21. ZANN'S ROOM

When designing the individual rooms for the two characters in "TheMusic of Erich Zann," I wanted there to be a stark difference, yet still give a sense of the derelict aesthetic that I was initially going for in the foyer of the building. I imagined, perhaps, that the landlord kept up the surface appearance, but didn't care much for the tenants. And thus, the tenants happened to be whomever the wind blew in.

That said, I still wanted Erich Zann's room to give the impression of an old man who has lived a full life, but has lost control of his life, and his possessions. I hoped that the boarded up windows would give this impression, in addition to the clutter filled table. Reflecting back on these words, I am not sure that I actually achieved this impression for the whole environment, but this was my thinking. (Next time, I will remember to reveal more clutter, and debris in the room and on the floor to better achieve such an effect.)

(By the way, this same pieces of wood that cover the windows also make an appearance in the exterior scene. These were added later in the production, when I felt that there had to be more clutter outside of the building.)

Another way to add to this disheveled life was how I incorporated the water closet. In line with the notion that these rooms were cheap, despite the building's nice facade, the rooms would be simple studios that don't even have separate rooms for the water closet; the toilet, sink, and bath would all be in the same space. For the student's room, I would at least give her a curtain around this bathroom, but in Zann's room, I wanted to show that he lacked the sense to even separate his life from such things, thus leaving all of this filth out for viewer to see. However, like the furniture in the foyer, I designed these sets without any screenplay or storyboard in hand. Thus, I don't think that this water closet (in either room) is seen in any shot in the finished film. (Looking back, it's probably a good thing that it wasn't seen because I didn't take the time to texture the porcelain as though it was dirty, or unclean.)

One last piece to show the drabness of the environment was the bed. Like the water closet, Zann's bed barely appears in the final product (though I do think we might see it out of focus in the back of a few shots.) However, the crusty bed does make an appearance in the student's room.

  

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