"It is precisely because of this fascinating paradox ... that Barnwell chose the cinematic home as the subject for her book. ... Nice how Barnwell takes the time to examine the films discussed ... . While reading you get very excited to watch masterpieces like Parasite and Get Out (again), and to go on a journey of discovery yourself with the production design glasses on. If you learn one thing from reading this book, it's that almost every feature film deserves such an intensive house search." (Kevin Tom, de Volkskrant, volkskrant.nl, August 10, 2022)
Chapter 1: Introduction: Production Design and the Cinematic Home
Chapter 2: Vertical Hierarchy and the Home in Parasite (2019, Dir. Bong Joon Ho, PD Lee Ha-Jun)
Chapter 3: Racial Prejudice, the Ghosts of Colonialism and Spatial Segregation in Get Out (2017, Jordan Peele, PD Rusty Smith)
Chapter 4: Returning Home: How the Byers’ Home in Stranger Things (2016—Duffer Brothers, PD Chris Trujillo) Reflects Narrative and Character Interior Landscape
Chapter 5: Bridget Jones’s Diary (2001, Sharon Maguire, PD Gemma Jackson): A Wild Unconventional Space Bursting with Potential
Chapter 6: Secret Homes: How Are the Themes of Espionage Reflected in the Construction of Home in Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy (2011, Tomas Alfredson, PD Maria Djurkovic)?
Chapter 7: Finding Your Way Through the Maze: Navigating the Public and Private Spaces of Downing Street in Darkest Hour (2017 Joe Wright, PD Sarah Greenwood)
Chapter 8: The Hero’s Journey: The Quest for Home in Paddington 2 (2017, Dir. Paul King, PD Gary Williamson)
Dr Jane Barnwell is Reader in Moving Image at the University of Westminster, UK. She is the author of Production Design for Screen: Visual Storytelling in Film and TV (2017), Production Design: Architects of the screen (2004) and The Fundamentals of Film Making (2008).
This book uses in-depth case studies to explore the significance of the design of the home on screen. The chapters draw widely upon the production designer’s professional perspective and particular creative point of view. The case studies employ a methodology Barnwell has pioneered for the analysis of production design called Visual Concept Analysis, which can be used as a key to decode the design of any given film. Through the nurturing warmth of the Browns’ home in Paddington, the ambiguous boundaries of secret service agent homes in Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy and the ‘singleton’ space occupied by Bridget Jones, Barnwell demonstrates that the domestic interior consistently plays a key role. Whether used as a transition space, an ideal, a catalyst for change or a place to return to, these case studies examine the pivotal nature of the home in storytelling and the production designers’ significance in its creation. The book benefits from interviews with production designers and artwork that provides insight on the creative process.
Dr Jane Barnwell is Reader in Moving Image at the University of Westminster, UK. She is the author of Production Design for Screen: Visual Storytelling in Film and TV (2017), Production Design: Architects of the screen (2004) and The Fundamentals of Film Making (2008).