The Darjeeling Limited
Production Designer - Mark Friedburg
"Attracting artists from architecture, interior design, scenic design, theater arts and other related fields, Production Design focuses on the creative process of visually and physically developing an environment that becomes an essential component of the storytelling process. Production Designers must possess a keen understanding of the story in order to create a believable and realistic world on screen." (American Film Institute website)
For our Mis-en-Scene assignment, my group members and I decided to focus on "The Darjeeling Limited", a film directed by Wes Anderson. The production designer was Mark Friedburg, and he did an excellent job of making this film visually appealing, and tying in many different elements to make this film work. The majority of the film was shot in Jodhpur, Rajasthan, and captures much of the cultural authenticity of the area and gives a glimpse of the lifestyles of the people who live there.
One thing that really astounded me about the design of this film was how much incredible color is used, really keeping it in tune with the culture of the area that they're filming in and tying it into all of the design for their advertising as well, like the one above. Even the colors that the actors are wearing (minus their costumes) tie back into the wall behind them. The lei that Schwartzman is wearing ties into the door behind him, and the front of the box that Brody is holding ties into the door behind him. Wilson is holding a prayer position, which ties into the religious beliefs of the country of filming.
All in all - very nice production design for this film.
