'Amélie': Designing Emotion

Production design is typically perceived as a way of establishing credibility with the audience; the craft of taking a set and making it plausible. The power of design to communicate is of great importance to the movie as a whole. Production design enriches a film's visuals in a way that speaks louder than conventional verbal language. In cinema, as in life, a house is a reflection of the time spent inside its walls by the people who inhabit it. A room, its colors, shapes, and textures, all act as a mirror that shows the preferences, personality, and habits of the home's occupant. In a silent scene from the film, the production design is a major catalyst for the action. In this video, we visit the house of Monsieur Collignon in Amélie to show how the set and props significantly help to tell the story.
Want more insight into the production of "Amélie"? Check out our Color By Numbers: Amélie video along with our examination of Jean-Pierre Jeunet's directorial trademarks.

[@Research0digo]

Short but fantastic, thank you. I laughed until my sides hurt when young Amelie kept pulling the TV cable out.

[@rammkumaru261]

If i could watch one movie for the rest of my life that would be Amelie

[@mgwilliams1000]

Beautiful film. Thank you for this. How blessed we are to enjoy the unlimited talent of these artists.

[@amy3515]

wow, I just became aware that the mood does have a subtle dip when we go into his apartment. These intentional designs have a subconscious effect which is so interesting!

[@DRTdesign]

Fall in love again with me, Amelie, now on DVD.

[@mousepixi]

she cook an egg with a spoon?

[@superdani152003]

thank you so much for this video!

[@MiguelVicoR]

Wait! oversaturated greens reds and yellows in "Le fabuleux destin d'Amélie Poulain"? How character specific!

[@ineslebreaud]

Actually, it is. When you establish a color palette for a movie, it's not just because it looks pretty. It means something. Most importantly, and as a result, you have to distribute those colors very wisely throughout. Amélie meets several people during the movie and there aren't two houses alike. Her own is in red, red, red and yellows; the doorkeepers' is in yellows, pinks, oranges and a bit of red. These options are related to the characters who inhabit those houses. The house of the Glass Man has the closest palette to Monsieur Collignons', although a lot more in earth tones than greens, and they're both older and lonely men. All that said, you see the three colors in every set, for consistency but also because of the color correction, which is also the culprit for over saturation - not set design.

[@jamesknezetic]

@@ineslebreaud 🙏🏼Thank you so much for your furthered 👀insightful, 🔭observant, 🔎perceptive, and ⬇️in-depth 🧠understanding/explanation💬 of the nuances and significant importance of 👌🏼quality 🛋set 🎨design in both this particular 🎞film and in 📽cinema in general. 👏🏼🙂

[@allthingsfascinating]

Nice.

[@yt-sh]

ha funny ending