoop in Bird Box. A well for water in The Ring.

Study the following images taken from various stage productions of Anne Frank. What are the benefits of each? How are they similar? How are they different?

How does the Set Designer/ Director/Lighting Director utilize space and design as a form of character to convey symbolism, space, plot, and setting?

What effect does the lighting (exposed and transparent), the edges (mixed sharp and rounded), the various levels have on the viewer? R. Finkelstein_University of Cincinnati

Edvard Munch’s The Scream Compare the use of lines, corners, flow, lighting…what does the set attempt to convey?

Things to consider: The unblinking, near blinding light, demanding our attention; why would this be done? The symbolism of the tree, poking through… CSUF, James Young Theater Production

The claustrophobic nature of the walls, the lighting of the tree (another tree, why? ), the lighting being dulled… Carolyn Mraz, Oberlin Summer Theatre Festival_Claustrophobic Set design

The lighting (glowing), the edges (how do they contrast the first picture? ), the role of darkness encroaching… B. Vasta_Shakespeare Theatre of NJ

Another angle…is there anything altered? Does it function as the same set?

How does the light effect play out on the set? To what purpose? What does it remind you of/symbolize? Robert Mark Morgan_Paul Barnes Collaboration

Theatre in the Round—watching a play as a nearparticipant…in what ways does this change the perspective of the play? Does it make you a member of the cast, or witnesses of the actions, or unwelcomed presences to the actions on stage?

How does this design combine various portions of the other sets we’ve just finished examining?