The Knife Thrower's Apprentice: Period Genre Film Design
Visual Themes
- ORANGE to represent COURAGE
- Garret will be the focus
-His wardrobe will begin in mostly raggedy browns and evolve into a clean-cut black and orange dress outfit. This change will happen
relatively quickly after the initial confrontation.
- While he is talking with Renaldo, he will be drinking orange juice. The glass will be empty by the time his costume changes.
- Maggie will also have hints of orange in her clothing to help show that she is a catalyst for Garret’s change.
- The final orange will come at the very end, when the audience throws flowers at Garret after the show. There will be an orange
flower that lands near Garret, and he will pick it up and put it in his vest pocket before delivering the final line.
- CIRCLES to represent FATE
- The gymnasts’ hanging rings, the overall layout of the circus will be very circular, the center ring that makes the stage, etc.
- The knife box in Renaldo’s tent
- Exterior is ornately decorated with circular patterns
- The rocking wheel used in the final act
- The rocking wheel itself is circular, but it will be filled with geometric designs that compliment the circles
- Maggie will also be wearing hoop earrings
- BLOOMING FLOWERS to represent GROWTH
- Flower pot in Renaldo’s tent
- Most direct symbol, while the rest are more subtle
- First thing seen by the audience, when it is clear that there’s a seed in the soil that has not yet begun to grow
- Throughout the subsequent shots in Renaldo’s tent, it will slowly begin to sprout.
- When Garret changes his outfit, there will be a montage that pairs his shedding of his old, raggedy clothes and the shell on the
outside of the seed splitting. When he is fully changed, the stem will be sprouting out of the soil.
- After the end of the last line, the camera will return to Renaldo’s tent to see the now bloomed flower. This may be done through a
dissolve that centers the flower Garret puts in his vest pocket and fades into the bloomed flower in Renaldo’s tent, also centered.
- Maggie’s clothes
- Begins subtly in the dress textile, but then they will pop more the second time we see her. This illustrates how Garret needs to grow
to be with her, as well as how she is the catalyst for his change. The flowers may also be orange, or be highlighted with orange to
further illustrate the connection.
- ORANGE to represent COURAGE
- Garret will be the focus
-His wardrobe will begin in mostly raggedy browns and evolve into a clean-cut black and orange dress outfit. This change will happen
relatively quickly after the initial confrontation.
- While he is talking with Renaldo, he will be drinking orange juice. The glass will be empty by the time his costume changes.
- Maggie will also have hints of orange in her clothing to help show that she is a catalyst for Garret’s change.
- The final orange will come at the very end, when the audience throws flowers at Garret after the show. There will be an orange
flower that lands near Garret, and he will pick it up and put it in his vest pocket before delivering the final line.
- CIRCLES to represent FATE
- The gymnasts’ hanging rings, the overall layout of the circus will be very circular, the center ring that makes the stage, etc.
- The knife box in Renaldo’s tent
- Exterior is ornately decorated with circular patterns
- The rocking wheel used in the final act
- The rocking wheel itself is circular, but it will be filled with geometric designs that compliment the circles
- Maggie will also be wearing hoop earrings
- BLOOMING FLOWERS to represent GROWTH
- Flower pot in Renaldo’s tent
- Most direct symbol, while the rest are more subtle
- First thing seen by the audience, when it is clear that there’s a seed in the soil that has not yet begun to grow
- Throughout the subsequent shots in Renaldo’s tent, it will slowly begin to sprout.
- When Garret changes his outfit, there will be a montage that pairs his shedding of his old, raggedy clothes and the shell on the
outside of the seed splitting. When he is fully changed, the stem will be sprouting out of the soil.
- After the end of the last line, the camera will return to Renaldo’s tent to see the now bloomed flower. This may be done through a
dissolve that centers the flower Garret puts in his vest pocket and fades into the bloomed flower in Renaldo’s tent, also centered.
- Maggie’s clothes
- Begins subtly in the dress textile, but then they will pop more the second time we see her. This illustrates how Garret needs to grow
to be with her, as well as how she is the catalyst for his change. The flowers may also be orange, or be highlighted with orange to
further illustrate the connection.
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© 2018 Parker James Bradford