Rainbow curved and located high above the Sun (or Moon) with its convex side pointing downwards (creating the impression of an "upside down rainbow"); the circumhorizontal arc runs much closer to the horizon, is more straight and located at a significant distance below the Sun (or Moon). Both arcs have their red side pointing towards the sun and their violet part away from it, meaning the circumzenithal arc is red on the bottom, while the circumhorizontal arc is red on top. The circumhorizontal arc is sometimes referred to by the misnomer "fire rainbow". In order to view it, the Sun or
Beyond the Black Rainbow he and the director "also looked at abstract paintings, photographs, and architectural design books" for inspiration. One of "Beyond the Black Rainbow"'s notable characteristics is its deliberately slow, hypnotic pace. According to Cosmatos, "Beyond the Black Rainbow" belongs to what he dubbed the "trance film" subgenre. Cosmatos mentioned Francis Ford Coppola's "Apocalypse Now" (1979), Alain Resnais' "Last Year at Marienbad" (1961) and Saul Bass's "Phase IV" (1974) as cinematographic blueprints for his debut film. Cosmatos explained the rationale behind his screen-writing, which downplays the "very concrete story at the heart of it" in favor of an "atmospheric" approach: Jeremy Schmidt,