A Creative Communications Agency

When translating a graphic novel into a movie, often the appeal of the original format is lost when a clumsy director tries to make it too “movie-ish.” Sharp contrasts of color, mysterious shadowy characters and unrealistic gore are why comic geeks love this stuff. Why then would the movie industry try to water it down and risk losing the market segment that they should be aiming for – those fervently loyal comicbook lovers who are consistently disappointed by movies like The Fantastic Four or League of Extraordinary Gentlemen? Some, like Sky Captain and the World of Tomorrow, promise to be different with coloring, angles and stylized scenes, but then fall apart as the movie goes on.
Through careful use of motion graphic design and a loyalty to the original format, some directors have figured it out. While not exactly easy on the stomach, Frank Miller’s Sin City and his new movie 300 (which opened March 9) hit the mark. Sin City, co-directed by Frank himself, is drawn in inky relief, every scene seeming to be rendered with an india ink pen and splashes of blood red or glowing blue. The characters are angular, exaggerated and rough. It’s a feast of visual intensity and a piece of graphic designed beauty. Special guest director Quentin Tarantino leant his special brand of art direction to the movie, making it a bit like Kill Bill in pen.
The new 300, directed by Zack Snyder, promises to be no less true to the art form, though a lot more gory. In a review by Chris Knight, the blood flows in “blobby globules, as though being blown through a bubble wand.” The mood of the film is guided by “scenes drenched in gold and red and black, the kind of glow you see when you turn your closed eyes toward the midday sun.”
It just goes to show what can happen when you pair motion graphics with a true eye to graphic sensibilities. As time goes on, I think the lines between disciplines will become more and more faint as movie makers and advertisers discover that the best of both worlds makes magic.

Found on Veer: Chris Knight’s review of 300