Planning - Directorial style ( Post 34 )

Directorial style 

Within my music video I have some particular styles and directors I would like to use for inspiration for creating my own footage for my coursework, particularly the silent film inspired aspect. 

One of the inspirations for my coursework was a film movement in the late 1950s and 1960s called the New Wave or La Nouvelle Vague if you were to use the French term. This was an umbrella term for a group of french movie makers in this time period. There are thousands of films that come under this category but here are the some of most iconic/recognised:

This movement is still very relevant today and has influenced many contemporary directors with the film making style. This movement showed people that they didn't need professional studios to make effective and impressive film inspiring film makers all around the world to make their own content.
When this movement arrived was crucial, as it was just after the war so France was starved from culture and most of the directors emerging were cinema geeks so spent a long time thinking about how to make these films. Although they respected the studio films of the time, many new wave artists believed that main stream cinema was not presented post-war human life in a genuine way, especially in France. Thus this movement rejected the traditional narrative of 'Old Hollywood' and when you watch the films there is a feeling that the viewers ability to perceive and watch the film also reflected their ability on how they perceive life. They wanted to make cinema fresh and exciting, make the viewer think not only about their emotions about the film but also about their own life.

Francois Truffaut:

Francois Truffant was one of the founders of new wave cinema and is still an icon in French cinema.
He could be said to encapsulate the group's mission when he said, "The film of tomorrow will not be directed by civil servants of the camera, but by artists for whom shooting a film constitutes a wonderful and thrilling adventure."

This has inspired me to be more creative with my coursework, as although I may not be able to communicate in the same way as I am producing a music video, I do not want to just follow the traditional norms and values of music video and incorporate different styles and challenge these conventions to make a unique video that expresses what I think is interesting.

The main style I have taken inspiration from is silent film, so here is some research into the most influential directors of this genre:

Charlie Chaplin :

Charlie Chaplin was an English comic actor, filmmaker and composer who rose to fame in the silent era. He was born on April 16th, 1889 in London and he is now considered one of the most important figures in film history. He went to the USA where he was scouted for the film industry and began appearing in 1914 for Keystone Studios. He soon developed the Tramp persona and formed a large fanbase. He directed films from and early age and by 1918 was one of the best known figures in the industry. In 1919, Chaplin co-founded the distribution company United Artists, which gave him control over his films. His first feature-length was :

• The Kid (1921)
• A Woman of Paris (1923)
• The Gold Rush (1925)
• The Circus (1928)

He refused to move to sound films, so he produced:

• City Lights (1931)
• Modern Times ( 1936)

Both of which did not include any dialogue. He was marked with controversy and his popularity decreased rapidly. However in 1972 there was a renewed appreciation for his work and he received a Honorary Academy Award for the 'incalculable effect he has had in making motion pictures'.

A clip from ' The Lions cage':

As you can see in the clip above, all the movements in this style are sped up and give comedic effect. Any motion or emotion has to be completely over exaggerated so that the expression can come across without dialogue or diegetic sound, which is the kind of style that I am looking to incorporate in my video, thus how he has inspired me for my coursework. I think it gives a light hearted and comedic effect which is what I would like to create, so I have researched into his films to help me gain an understanding on how I may recreate this and what kind of directions I will have to give my actors when it comes to filming.

From previous research into making videos, I have also taken inspiration from Wes Anderson and how he keeps everything so symmetrical and central in the frame. I think that this could work well as it would keep everyone the same distance apart and make the shots look organised and aesthetic in the chase scenes, so it feels more professional. I will thus try to integrate this into my work as it could fit well with the other inspirations I have taken.

Have I taken any inspiration from David Wilson, who I have previously researched?
Although David Wilson is a very talented director, his style does not really fit into the style of my coursework. He uses a very creative mix of real props and edited images which would be difficult to do with the limited technology and budget I have for my coursework, even if it does look amazing. Furthermore, my idea relies on the silent film genre, and there is nothing from his work I can take inspiration from for this even if I do appreciate his talent.