The Visual Language of Severance

Severance is one of the best-looking TV shows to release in the past few years, and when comparing it to other shows released recently, it isn’t hard to tell why. Most of the credit goes to the leading cinematographer on the show, Jessica Lee Gange, who has shot most of the series, while also directing one episode in season two. 

The design language for Severance was heavily influenced by Lars Tunbjörk’s iconic photo book, Office, which features a plethora of images from corporate offices around the world. The office spaces seen in the book show interesting and eerie places of work. The photos look familiar, yet also distant at the same time which gives everything a liminal feel. The influence can be seen in much of Severance, as the Severed floor at Lumon looks extremely similar in aesthetic to the famous photo book. 

Severance plays with the concept of literally separating work life and outside life. The work-life variant of the main character, Mark, is labeled “Innie Mark,” while the outside variant is named “Outie Mark.” This concept sets up an interesting plot for the story, which shows two different lives of the same person.

The show takes place mainly at Lumon Industry’s Severed floor, which is bleak and soulless visually. The harsh, cool lighting is consistent, which makes it hard for creativity, yet Gange can compose around the idea of Severance. The show also can’t have many unique locations due to the plot, which can also limit creativity. Any shots taking place on the Severed floor are extremely tight, still, and robotic, which are meant to mimic the static nature of the workers. When comparing this to shots from the outside world, specifically Mark’s house, more natural camera movement is used with much darker lighting. This isn’t only used for visual aesthetics, as the darker lighting in the house compared to the bright lighting of the Severed floor is used to contrast the difference in lifestyle that Innie Mark has compared to Outie Mark. 

Season 2 Episode 7 of the series notes the directorial debut of Jessica Lee Gange, who takes full advantage of this. Titled “Chikhai Bardo,” episode 7 answers some of the biggest questions from the whole series, and shows us the relationship between Mark and his thought-to-be-dead wife, Gemma. The episode sees a drastically different tone, with most of the episode using warmer colors, more relaxed camera holds, and playful, but beautiful cinematography. Throughout the episode, we see Mark and Gemma through the years; the good, the bad, and everything in between. All of this is presented in a visually pleasing, but intentional way, striking an emotional chord with the audience.

The unique production design of Lumon is thanks to lead production designer Jeremy Hindle, who stated that a lot of his influence was from the 1967 French film, Playtime, which was also a play on workplace life, similar to Severance. Hindle intentionally wanted a lack of color on set for the series, as the only distinct colors seen on the Severed floor are the green carpet in MDR and the toned blues seen sporadically throughout. 

Severance is an example that TV shows can be just as innovative and good looking as normal films, and Ben Stiller beautifully directs most of the episodes. Season 2 just wrapped up a few weeks ago, and season 3 is slated to release within the next two years. The show left off on a very large cliff hanger so audiences will have to wait to see what happens next.