Dredd: The Illustrated Script and Visuals (2014)

Dredd: The Illustrated Script and Visuals (2014)

Author: Alex Garland  |  Illustrator: Jock  |  Page Count: 240

"You were shit out of luck when you ran into the Ma-Ma clan."

If there'd been a poll asking what people would like to see in a book titled 'Illustrated Script and Visuals', everything that's already included would be on my list. As someone who enjoys reading Dredd comics, screenplays, and can happily waste an hour studying concept art, it seems almost tailor-made.

On the left hand pages is Garland's script, laid out in the usual format. It's also where you'll find trivia, concept art depicting various stages of evolution and full colour production stills, not all of which were used in the final version (unused hall of justice, judge badges, etc), with brief passages of text describing what each one is and how it fits into the overall structure. It's the 'Visuals' half of the book.

La Jetée: Ciné-roman (2008)

La Jetée: Ciné-roman (2008)

Author: Chris Marker | Designer: Bruce Mau | Page Count: 258

Chris Marker’s La Jetée (1962) is a short experimental film composed almost entirely of still images, with a V/O narration telling the story from an unusual point of view.

The black and white stills used in the film’s composition are faithfully reproduced in the ciné-roman book, with the relevant text accompanying each image. The text is in both French and English (because the original short film was a French production).

If you’re familiar with the original it’s an odd experience having the voice of the narrator replaced by your own inner-narrator. The inflections are different, the pacing is different and the edit is different. Nevertheless, if you can immerse yourself fully in the experience then it’s equally as profound and equally as unsettling.