Only God Forgives is set in Bangkok so it might help my cause to have a brief understanding of it.
Bangkok is the capitol and most prosperous city in Thailand. The city is found in the Chao Phraya River delta in central Thailand. 14% of the population live here.
The culture of Bangkok reflects its position as Thailand's centre of wealth and modernization. The city has long been the portal of entry of Western concepts and material goods, which have been adopted and blended with Thai values to various degrees by its residents.
Neon and light seem to be everywhere in night time Bangkok and it probably best reflects visually the setting of the film. It also helps reflect undertones of criminality.
Reflections:
The neon aesthetic is also in keeping with the lighting considerations I had from my original film noir research. Using something like UV would also enable me to give it some vibrancy, designing things to look like neon always fall down if not illuminated, surely this illumination is at the very heart of neon and the whole reason it is used.
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