Definition December 2024 - Web

PRODUCTION JOKER: FOLIE Á DEUX

SWITCHING IT UP Pops of colour and romantic lighting differentiate Folie à Deux from the stylistic choices in the original Joker

THE FANTASY SCENES WERE an opportunity TO BREAK OUT OF REALITY and be more expressive ” language. The sickly greens that defined the first film are still there, but now they’re joined by bursts of primary colours and warmer hues. One of the major challenges for Sher was maintaining continuity with the visual language established in Joker , while introducing new elements that reflected the evolution of the characters and the world they inhabit. Sher’s goal was to keep the ‘DNA of the look’ from the first film, retaining Joker ’s gritty realism while allowing room for stylised, emotional expression. “We want to make it real,

LIGHTING AS A CHARACTER Something Sher kept returning to was the idea of the lighting as a character in its own right. He uses light to transition into fantasy in the rooftop dance scene, for example; a standout sequence in the film. “The first fantasy in the movie is after Joker has been thrown in an isolation cell and everything goes black. At first, the audience doesn’t know where they are, then the first thing we see is a moon that reveals a silhouetted Lee Quinzel dancing – a callback to the Joker’s transformation in the 2019 film.”

while having a point of view,” he explains. “So it’s not total realism – but everything is motivated by the reality, whether it’s the practicals or windows. “The elements in the first one, like the colour of the light and the practicals, we wanted to progress. Even when they are singing, we’re staying in the reality of that space – but obviously the fantasy scenes presented us with good opportunities to break out of that reality and be more expressive with the lighting and colour palette. We can use lighting to show things; to reveal something.”

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