Theatre Design & Technology - Fall 2008 - 15

HOUSE, "The Lobby." Photo by Bob Vukasovich.

HOUSE, "Isolation Unit." Photo by Bob Vukasovich.
YouTube posted by mylifeonmars.)
Film does extremely well with the large vista or long shot.
The visual impact is much reduced on television where the
smaller screen will reduce the people in a long-shot to tiny
specs. As a part of the cinematic vocabulary, the contrast of
small space and large space is a potent device. Tarsem, director
of both The Cell and The Fall, is a master of the use of large
colorful vistas and colorless enclosed space to manipulate our
emotions. Both stories explore the huge possibilities of creative
imagination, and the seemingly limited power of reality. In both
cases, a patient is bodily confined in cramped medical rooms.
Reality is literally stifling, while the power of imagination-
inside our heads-is huge and limitless. One scene shows

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the heroes of this story-the Bandits-
standing in a vast landscape as a metaphor
for the imagination.
Creating dimension in costumes is also
crucial. James Acheson describes tricks
he has used to add depth. "People always
imagine that big budgets go along with big
features." Speaking of his experience on
The Last Emperor, he was responsible for
9,500 costumes on less than a $2 million
dollar budget. Although the film took place
in the elaborate Chinese court, he could
not afford to embroider the costumes, or to
make them of real silk. Painting the motifs
would appear too flat, and not rich or interesting enough to be royal robes. Acheson
is well known for his fondness for using
theatrical techniques to fool the camera.
To add complexity and depth to the Chinese
court robes, the construction crew first
used photographic silk screens on rayon
fabric, and then made aluminum casts of embroidery motifs.
The casts were coated with metal plating and attached over the
silk screened patterns for dimension. "The head dresses are
made of tea strainers, bits and pieces" Acheson confessed.
The objective for all these tricks is to fool the camera eye,
and therefore persuade the audience this story is worthy of total
immersion. We will forget that we are, in fact, in a refrigerated movie theater with our feet in a disturbing sticky spot, or
on a couch folding laundry, or in a bus watching a hand-held
device. To immerse ourselves, we must invest our emotions in
the story, and not encounter any incongruities that will pull us
away from the story itself.
Immersion for film and television depends on heightened
emotion. The story line or parts of it will be interrupted regularly-what will bring us back immediately? One device is to hook
our emotional curiosity. Sound design can play an interesting
role. Bob Vukasovich points to an early example that created
a large impact. "The first show to drastically heighten emotion
with the music track was Miami Vice. "Instead of a short theme
ditty specifically composed for television, the show incorporated contemporary rock music to stand in for the characters'
mind set and create apprehension. The music was, daringly,
louder than the character's conversations, allowing the audience to absorb the emotions through the music. We now take
this technique for granted, but watching a sequence available
on YouTube demonstrates how a montage of images to musicinfluenced by early MTV-turns a TV sequence into a riveting
mini-movie. (As an illustration, view the YouTube reel Montage
from Miami Vice with Depeche Mode posted by rfid4dna or
Miami Vice, and Testarossa, Season 3 posted by perhaps62 to
contrast silent sequences with music montages.)
All designers manipulate imagery to create emotional response. The production design in House manipulates our fear

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of Theatre Design & Technology - Fall 2008