OUGD501 - Studio Brief 01 - Further Reading - Ede on British Film Design, a History

The first reading is of Laurie Ede's British Film Design, a History where an important investigation into Gemma Jackson's work on 1997 The Borrowers is a good example of Jameson's nostalgia film. This book gives a good overview of the British film industry and focuses on big figures such as Stuart Craig, a production designer who had a huge part in the Harry Potter film series. 

One key example that Ede looks into is the effect of Hollywoods modern production ethos on British filmmaking. One large part of British film that was effected was sci-fi production design. John Barry, a sci-fi production designer comments "I like doing science fiction and fantasy films. You can let yourself go. I prefer designing surrealist things. I find it much easier too because you're free to choose. When you're in a jam, you can simply change the rules." This comment by Barry demonstrates how non-fiction films can be more complex when trying to differentiate it's production design from Jameson's parody or Hutcheon's parody. There are no rules with non fiction, fantasy and sci-fi film.

Ede looks into 'new British cinema' and it's revisionist and postmodern approach. New and stable finances in the film industry saw a boom of production. This is where Jackson's design techniques are analysed by Ede and are important in this investigation. "Cleverly, she [Jackson] disrupted the sense of period by using old props (long gone domestic brands, numerous Morris Minor cars) and a brown/green palette that evoked the Britain of the austerity years." Jackson has used a pastiche of a miss mash of objects without the real intention of referencing anything in particular but with creating an effect that is identifiable as the austerity years in Britain. However by using iconic props such as Morris Minor cars, it has created a blank parody and nostalgia film.

Jackson's work is an example of Jameson's parody, it has no real intention of referencing anything specific with the postmodern approach of piecing work together with examples from a variety of existing works.