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

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

Résumé

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.