Life at Xanadu: How is atmosphere created?
During the scenes at Xanadu, there is a very distinct atmosphere. It is a bit dark and depressing, tense, and feels very empty. This is done through several different techniques. First, the lighting. All of the rooms that Kane and Susan are in are dark. Sometimes, their faces are even in the shadows. Overall, the constant dimness does not make things very cheery. Next, were the shots. All of the camera shots were medium or long. No close ups or anything like that. It all felt very impersonal and not intimate. Another thing that gave that feeling of coldness were the character's placements. Susan and Kane are never really close to each other. One scene in particular that stood out to me was one when they were both in the same room. Each chair was on the opposite side of a massive room, and there was at least 20 feet of space between them. Again, it feels impersonal and a bit tense. Last, there was the sound. Or the lack thereof. There is no music, other people talking, or background noise. It is almost completely silent. There are several moments where they both are in the same room, not talking to each other, and it reinforces the tense atmosphere. Also, when Kane has an outburst, his voice echoes in the large room, making it sound much bigger and booming. This furthers the tension after that.
Your point of the lack of sound is very interesting. I hadn't noticed this before but now that you bring it up I don't remember there being any music, and definitely no talking or other people making noise. This definitely adds to the cold mood.
ReplyDeleteI completely agree with your points. The atmosphere in Xanadu was a very important puzzle piece (see what I did there?) to the complex relationship between Susan and Kane. The two were slowly drifting apart, both emotionally and physically.
ReplyDeleteI agree, it was just eerie. You did a great job explaining all the different techniques that were used to drive this feeling of emptiness and coldness to the audience. Xanadu was a dark, and depressing place exactly how you put it. I never noticed the lack of sound, since other things in the scene were often drawing my attention. Something I also noticed was that in many of the scenes Susan and Kane were surrounded and looked small in comparison to all the statues and objects that Kane had purchased.
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