II. S t a r k I n t e r i o r s
I n s i d e t h e H a u n t i n g S e t
The visual aesthetic of Sighs from the Depths is defined in the production of a miniature set. The films narrative surfaces the ancestral fears we repress in our subconscious. The set is constructed with two principle layers which form the concept of the conscious and subconscious mind: the world outside and the world within. The set is designed as two rooms with a hidden passage connecting them that serves the same function materially, as dream interpretation does symbolically.
A r c h i t e c t u r a l R e f e r e n c e s
The film is set in old London in 1920, the year Oxford University began to allow women to get degrees. The dimly lit interior underscores the atmosphere of the film. The room is minimal, the light modulated in shades of grey casts the deprivation of the time period. Inspired by brutalist structures, and Bauhaus architecture the bedroom has its own history in its timeworn interior. Furnishings of early 20th century wood desks, grim Parisian bed frames, and European motif decorative wallpaper creates an atmosphere of faded luxury.
S y l v i e ' s B e d r o om
T h e M i r r o r e d R o o m
It is within the mirrored room that ancestral fears we hide in our subconscious come to surface. The secret room contains the symbol meant to invoke dark magic, a ritual chamber of sacrifice. It is only accessible in dreams, a mirror of waking life. Dreams within the mirrored room surface the underworld, its dark and otherworldly power.
