Graduation Project and Thesis Development, 2223

Module Coordinator - Dr Mikey Murray and Jack Shelborn

Student Name - Freya Dawson
ID - 25183928
Course Name - BA (Hons) Film Production
Annotated Bibliography
Working together with the director, producer, and director of photography, the production designer is in

charge of the general aesthetic of a movie. For the story to take place in, they design the setting and visual

elements. From providing the narrative of the movie through a physical, immersive feel by assigning

locations and scenery with an atmosphere of history, a purpose, a relation to the plot, and signifying

towards the characters' psychologies. In order to convey the ideas of character and story, the use of screen

space is frequently both physically and emotionally crucial. In this essay, I will be investigating how

production design may be utilised within period films and how they create a modern visual language of

nostalgia. It will also highlight the relationship that the audience has to immerse into a visual experience.

There is an ongoing discussion over the value of historical accuracy and historicity in contrast to the

evocation of the atmosphere or ambiance characteristic of such a time period when it comes to production

design for historical movies. By exploring if it's more necessary to convey the spirit of the past than to

replicate it historically, I will continue to investigate it through my graduation project ‘Getaway’ (2023).

The film is set in the late 1950s period and follows the tragic journey a woman goes through after killing

her husband.

The chosen five texts that will help me in this film are as follows:

Barnwell, J. (2004). Production Design: Architects or The Screen. Columbia: Wallflower Press

Carnes, M. (1995). Past Imperfect: History According to the movies. New York City. Henry Holt and

Company.

Dika, V. (2003). Recycled culture in contemporary art and film. Cambridge. Cambridge University Press.

Jameson, F. (1989). Postmodernism, Or, The Cultural Logic of Late Capitalism. North Carolina. Duke

University Press.

Sprengler, C. (2009). Screening Nostalgia. New York. Berghahn Books.

Barnwell's Production Design: Architects of the Screen (2004) examines the role of a production designer

amongst a historical recapitulation, outlining where design implements into extensive film history and

how different periods are portrayed on screen. Subsequently, she proficiently amalgamates research

within the history of production design, analysis of films, and empirical understanding towards how

production design takes place on contemporary film sets. From acknowledging the issue of the

controversy within period films and elucidating the question of if a historically accurate replica of the past

is more significant from conveying through the essence of the past, essentially supporting the importance

of a film's texture—how the audience perceives how something appears and feels. Consequently, although

authenticity is important in film, she demonstrates the fact that the production designer's role is more of a

sensational representation than documentary work. Dramatic representation is significantly focused on a

mood or spirit while yet being concerned with accuracy. In essence, we are essentially being made

nostalgic for the past only in terms of visual, aesthetic, and self-indulgent pleasure, rather than in true

historical terms that would require physically experiencing the past. This therefore raises the question of

the purpose of design; whether to prioritise attempting to replicate a historically accurate period in

question, or should it be focused on capturing the atmosphere and essence in spirit of the era.

Spengler's Screening Nostalgia (2009) dissects the abstraction of the past and explores its importance in

both theory and practise. This is achieved through analysing the range of elements that confer to visual

design including props, costume and colour, and how they contribute to the nostalgic aesthetic where both

critical distance and emotion is perceived. In addition to contributing to the appeal of historical films, sets,

props, and costumes are crucial to the development of the historical story. Sprengler examines the subject

via the prism of nostalgia, prepending another layer to the investigation of history on screen. Moreover,

Spengler argues that constructing the aesthetic of past periods in cinema and television through the use of

their distinct visual styles has been done for decades, but labelling this tendency as nostalgic is a more

modern expansion of the definition of the idea. Traditional approaches to historical inquiry and

representation are often clinical and frequently fail to shed light on more private aspects. And as
Sprengler has noted, nostalgia as a film-induced experience may illuminate this and generate an

awareness of the interplay between the past and present awareness of how history and memory function

by highlighting multiple ways of connecting with the past. Moreover, Sprengler’s focus towards the 1950s

history and deception of the 1950s that is portrayed on screen, can ultimately be used towards my

graduation project as his interest can reflect on my works.

