Wednesday, November 12, 2014

Mis-en-Scene - Fight Club

Watch scene HERE.

Fight Club Credits
Edward Norton:      The Narrator
Brad Pitt:                 Tyler Durden
Directed by:             David Fincher
Art Director:            Chris Gorak
Costume Design:      Michael Kaplan
Key make up artist:  Julie Pearce
Cinematography:      Jeff Cronenweth
Production Design:  Alex McDowell

Complete credit list, click here.


Group project overview, "This scene is iconic. The work from the Art directors, costume designers, Cinematography, Product design, and Make Up are superb. They are all working together to bring the vision of the director to life. Because of the high caliber of the actors the Director is able to give a brief overview of the scene and let every one make the magic happen. You can tell that every thing was deliberate. Within seconds you see flashes of the oven, flames, thermometer, and boiling fat. It was an over view of what was to come."

Evaluation from the perspective of costume and makeup:

Throughout this film, there is continuity with the makeup and costume. The whole time you are watching the Narrator, played by Edward Norton, is a middle class yuppie. He dresses in average clothing, shirt and tie, etc. He is a boring middle class individual who gets up and goes to work everyday and finds enjoyment out of buying things from Ikea. Tyler Durden is everything the Narrator is not, and everything he wants to be. Tyler is cool, he dresses cool and completely contradicts everyday society. This scene is no different. By now, the Narrator has been in fight club for some time. You can tell by the blood, scars and bruises all over his face. He is also sweating profusely, adding to the tension this scene is attempting to create. Tyler is wearing his usual clothing, but he is also wearing goggles and gloves, adding to the idea that what they are taking part in is dangerous. He is also sweating. The interesting part about this scene is the chemical burn they are able to create. The use real science to create the burn. In order for the lye to react, it must be wet, which is why Tyler kisses the Narrator's hand. Also, it can cause blindness, as to why the Narrator is wearing goggles. The makeup and wardrobe people are able to give the viewer this complete idea of danger, and tension by the way they built this scene.