Now You See Me is a fairly original film from the last decade, focusing on magic tricks and heists and how to the main characters use the two together for their personal gain. One of the film's main points as it progresses, is challenging the viewer to question the difference between magic and reality. Regardless of how the film was received, it definitely has a talented team in the art department that was able to create some very visually stimulating set pieces.
For this film, Thomas Valentine was the supervising art director, the man in charge of executing the production designer's desire for the film and giving it the unique visual style that it has. Valentine was involved with some acclaimed films such as Captain America: The Winter Soldier and for comparative purposes, Sam Raimi's Spider Man 2.
Now, the films Spider Man 2 and Now You See Me are completely different in terms of style, but Valentine's work on Spider Man, which had a $200 million budget, could have given him the necessary experience to help his future projects be visually interesting. When working on Spider Man 2, there was also a bank scene and except in a mildly different context. Instead of robbing a bank as part of a magic trick, the bank was just being robbed by Doctor Octopus. Anyway, in both cases the banks have distinct looks. As a stereotype, banks have vaults and large vault doors. Now, walking into a Chase or Wells Fargo bank, you're not going to see a giant vault door just sitting in the back of the bank. Movies, of course, are different, and a vault is commonly associated with a bank; so when we see a vault in a movie, we know it's a bank. It's visual symbols like the vault that help us orientate ourselves inside the world of the movie we're watching. These symbols and cues help us watch a film without being explicitly said where and what is going on.
That being said, sometimes a film can get lost between cuts if the environments are too similar. In a film, there needs to be a visual way that the viewer can distinguish between cuts and scenes, as well as contrasting situations happening simultaneously. In Now You See Me, during this particular sequence, we have one character go from the stage to the bank vault. Now, as an art director, how can you distinguish the two locations so that the viewer can subconsciously keep up with the cuts? In the case of this sequence, it's almost night and day; the stage is dark, yet lit enough that we can see the protagonists, and the vault is bright and shiny. On a visceral level, we might associate shininess with wealth, an idea that is very superficial but one that can help your mind make that connection. Of course the bank is going to be shiny, and of course the stage is going to be black because stages are usually black. The art director isn't doing anything risky with these set pieces, but he doesn't have to. Because of this contrast, we don't have to think about where the film is going, we just know we're there. It's this basic principle that, if followed correctly, allows the film to succeed in other areas. If it's not followed correctly, the film is clunky and confusing to watch.
Referring to the vocabulary of design, it's hard to say whether or not Mr. Valentine really did anything special with this bank scene. The line design of the vault is what you'd expect- columns and rows of color of the interior, the small, intimate space and the sleek, smooth texture all around. Though nothing terribly innovative happened with this scene, nothing innovative really needed to. Considering the vault was only in the film for a fraction of its runtime, it didn't need to be anything too special. It was, however, pleasant to look at and met expectations.
In Gestalt Principles, we can apply the Law of Similarity to the copious amount of money before this character. As well as Pragnanz, we see the money as just "a lot of money" even though it could be in different quantities in both the blue and red stacks, as well as different dollar amounts. We know that all the magicians are on stage based on their proximity, and how the banker isn't there since he's not within their proximity.
From a design standpoint, it is very simplistic because that's what it needs to be. Thomas Valentine did a fine job overseeing the artistic direction with this film, specifically this scene. As I mentioned earlier, with the art design being executed effectively, that leaves the other departments able to do their job exceedingly well. If it wasn't for decent art design, the editors might have a difficult time cutting together the sequences to make sense. If the set pieces weren't decent looking, the director of photography might have a difficult time shooting a good looking film. Art Direction is such a key part of film making and makes a huge difference when done properly. Now You See Me isn't a film with stunning visuals necessarily, but it is a great example of how seamlessly sets and designs can blend into a film.
Now You See Me
Cinematography by Mitchell Amundsen and Larry Fong
Production Design by Peter Wenham
Art Direction by Thomas Valentine (supervising art director) and Scott Plauche
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