The Art Of The Design
Over the years I noticed the use of geometric shapes as art in film and I've always been curious about their purpose within the story. What is its intended message. Whether it's a closeup of the outside of a build's architectural design or a bird's-eye view of a winding staircase, how do those images progress the story being told? Are they creative fillers, dynamic visuals, or conveyance of subtext of some sort?
I first noticed it more in Disney animation in the mid-'90s, particularly with Beauty And The Beast when the plates and dinnerware created a full-screen kaleidoscope of movement and dance to the song Be Our Guest. Then I began to notice the staircases and how it seemed a trend to fill the screen with the winding geometric shape, which was not always circular. Some were more rectangular. The visuals ranged from basic stairs to those accented with ornate ironwork handrails and pickets, or Victorian style wood. The styles and colors of the staircases also vary from Colonial to Art Deco to Contemporary Industrial. You name it, it's probably been filmed. I think they could be just as prolific in films as car chase scenes.
The scenes of the geometric shapes don't always seem to have an obvious purpose like establishing the location of the next scene or allowing us to see a character move along the steps. It's just simply a curious observation that makes me wonder what the DP or cinematographer is saying in those visuals.