Fredric Jameson presented an influential analysis of our present postmodern situation as seen in

Postmodernism, or the Cultural Logic of Late Capitalism (1989). Captious of our current historical

situation, Jameson described our connection to history at a loss. Postmodern cultural texts, in Jameson's

view, show how a late capitalist society is mired in an unending present that it is unable to historicize. The

civilised theory more accurately represents a notion of history, as opposed to actual historical events, a

simulation of history as Jameson labels “the nostalgia mode” . The “notalgia” mode of films has alluded

to the approaches in which cinematic deceptions in history previously depended on more pop culture

cliches and relying on stylistic conventions rather than acknowledging the conflicts and ambivalence that

took place in the past. Meaning that nostalgia in postmodern film is a re-creation of cultural artefacts

contrary to a delineation of a certain historical period. Jameson exemplifies the postmodern “nostalgia”

film in American Graffiti (Lucas, G: 1974) and expresses it as a perfect example through romanticising

the stylization of the 1950s nostalgia than in the complicated political and cultural context of the real era.

In the chapter The Returned Image of Recycled Culture in Contemporary Art and Film: The Uses of

Nostalgia (2009) Dika investigates films and artwork that employ contrasting historical imagery and

genres through examining whether these conversions can affect an accurate form of displacement and

resistance. Therefore meaning that she doesn’t view nostalgia movies as fresh takes on classic genres.

They are established as reconstructions of the lost or destroyed past, and are now recovered as genres

after a time of deficiency. Reusing prior images, stories, and genres has become a common practice in

contemporary culture. Vera Dika examines works of art and movies that defy the influence of the past as
she investigates this approach from a wide range of critical viewpoints. Rather than being historically

accurate, nostalgia films are historicist, which is why they are forced to refocus their attention on the

visual rather than anything else and to abandon any semblance of the traditional filmic narrative in favour

of magnificent visuals. Dika invokes Jameson's Postmodernism, Or, The Cultural Logic of Late

Capitalism through the view nostalgic films, challenging whether we are to agree that the stories carried

by the nostalgia films are not our own anymore, or can it be suggested to be utilised for more than just

obscuring history.

We may greatly influence how we view the past by watching movies. The portrayal of history's most

significant moments or greatest personalities in cinema is intrinsically linked to those moments or figures.

Examining the connection between cinema and the historical record, Carnes Past Imperfect: History

According to the movies (1995), explores how conventional conception of history is impacted by film

through exploring a collection of articles on historical authenticity. By confronting how much precision

may be compromised while still producing an enjoyable film. It is not essential for a historical film to be

entirely precise for it to be good, but it might be challenging to earn the historian's approval if the

filmmaker's definition of accuracy varies from theirs.

Consequently, this book provides a range of different views from the perception of different people in

presenting history accurately. Therefore contrasting with the previous above books, it makes remarks

about why it is important for precision to be important in historical films, through a discussion between

Foner and Sayles, they both express the fact that audiences have more appreciation towards a film if it

involves definitive authenticity.

The ability of film to depict the past with total accuracy is limited. At the most fundamental level, the

practicalities of film production, such as the use of characters, clothing, and sets to replicate the historical

narrative, make historical authenticity difficult. Despite historians agreeing that they are realistic, these
qualities simply convey a false perception of the past. The challenge presented by production designers

depends on their capacity to revitalise history. Through attentive set decorating enhancements, one may

express originality and the capacity to revitalise the past. From Getaway (2023) not involving historical

accuracy, it allows more freedom for the creative process, utilising a powerful confluence of elements

with a genuine point of reference to reflect the true essence of the time. This will be achieved by using set

decoration that satisfies the 50s period, yet embellishes the story. By prioritising creative elements, I aim

for my audience to be engaged as opposed to if I was to feature more historical accuracy. To conclude,

through examining the 5 texts, it will enable me to explore the historical elements in production design,

and regarding why in many cases authenticity is abandoned, in addition to architectural norms being

disregarded in order to elicit the desired emotional reaction. As well as the research within the annotated

bibliography is additionally pertinent and helpful to the thesis since it supports the arguments I want to

make, it also emphasises my decision making towards the production design of Getaway (2023) as I aim

to ensure that the audience are entertained.

Bibliography

Barnwell, J. (2004). Production Design: Architects or The Screen. Columbia: Wallflower Press

Carnes, M. (1995). Past Imperfect: History According to the movies. New York City. Henry Holt and

Company.

Dika, V. (2003). Recycled culture in contemporary art and film. Cambridge. Cambridge University Press.

Jameson, F. (1989). Postmodernism, Or, The Cultural Logic of Late Capitalism. North Carolina. Duke

University Press.

Sprengler, C. (2009). Screening Nostalgia. New York. Berghahn Books.

Filmography

Getaway. (2023). Film. Directed by Jacob Squires. Lincoln. University of Lincoln.

American Graffiti. (1974). Film Directed by George Lucas. San Francisco. Lucas Film.