Organized Clutter: The Precise Composition of The Diary of Anne Frank (1959): The Precise Composition of The Diary of Anne Frank (1959)

Marshall Deutelbaum

Organized Clutter: The Precise Composition of The Diary of Anne Frank (1959)

The Precise Composition of The Diary of Anne Frank (1959)

Authors

Marshall Deutelbaum Purdue University https://orcid.org/0000-0001-5836-3857

Keywords:

CinemaScope Composition, Set Design, Visual Analysis, Rabatment, Grids

Abstract

Rather than consider set design in realistic terms as the arrangement of décor in space, this essay examines set design as a two-dimensional construct in which the placement of its elements is guided by a pair of underlying geometric grids. The grids, one of which is based upon rabatment, reveal the previously unnoticed precision of the image’s hidden architecture. Overlaying these grids on a frame from The Diary of Anne Frank demonstrates how the film’s set design determines the image’s composition.