The movie that I have chosen for this analysis is Pirates of the Caribbean: The Curse of the Black Pearl. Choosing the film however was the easiest part what was difficult was choosing which scene I wanted to analyse and which person/ part of the scene I wanted to analyse. I finally chose this scene that you see above. It is when the Black Pearl and her crew start attacking Port Royal. There is a lot going on in this scene and I believe it gives a really good look at a lot of different aspects. Even with those two things chosen I had a hard time choosing which crew member I wanted to focus on. I think that in this scene some of the great things I saw were the costume design, the production design, and really all of the different aspects that we talked about helped to pull me in.
For this scene I have chosen I wish to talk about the art direction. There were four listed art directors for this specific film, the are: Derek R. Hill, Michael Powels, James E. Tocci, and Donald B. Woodruff. All of which have worked on other influential works. What I find so incredible about this scene as far as an art directions stand point is all the different things that go into this one scene. This scene starts off with a view from a fort that is fully equipped with cannons and infantry. It then shows a ship blowing up this fort and not only the fort but it starts firing on the small town itself. The art direction had to have been on such a large scale to pull this off. Not only does it have scenes of Pirates running through this town and show the fort but then it also has scenes of a mansion and the different things that go on there. All and all I was very impressed with the size of different sets that are shown.
That was just upon first look in why I was so amazed. Looking deeper however there is something else that I absolutely love about the art direction here. It is not just on such a large scale but the time period in which they draw me into is very well done. As I stated there is a fort at the beginning of the scene and the fort is at least to my eye something they would have had in that time frame. You have after that an entire town that is set in the same time period and some of the smaller details that really pull me in are the building design, the windows and how they are designed, the dirt roads, the dock, even things like the supplies and different things in the roads, the treasure and other things that the pirates are caring back to their ship. All of this has to be done in such a manner that you forget you are watching a movie and draws you in. I think that something else that is done here is not only do they draw you in and you forget you are watching a movie but also you get drawn into this time period, you think you have gone back in time. The thing about this that is hard is that if we see one small thing that is off, at least off to us in our brains we will be sucked out of that and remember what is really going on. It was crucial for those four art directors to design the scenes in this movie and this one in particular in such a way that we forget what we are doing and even forget when we are.
I think that the art directors did a fantastic job of creating this feeling within the entire movie. That is why it was so hard for me to chose a scene because they all in my opinion had such a great example of time travel as I have come to call it. I think this scene for me though has great contrast in it and really shows an extensive look of the art direction and is a good example to use to show a broad range of the things that were accomplished throughout the entire movie. I love the contrast of the town to the Black Pearl. They did a great job of contrasting the different environments. Also the costume design and the towns people in comparison to the pirates was also a very great contrast as far as costume design goes. I think also just in the way the actors move was a good contrast. I think that throughout the scene the Pirates are filmed in such a way that you can just feel the kind of people they are. I know some of those things don't deal directly with art direction or the art directors but it goes well with the art direction and in fact they do play into the overall art direction of the film.
There are other design principles at play throughout the entire scene other than contrast but I felt that contrast was the biggest element at least in the art direction. As far as the other design principles go the art directors I felt did a good job of color. The colors are not super bright in this scene and in general which I also feel is a way they transport me to this time period. The most color I remember seeing are the bright red coats of the infantry and guards. Which also play into the contrast from the dark colors on the pirates cloths. Even the color on the cloths of the pirates are dirty and darker. I think that the art direction as far as the first design principles we talked about such as line, form, space, and texture are all present throughout the scene. I do think that one of the most noticeable design principles out of those was texture. I think about the part in the scene where a cannon ball blows a hole in the wall in the jail and Jack Sparrow can't get out but the other prisoners do we see the inside of the jail and you can feel the different textures that are present and they are not pleasant. I think also of the prisoners and the texture you can feel of the dirt on their faces. I believe that texture was very well done from an art direction stand point.
Overall I felt like this movie did a masterful job of art direction and in creating a form of time travel for me for at least a couple hours. This scene was a great example to me of the incredible job they did throughout the entire movie of this. This scene showed us a lot from the perspective of art direction and as I stated I believe the greatest design principles that help to accomplish this is contrast and then texture. Along with others including space and the ones mentioned above. There is a reason so many people have enjoyed and still are enjoying this movie even though it was released back in 2003. I would say a big part of that reason is the art direction and the manner in which they teleport you not only to a different place but a different time.
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