Prompt:

What are the visual style characteristics of Dario Argentine[sic] horror films?

Response:

Dario Argento is an Italian film director known for his work in the horror genre, particularly in the giallo subgenre. His visual style is characterized by the following elements:

• Vibrant color schemes: Argento is known for his use of bold, vivid colors, often featuring intense reds, blues and greens.
• Expressionistic lighting: He often employs stylized lighting, using bright, artificial lights to create a heightened sense of unease.
• Dynamic camera work: Argento’s camera work is often fast-paced and fluid, using quick zooms and sweeping tracking shots to create a sense of disorientation and tension.
• Enigmatic scores: The music in Argento’s films is often haunting and surreal, adding to the overall sense of unease and ambiguity.
• Surreal set design: The settings in Argento’s films are often highly stylized and dreamlike, creating a sense of otherworldly, fantastical atmosphere.
  These elements combine to create a highly distinctive visual style that has become synonymous with Argento’s brand of horror.

Midjourney prompts:

DVD screengrab of an office worker sneaking out of the office, a large cubical farm with zombie workers, in the style of Dario Argento, Vibrant color scheme, Expressionistic lighting, dynamic camera angle, surreal set, 35mm –ar 16:9

DVD screengrab of an office worker sneaking out of the office, a large cubical farm with zombie workers, in the style of Dario Argento, 35mm –ar 16:9

Commentary:

First, I asked ChatGPT to describe the visual characteristics of Dario Argento films. This feels right based on all the films I saw way back when. You can see I used those in the first prompt, which made the vibrantly colored ones. Then I dropped the characteristics to see if MidJourney just knew the style of Dario Argento, which it doesn’t really.