Orphan Black - Contextual Research

Orphan Black

I've recently been loving Orphan Black, when i saw the trailer for this popular Netflix drama series i was instantly hooked. I love how the show portrays normal urban life in comparison to scientific DNA. 

The directors and especially the editors took time to create the 'Orphan Black' introduction. It is very scientific which creates the authentic for the show.  The technicolor opening titles are what begins as an apparent journey through the cosmos. Completing this with an alien encounter, as soon it becomes an abstract journey through inner space. What we don't know as an audience is that John Fawcett wanted to introduce the plot through the opening titles. The genetic material that grows and divides in the opening is revealing the biological making of Sarah and all her clones. I love how the opening titles are edited together and how Sarah is divided into so many clones in that one opening scene, we as an audience don't realise that until we look into it deeply. The contrast of the colours of all the DNA and all the titles is also a huge significant as it alludes to the perpetual state of danger that Sarah and her clones find themselves in throughout the show. The sequence has a very modern effect added to it, this is done to show the audience how science has improved and what can be done in the world with one persons DNA.

The visual style of Orphan Black is always bright and contrasted. One thing that really makes Orphan Black spectacular is that Tatiana Maslany has multiple parts, the production has to film a scene multiple times with a dolly-mounted motion control camera that replicate the movement between each and every shot. A lot of work and effort goes into Orphan Black to make it as spectacular as it seems. In most scenes, Maslany first acts the scene with her body double Kathryn Alexandre in the alternate  clone role, then again they swap. In post-production Alexandre is replaced with images of Maslany from the alternate shots, thereby allowing a lot more action in the scenes where she interacts with herself. One of my favourite scenes and the most difficult to film was when the clones had a dance party. This took two days to shoot and took several different body doubles to create this effect, and the post-production work from Geoff Scott and his team of intelligent creatures took almost hundred of hours to complete. Not only the Dance Party was filmed this way but there was also another very difficult scene they had produced which was called The Dinner Party, this is where all the clones sat at one table and had dinner. Once again this must of been very difficult to film just like the Dance Party, Maslany had to talk to herself most of the time and the post-production to weeks.

The character Cosima is named after a famous science historian Cosima Herter. Herter works closely with the writers to ensure that the plausibility of cloning and other scientific aspects of the show are correct. As well as the complexity of philosophical and ethical concerns that the show raises, she also usually answers fans questions about the shows science. Herter is usually always needed on set and on script writing due to her scientific knowledge, by making the clone Cosima so intelligent and smart the writers needed to make sure that they have all the facts correct. 

The set deign and mise-on-scene for Orphan Black uses a lot of post production colour grading, it has been done in such a way to represent the mood of the scene. Scenes that take place in Felix's house are usually dominated by brown and orange colours, creating a very warm and homely atmosphere. As an audience we always feel safe in Felix's home, and the director and producers made sure of this. This decision is to create an essence of family, every-time Sarah and Kira show up at Felix's home nothing bad seems to happen but the second they step outside danger occurs. Audiences like to know when the characters are safe, and the sense of family and warmth in Felix's home helps create that safe environment. This makes it even more shocking to the audience if that safety of Felix's home is put at a large risk.

On the other hand when we are put into a set design where the lighting has either a blue/green tint we instantly know danger is about to occur. The director adds a lot of attention to detail, it may be just a plain room with two characters placed inside but if we closely pay attention to the details we can tell that both of these characters have a strong connection between each-other. The way they are placed and the way they are looking at each-other makes us wonder what will happen to each of these characters. The blue/green colours are used to create a very cold and isolates atmosphere which is a direct contrast to Felix's home. These colours truly convey Sarah's isolation and the pain of her not being able to find a cure for her sisters. It also shows that both of these characters are only test subjects of LEDA and CASTOR which are two science groups who created the clones. They were both made to be tested on and then killed off but we can see in Sarah's passion that is not what she is here for. 

Within Orphan Black there are a lot of scientific props that are used within the show, many machines and high tech equipment. This is to really portray the hard work that Cosima puts in to find a cure for all the clones so they do not die. It also represents how LEDA created the clone with such high tech gadgets, it wasn't easy and took the time and effort. All the science equipment makes us thin that it is a science fiction. But the show is purposefully set in a present-day that looks and operates just like ours. It's most threatening villains are corporate suits who see the clones as a business opportunity. Hard questions of biology are inevitably woven into every single mystery. It makes us wonder as an audience why the clones cannot find a cure, when they have access to so much equipment.

The sound design used in Orphan Black is very scientific all the tracks give you a modern yet scientific vibe. All the tracks are usually lowered and made very dark and deep, usually these tracks are played when danger occurs. The entire show is truly based on Sarah's isolation and trying to free herself from project LEDA and CASTOR. The electronic soundtrack is very modern and cutting edge for audiences. Trevor Yuile and Two Fingers are the main music composers for Orphan Black they create brilliant sound transitions just like they did with the opening sequence which is everyones favourite. Music within the show mostly represent each and every character while Sarah listens to 80s grunge music, Felix listens to modern Pop. This really contrasts the characters together, this really sets apart the two characters within the series. We usually see Sarah wearing headphones and being in her on world but as to Felix he usually has diegetic music playing in his studio apartment being free from all danger unlike Sarah who is always isolated, even in her own works. The none-diegetic music really creates that feeling of Sarah and the clones trying to break free when they have the dance party in season 2.

Orphan Black really inspires my work, the way that the direction envisions the show is absolutely fascinating, the way he sets out to shoot the show is unbelievable. I love how John Fawcett makes the audience feel the isolation that Sarah feels and i myself really would love to create that emotional connection with the audience that John Fawcett creates. A good director knows how to connect his own characters with the audience, this is the most important part of directing for me because if an audience is not hooked how will they carry on watching? And this is what John Fawcett did from the start with Orphan Black by killing off the most important character in the show in the first ever episode, i was instantly hooked. 

I have also taken John Fawcett's key lighting into consideration, just like David Fincher Fawcett uses key blue/green tinted lighting to set the mood for his scenes. I myself will be using blue/green gels to set a key lighting for my scenes to create the isolation and loneliness for a character. And as for brown dark grainy lighting. i will use those to create a soft warm welcome in a scene. I am actually using both of these inspirations in my directions projects because it is such a smart way of representing the mood of my own characters.