anderson andersson the art of creating beautiful illusions

Good directors create unique and functional worlds, where unique and not so functional characters coexist. Two directors stand out in creating perfect, eccentric, and whimsy worlds where everything is thought out and controlled. Wes Anderson, the 53-year-old American director responsible for delicate little gems like Moonrise Kingdom or, probably, the most visually bold and stunning of his movies, The Grand Budapest Hotel. And Roy Andersson, the Swedish film director born in 1943, best known for the three films that comprise his “Living Trilogy” – Songs from the Second Floor; You, the Living; and A Pigeon Sat on a Branch Reflecting on Existence.

The designers behind the scenes

Anderson and Andersson build strange worlds with their own rhythms; and rules, where the presence of each element is a function of storytelling. Nothing is gratuitous; everything has intention. The audience, both happy and willing, accepts this and believes in the existence of these worlds, with only one condition: they need to be credible. Among the numerous elements that contribute to creating believable worlds, graphic material is one of the most common, though it is often overlooked.

As in any world, real or fictional, there are tons of written materials -love letters, maps, kidnapping notes, and newspapers. Packaging, photographs, drawings, and a multitude of products circulating. The audience must believe that Mendl’s bakery delivers their pastries in little pink boxes with blue ribbons. Does it contribute to the storytelling? Perhaps not; however, it supports the idea of the existence and credibility of Mendl’s bakery, which is part of the prestigious Grand Budapest Hotel in the former nation of Zubrowka.

As Annie Atkins mentions in her book Designing Graphic anything with lettering, a pattern, or a picture is a graphic piece; and behind that graphic piece, there is a designer. The versatility of graphic design is enormous, but one of the most enjoyable fields of application has to be the design of visual props for filmmaking. Who wouldn’t love to be part of the creation of alternate worlds?

The color in their art

From Wes’ sophisticated, rich color palette and scenes full of people to Roy’s pale, desaturated, and almost deserted restaurants, these two directors perfectly understand that settings are also characters, and color is their voice. Colors are alive, and the presence or absence of elements tell vivid stories, more so than the narrators themselves. They build their worlds around color; hue has meaning, just as much as saturation and brightness levels do.

We can tell of the glorious times of the Grand Budapest Hotel because of the presence of saturated and vibrant reds, pinks, and purples. We can also tell about its decline because those bright colors have changed to desaturated, less vibrant tones and faded to muted browns and oranges. However, it’s not as simple as that.

Color is complicated in Wes Anderson’s films. In The Grand Budapest Hotel, he draws a line between joy and darkness with color. In The Royal Tenenbaums, he blurs that line. Let’s think of the character Chas Tenenbaum. He is dressed in a vibrant, bright red jogging suit throughout the movie and the vibrance and brightness seem to be an indicator of good- but the hue doesn’t match. This character lives in a permanent state of alert and is ready to run- both metaphorically and literally speaking. It’s not until the end, when his father dies, that we see him dressed in black. He finally finds peace within himself and the world. Wes tends to find humor in dark and twisted places.

What makes the work of Roy Andersson interesting is his ability to pull inspiration from art outside of his regular medium. We can see how the history of painting, and poetry play an important and influential role in his work. As graphic designers, we greatly admire this attention to detail.

Many artists pigeonhole themselves and their inspirations into the same medium without exploring outside of their wheelhouse. His style, self-described as “hyperreality,” is built upon completely staged backdrops and artificial lighting. Most, if not all, of his characters, are dressed in drab clothing and ghostly makeup. He has the ability to create fixed camera shots that are visually engaging. He achieves this by rewarding the viewer by framing his shots in a way that allows actors to pop into the scene after hiding behind objects in plain sight.