We Die at Dawn: Interior Droning
Writing for Interiors Journal on the subject of interior design in Expressionist film, Architectural Designer, Mehruss Jon Ahi states, “These films focus on a reality that has been invaded and plagued by the irrational and cynical thoughts of its characters, and consequently, the sets in these films resemble their distress.” (Ahi, IntJournal.com)
No other Expressionist film represents this stated distress better than Robert Weine’s 1920 classic, The Cabinet of Dr. Caligari. The quasi-surrealist set pieces are as jagged and contorted as blades of grass, emblematic of a mind unable to adequately form the proper visual representations for ordinary objects. In the real world no architect would design buildings the way we see in Caligari; simply put: they would serve no functional purpose. But this isn’t the real world, this is the claustrophobic and paranoid environment of a troubled mind melting itself with over an unstable reality. “The stylized sets, obviously two-dimensional, must …show more content…
It is a reflection on the interior setting of Dr. Caligari’s home. I intentionally incorporated slowly rising dynamic range, in order to elevate the looming sense of claustrophobia I feel when the interior is on screen. I used dissonance and improper bowing techniques when recording the string section, in order to reflect on the prickly and out of tune nature of the Francis’s mind. In the same way that Francis’ mind is warped, throughout my piece the strings become more and more distorted. Additionally, I used a Fender Rhodes Piano, a Roland SP-404 sampler, and more an assortment of effects pedals. Throughout the song you’ll hear a reverberated beeping noise--it’s the first hear at 00:39. The sound is a heavily effected sample. It may be too heady, but this steady pulse is meant to represent the connection between Francis’ illness and Ceasre’s somnambulant state--a kind of sleeping-walking through an overactive
Writing for Interiors Journal on the subject of interior design in Expressionist film, Architectural Designer, Mehruss Jon Ahi states, “These films focus on a reality that has been invaded and plagued by the irrational and cynical thoughts of its characters, and consequently, the sets in these films resemble their distress.” (Ahi, IntJournal.com)
No other Expressionist film represents this stated distress better than Robert Weine’s 1920 classic, The Cabinet of Dr. Caligari. The quasi-surrealist set pieces are as jagged and contorted as blades of grass, emblematic of a mind unable to adequately form the proper visual representations for ordinary objects. In the real world no architect would design buildings the way we see in Caligari; simply put: they would serve no functional purpose. But this isn’t the real world, this is the claustrophobic and paranoid environment of a troubled mind melting itself with over an unstable reality. “The stylized sets, obviously two-dimensional, must …show more content…
It is a reflection on the interior setting of Dr. Caligari’s home. I intentionally incorporated slowly rising dynamic range, in order to elevate the looming sense of claustrophobia I feel when the interior is on screen. I used dissonance and improper bowing techniques when recording the string section, in order to reflect on the prickly and out of tune nature of the Francis’s mind. In the same way that Francis’ mind is warped, throughout my piece the strings become more and more distorted. Additionally, I used a Fender Rhodes Piano, a Roland SP-404 sampler, and more an assortment of effects pedals. Throughout the song you’ll hear a reverberated beeping noise--it’s the first hear at 00:39. The sound is a heavily effected sample. It may be too heady, but this steady pulse is meant to represent the connection between Francis’ illness and Ceasre’s somnambulant state--a kind of sleeping-walking through an overactive