www.thewrap.com: Severance cinematographer and director Jessica Lee Gagné’s eyes lit up at the chance to meet the renowned German-born conceptual artist Thomas Demand, not unlike the overhead panels at the show’s Lumon Industries that she has filmed for two seasons running. “I’ve chosen four books to be on my coffee table that are not in [my] library. And his is right at the top,” she says.
Severance is one of the most cinematographically intriguing shows I’ve ever watched. It is so incredibly precise in a way that feels more like Demand’s fine art than a tv set. Demand’s art and the set of Severance look completely parallel to each other. I think it’s really cool to be so directly inspired by an artist in a way that eventually manifests itself in an entire TV show. I honestly didn’t know anything about Thomas Demand before I read this, and learning about his work is telling me that I should try and consume more art than I already do, because it really can be inspiring. I used to think that looking at other peoples’ interpretations of similar worlds would lead to unintentional copying, but even if it does I don’t really think that’s too much of a bad thing. What you create can be almost a love letter to what you were inspired by.
ReplyDeleteI have unfortunately only watched the first season and the first episode of Severance and have yet to go back to continue watching the show though I really need to (and probably will once I finish the show and have some more time to watch interesting television). The look of Severance (scenic, costumes, cinematography) is so specific to its own character and is so much of what makes the show so interesting, unsettling, and disorienting to watch. The movements are fun and bold while being so precise and unwavering in its edge. I would love to work with a team of artists so focused and together on one cohesive vision. The storytelling in this show is brilliant and so interesting to watch, and I love the weird mix between retro-fustrism/mid-century modern and brutalism that the show has as it brings a sense of whimsy but also formidableness, which makes complete sense for the characters and story.
ReplyDeleteSeverance has such a specific look and the cinematographer is absolutely brilliant. Everytime I see a screengrab from the show I know that it is Severance, which is always the mark of a great show. Today in my Intro to Film Production class we were talking a lot about lighting within film and television; specifically, color temperature. Severance does such an excellent job with their lighting that it adds so much to the overall look of Severance. It is so important that the production designer, lighting designer, and cinematographer all work together to create the greatest look. The other thing that severance does so well is explore shapes. In all of the photos highlighted in the article they all have very clear use of rectangles. That repetition really clues the viewer into the kind of world severance is. It is a world of rigidity and scrictness, that is mirrored in the sharp harsh lines of the world.
ReplyDeleteA set or a costume or a lighting or a sound choice has a really big impact on the feeling of the production. The effect of the set in Severance gives it that quality of you can't look away eeriness. It draws you in and also sort of isolates you from what you are doing. I think that is super important to keep in mind as a scenic designer in this case but all designers have the power to affect the tone of the show or production. I think that there is an important balance that the designers and directors in Severance achieve with how much of the tone is coming from design choices and how much is coming from direction/acting choices. This article also reminds me of the backrooms and I wonder if the backrooms were inspired by this artist or if it was that the artists and the original backrooms concept were inspired by something else.
ReplyDeleteI’ve never seen an entire episode of Severance but I still know what it looks like. That’s the kind of artistic intent that makes it so worthwhile. My girlfriend was obsessed with this show for a while so I picked up a whole lot of the plot from her explanations and ramblings but what I found the most interesting was the moments when I’d look over during a long car ride and see what was going on while she watched it on her phone in the passenger seat. The article says “you cannot fold your laundry while you’re watching Severance” and I think this is something that is vanishing in our world. With so much media designed to be consumed in confluence with other media or to be played in the background while accomplishing something else (like a podcast) I think a tv show or movie that we can give our entire attention to and that reciprocates the effort we put into watching it is a rare treat. It is evident in this article that the cinematographer of Severance and the rest of its crew are putting in that effort, and I think the consuming public has noticed in kind.
ReplyDeleteSeverance has been such a fascinating show to me since I saw the first season when it came out a few years ago. Disregarding the whole innie/outie separation chaos that is the basis of the show, the production design was also particularly striking. Beyond the liminal halls of Lumon, the exterior scenes also had a sense of foreboding. Maybe it's the perpetual winter that seems to engulf the small town where the show is set, but something about the world outside of Lumon’s walls has always been off. The Lumon building itself also feels strange, with it being divided in half between the glass-filled normal levels and the boxed in severed floor below. All of the strangeness is the point I think though. It helps build tension within the audience, as the hostility of the environment keeps viewers engaged. For people who work in design & production, the world of Severance is particularly captivating.
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