Chapter 8 TEXTURE
Texture is critical in creating authenticity; evoking age, wear, use, and passage of time; and reflecting the results of environmental conditions on a surface. The Europeans call it patina. The surface of an object must reflect that it has been lived-in or has existed in time. Dust is a common aging agent, easily accessible to the filmmaker. On the West coast, dust has an earthen, clay color due to the geological properties of the landscape and the quality of reflected light in the region. The nature of East coast dust is often black and sooty. The properties of the soil, car, industrial pollution, and chimney soot in a crowded, architecturally cramped metropolis contribute to the color and texture of the dirt and dust. The purpose of texture in building materials, fabrics, and furnishings is to provide contrast and complement and to add realism and a tactile sense to the design. The materials chosen for the production design serve many purposes. The textures of building materials communicate the properties of the structure: wood, metal, glass, brick, and tile. If the texture is believable, whether real or created by the art department, it will contribute to veracity of the story. One of the missions of the production designer is to create the appearance of real materials through art direction. A set built of wood can be transformed by covering the surface with other materials to create the illusion that it is made of stone, any variety of high quality wood, or sheet rock. Materials and texture are storytelling devices. They inform the audience about the economic status, time and place, and social and political conditions of the story’s environment. Materials can become metaphors. In Terminator 2: Judgement Day (1991) the Terminator and T1000 are made of metal. The production design by Joseph Nemec III is filled with metal surfaces of all varieties, even molten metal. All the metal structures in the film are related to the power of the cyborgs. Part of the art of production design is using materials that are available, easy to work with, and sensible for a film production. All the metal materials in the design of Terminator 2: Judgement Day are not exactly what they look like. Surfaces are
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