Submarine

(Richard Ayoade, 2010)

IMDB

Set in a Welsh, 70's seaside town, Submarine is a “coming of age” story of Oliver Tate, who whilst trying to get a girlfriend, is also trying to save his parents' marriage. His bedroom is tidy, although it's a sort of organised chaos. An attic bedroom, with dark wood beams break up the sloping ceiling, painted to resemble a light blue sky with clouds. The room has a blue painted bed, surrounded by Polaroid pictures and postcards, the room is “cluttered” with boxes of comics and records and books. Plane models hang from the roof, along with a medical skeleton model.

The space seems childish yet it hints at maturity, with clothes hanging on an exposed rail and with features like a record player and a typewriter, all viewed on screen with mature and literate narration.

Abandonment is a running theme throughout, not only in the narrative, but in the scenery as well. So as not to appear “romantic”, the couple spend time together in very still, abandoned places, including a deserted industrial estate and a closed fairground. Together, Jordana and Oliver fill these dark places with light, more accurately fire. Matches, flares, bonfires and fireworks.

The entire palette for this film is an array of blues and greys, with Jordana, the object of Oliver Tate's affections, wearing a bright red coat, a seemingly flamboyant choice in this cold, welsh, seafront town. Jordana provides the excitement and colour in the otherwise very dull (nevertheless beautiful) tone of the picture.

Fresh Meat (S1EO2)

(Various Directors, 2011)

IMDB

Fresh Meat is the telling of six first-year university students who missed out on places in halls and so find themselves living together in a student house. The living space that they all share is very typically “student house” and I hate to use such a phrase! However, the furniture is mismatched and somewhat worn, sofas with throws and cushion strewn over them. Various sets of different coloured fairy lights hang around the room, which merges with the kitchen. The kitchen is a you would expect, with mismatched crockery and glasses stacked around the surfaces. Empty drink bottles are also dotted around. Space invaders stickers decorate the otherwise plain, dated kitchen cupboards.

The IT Crowd (S4EO2) “The Final Countdown”

(Graham Lineham, 2010)

IMDB

One of my favourite TV sets is the basement office of The IT crowd. It's fantastically “nerdy” and cluttered with an assortment of items. The walls are covered with graphic posters and cult imagery and every display surface is crammed with books, CD's, board games, memorabilia and models. Cupboards and other smooth surfaces are decorated with an array of stickers. Pieces of computer components are dotted around the set. The furniture is dated and mismatched, only adding to the cluttered and dis-organised feel of the whole IT department.