Process Journal #1: Pre-Production Research/Brainstorming
(Image from The Cabinet of Dr. Caligari 1920)
At the beginning of the first semester, our class was introduced to the film movement of German Expressionism. We had first learned the overall background of German Expressionism and proceeded to understand the distinct cinematic style and theme the movement had produced. We were then assigned to watch Fritz Lang’s “M”, which is an example German Expressionist film, and make note of the context, narrative, theme, and styles/techniques that was present in the film. We were also given additional readings to expand our understandings of German expressionism. Overall, based on my learnings, I have understood the context of German Expressionism and its particular style as the following:
Theme The German Expressionism was an artistic movement that occurred in the early 20th century and had influenced music, theater, painting, architecture, and film. The movement sought to reflect emotion over realism, and this purpose led to a spread of expressionist movies with horror themes “whose fantastic storylines invoked strong emotional responses and granted wide artistic freedom.” Horror elements in the film were prone to be inspired by “a dark introspection brought about by Germany’s involvement in WWI.” The following are certain elements that are repeated throughout the genre:
Anti-heroic central characters
Involvement of madness, paranoia, obsession told in whole or in part from a subjective point of view
Primarily urban setting or nightmarishly complex
Motifs of claustrophobia and paranoia are produced by the films’ dramatic effects
Much of these elements are prominent in The Cabinet of Dr. Caligari and M.
Style According to MUBI, films of this movement embodies the “German style.” Has “emphasis on design or mise-en-scene, uncanny atmosphere, and composition” and less on the story and editing. “The Film image must become graphic art” (Hermann Warm).
(The Cabinet of Dr. Caligari: “Murder Room” by Hermann Warm; German Cinematheque Berlin)
(The Cabinet of Dr. Caligari: “Prison Cell” by Hermann Warm)
As seen from Hermann Warm’s design for the“Murder Room” and “Prison Cell” from The Cabinet of Dr. Caligari:
Sets are totally artificial and stylized. It is “stripped of all realistic details and psychology - sets that become symbolic diagrams of emotional states.” It is as if “paintings come to life.”
Theatrical composition
Complex architectural and compositional possibilities
Another key aspect is lighting and photography. Usually, there are
Stark contrasts of light and shadow for various effects (chiaroscuro lighting)
Atmospheric lighting
Strange asymmetrical camera angles, little camera movement
Shadows and silhouettes
Such Expressionist techniques aim to “evoke mystery, alienation, disharmony, hallucination, dreams. Extreme emotional states, destabilization.”
(Chiaroscuro lighting in The Cabinet of Dr. Caligari)
Influences/Legacy As the inflation had ended in 1924, Weimar reality stabilized and films “sought to be realistic, objective, documentary” (in accordance with the “New Objectivity” in painting, photography, and literature). Furthermore, the introduction of sound after 1928 shaped films into a more “realistic” form. With Hollywood’s growing interest in the German style, and the political upheaval of the Nazi party, many German filmmakers (Lubitsch, Murnau), actors, and cameramen integrated themselves into the Hollywood studio system. They continued their legacy of the German style and relived the Expressionist techniques in Surrealist film, avant-garde cinema, horror films, and American film noir of the 1940s and 50s.
Its influence can be seen in:
Shower scene from Hitchcock's Psycho (1960): Norman's blurred image seen through the shower curtain is reminiscent of Nosferatu's shadow. Thus, the idea that shadows take an ominous presence of their own is repeated.
- Influence in contemporary films Science fiction films often borrow the stylistic elements of German Expressionism, most noticeably in their depiction of the future metropolitan landscape.
(Above: Blade Runner 1983, Below: Metropolis 1927) There are various adaptations of the style, most notably in the contemporary filmography of Tim Burton. His designs of Gotham City in his 1992 film Batman Returns is reminiscent of Lang’s Metropolis. The character of Edward Scissorhands is also somewhat a descendant of Caesar, Caligari’s somnambulist servant from the Cabinet of Dr. Caligari.
Brainstorming
To produce a German Expressionist inspired film, I sought inspirations from films of the genre produced in varying time periods. I thought that this would help me learn more about how a film could blend certain elements of the expressionist style with its own distinctiveness. I also expected this to help me narrow my goals and ideas so I could ultimately decide whether I would make a film that is an homage to German Expressionism (thus attempting to completely replicate the style of the German expressionist film) or make one that utilizes certain elements of the genre to take the expressionist approach (such as Tim Burton’s Edward Scissorhands or Argento’s Suspiria).
During this step I watched Fritz Lang’s M (1931), Tim Burton’s Sleepy Hollow (1999), and Dario Argento’s Suspiria (1977).
I was especially attracted to Suspiria's visuals - specifically, the psychedelic lighting. I was interested in how the color hue and its high saturation establishes a certain type of atmosphere. I was willing to incorporate this into my film, so I did additional research on the lighting of Suspiria. My research on this can be seen in Process Journal no.5.
Works Cited Burns, William F. From the Shadows: Nosferatu and the German Expressionist Aesthetic. Brookdale Community College, 2016. Mise-en-scène - The journal of Film & Visual Narration, journals.sfu.ca/msq/index.php/msq/article/view/5/pdf_1. Accessed 17 Feb. 2019. "German Expressionism." EyeB-Film Studies, edited by Anthony Hurst, worldtravelingtestamentofmabuse.weebly.com/german-expressionism1.html. Accessed 17 Feb. 2019. Kolar. "German Expressionism: The World of Light and Shadow." MUBI, mubi.com/lists/german-expressionism-the-world-of-light-and-shadow. Accessed 17 Feb. 2019.