The beauty that is Sin City

So recently I did a presentation for critical studies based on art direction, I decided to choose one of my favourite films "Sin City" to talk about. Over all it went well, I mean I didn't throw up which was the best thing. So i'm just going to talk a bit about the film in general, I will try not to drag on or give too many spoilers :)

Sin City was created by a man named "Frank Miller", Miller is one of my favourite writers, comic artists and film directors of all time. My all time favourites are the Batman year one and the dark knight returns comics and films and of course Sin city the graphic novel and film. 

Batman year one comic panel

Sin City was filmed using a green screen then the backdrops were added in post production, This film also uses colourisation techniques; They used a black and white filter on high contrast to create a comic book feel and then used bright colours for certain objects, this makes the colours used have high symbolism. By using this method of editing it keeps the original theme as the graphic novel.

Green screen to colourised film to graphic novel

When thinking about composition you might not think that it is thought about much when creating films, however with Sin City all of the shots are beautifully thought about; this might be mainly because of the majority of shots being exactly the same as the comic; It almost being used as a storyboard for the film. In this image bellow it is obvious that composition has been thought about.

This still follows the golden spiral, the main focal point is her cold white flesh and her golden hair, The light on her body and the sheets draw your attention to the left side of the image more. Your eye then follows the shape of the sheets and the angle of her arm through to the shadows of the sheets and finally the shadowed out man on the right; This shadowing shows the solemn and dark mood of this character. 

Lighting is a very important feature in this film, even though these two elements were shot separately they used back lighting on the character to make it seem realistic. In this image the glaring lights of a car with the harsh dark silhouetted buildings create a very dark, mysterious and dangerous atmosphere. Where the character is slightly silhouetted as well shows that she is the target, the way the headlights surround her also show this; the dark colouring in this scene also connote that she is in danger.

In this film colour is one of the main factors in creating mood; the choice of colour used on certain objects in Sin City have hidden meanings, some more obvious than others. Red is used to show death and power;

The Converse and the Cadillac are owned by the same person; he has both of these things in red to show his true power in the film, It is also used to show his role in the film; which is being a killer.

The use of red for the sheets is not necessarily used to show love but to show the death of the woman. The red used on the lady's lips and dress are to show her power she is soon killed after by an assassin because of this power, therefore also showing death.

Yellow in every day life is seen as toxic and dangerous; normally seen on warning signs and such, therefore in this film they have used it for the same purpose. 

The deformed paedophile is bright yellow to show how poisonous he is he also uses a syringe of yellow liquid that is also used to portray a dangerous toxic substance. 

These two images are less obvious; the golden hair and eye are used as a warning to show that they will be dangerous later on. The woman is seen as dangerous due to her being murdered and the male being framed for her death.

In each occasion blue is shown in the film information is passed from one to another. The characters shown in blue are also corrupt, whether it be due to them being a traitor, a murderer or a corrupted cop.

The woman has bright blue eyes, this is because of her being an informer and giving information to the wrong people. The scene at the bottom flashes different colours such as red, yellow and finally blue showing the characters anxiety; it is only when the scene is blue that the dead character starts to talk.

Green is used sparingly in the film it is mainly used to portray jealousy and envy through the use of green eyes. This is linked closely to the seven deadly sins due to “the green eyed monster” which is the personification of jealously.

The colour of the blood in the film have different meanings:

White blood leaks from the bodies of the villains where the heroes are around their bodies. White shows heroic things such as the weapons used to kill them.

Red is to show that the person wearing the blood is powerful and strong whether it be there's or not.

The yellow blood is used to show that the paedophile was rotten to the core; this can also be seen as toxic blood where this then leads to the suicide of the male wearing his blood.

This is also done to make the film less violent but also adds another element to the colours used.

I personally find Sin City a beautiful film and feel that the way they made it as close to the graphic novel as possible make it incredibly impactful and memorable.

If you haven't seen it already I highly recommend watching it, the second one is coming out in the cinema soon so pre book your tickets now :)

Cheerio for now.