Research into Directors and Their Work
I am interested in becoming a director and analysing other directors and their work may help me become a better director and inspire me for my final project. I have always been interested in the visionary of directors and hope that this research will inspire me to become a director and have some creative innovative for my final project.
Quentin Tarantino
"Origins have always been important to Tarantino, not just the materials and genres and movies that he lovingly references, homages, cops and outright steals, but also the careers of the actors he chooses. He casts your past as much as he casts you."
Quentin Tarantino has been labelled the "King of Dialogue" for his films, actors saying that his scripts feel natural to them and are very easy to learn as they sound like a song; many of his scripts not being the cleanest in language. Quentin Tarantino also creates gory fight scenes and strange scenarios and characters that interest the audience, many of his films being set in the 80's (From Dusk till Dawn). Tarantino also cameos in many of his films as an actor.
Quentin Tarantino seems to take inspiration for actors from their past acting. It can be one of the worst and least known films that they acted in but Tarantino takes the character he sees and can make the actor feel comfortable in his own films. It's very clever how he does this and manages to find the actors he believes fits to portray the character. Tarantino is also inspired by history, politics and criminal activity. Many of his films are based around these topics and uses them to create a script and idea for a new film.
“I think you definitely have to connect with his writing, identify with that music, the humour, and also the politics. There are people who just don’t get it, and that’s fair enough. Famously, Will Smith didn’t want to do Django, he just didn’t see himself in that world. Which worked out nicely for Jamie Foxx!”- Roth
Quentin Tarantino has gathered his knowledge of film making and being a director through experience of making films. With his creative talent, he was able to make his way up from a small budget, like in Reservoir Dogs, to amazing films such as The Hateful Eights. Throughout his films, you can see the quality increasing over time and that the dialogue matures, showing how Tarantino matured throughout the films he made from his experience in the field of directing.
"When people ask me if I went to film school I tell them, 'no, I went to films.' "- Quentin Tarantino
Alfred Hitchcock
"From his very first piece, he employed themes of false accusations, conflicted emotions and twist endings with impressive skill."
Alfred Hitchcock, the "Master Of Suspense", was a British director who created classic horror movies like "Psycho" and "Vertigo." His films are classically known for the suspenseful atmosphere, murders and twisted endings.
Many of Alfred Hitchcock's films are based off of his fears from his childhood or past experiences; one theme being afraid of the police because he was told by his father to go to the police station for misbehaving and to be locked in a cell. Hitchcock was inspired by many other horror films before his own with a level of suspense and conflicted emotions. This was something Hitchcock enjoyed and based his films around.
"We think of Hitchcock less as a descendant of other storytellers than in terms of innovations and preoccupations: thrillingly distinct murder scenes."
Hitchcock’s cinephilia extends from reading trade papers in childhood to regular private screenings of new releases through his prime to his declining years. Hitchcock had a wide understanding of cinematic knowledge which is shown in his films. Hitchcock also understood how to make the audience have the same emotions as the actors in his films; whether the emotion fear or upset, he did made the audience just as suspenseful.
"The length of a film should be directly related to the endurance of the human bladder."- Alfred Hitchcock
Stanley Kubrick
"Early into his film-making career, Kubrick acted as cinematographer, editor and soundman, in addition to directing. Later, he would also write and produce."
Stanley Kubrick was a director with impressive visionary on how he wanted his films to look, not shying away from doing multiple shoots of a scene; The Shining had 127 takes for one scene. Stanley Kubrick was most famous for his thriller, "The Shining", and his science fiction film, "Clockwork Orange". Both films have amazing visionary and strange sets around them, making the audience feel the emotions his expertise wanted.Stanley Kubrick was quite the perfectionist.
Stanley Kubrick took inspiration from the books that his films were based on. Kubrick was said to take inspiration from all diverse genres in film, expanding his own knowledge and allowing him to do a wide variety of films before pin pointing what genre he wanted to focus on. It allowed him to become more experienced and give his self better visionary on how his films should of looked.
"Many of Kubrick’s images are inspired by the novels that his movies were based on. However, by pinpointing his cinematic references, we get a sense of the breadth of his film knowledge and enthusiasm for diverse genres."
Kubrick also based many of the scenes in his films from other films that he was inspired by. Many of the shots in the Shining are very similar to older and less popular films in the same genre. It shows that he was inspired by others work and knew which scenes worked well, analysing films in his specific genre to gain expertise in film making and cinematography.
"Perhaps it sounds ridiculous, but the best thing that young filmmakers should do is to get hold of a camera and some film and make a movie of any kind at all."- Stanley Kubrick
Steven Spielberg
"Audiences around the world were riveted by the continuing adventures of his daredevil hero Indiana Jones."
Steven Spielberg is the most famous out of the four I have wrote about for modern day films, working on well-known films such as "E.T." and "Jaws." Spielberg covers more than one genre, moving from Sci-fi adventures to childlike wonder and marvels. Spielberg has been the most influential director to many people worldwide, bringing their childhood stories to life, like BFG, or making them feel as if they're in a different world; makes them enter a whole different reality.
Spielberg does have some historical based films such as "Schindler's list" and "Saving Private Ryan." Spielberg has said that he has been inspired by personal experiences, such as his parents divorce, and films he saw as a child. He loves sci-fi films from his childhood of watching them with his father, many of his films being inspired by this.
“What I think is essential for filmmakers to really learn how to do is see the scene first in their head, figure it out, even almost mathematically, and then go out and shoot it,”- Steven Spielberg
Spielberg bases many films off of the imagination and fears. It allows the audience to enter a different world and experience the fears and emotions that his characters feel. He based "Jaws" off of the huge fear of the sea, making people experience what someone may imagine to happen to them and seeing it play out in front of their eyes. Spielberg manages to make people marvel in the world he creates, many referring back to people's childhoods and children's huge imaginations, such as the BFG film he released in 2016.
"The public has an appetite for anything about imagination - anything that is as far away from reality as is creatively possible."- Steven Spielberg
I love the work of each individual director and this has shown me how they are inspired to create the films they do. They all vary in the genres they focus on and has helped me learn ways to gain inspiration from watching many films and analysing the work of actors and actresses in the films they watch. It has inspired me to watch more genres to gain a larger knowledge in the genres and in film making overall. I enjoy their films and it is enlightening to see how these directors are inspired in their work and how their past experiences in their childhood may also come to play.
References
Patterson, John. "Quentin Tarantino: What Drives The Director, By The Stars Who Know Him Best". the Guardian. N.p., 2017. Web. 7 Mar. 2017.
"Alfred Hitchcock". Biography. N.p., 2017. Web. 7 Mar. 2017.
"10 Great Films That Influenced Alfred Hitchcock". British Film Institute. N.p., 2017. Web. 7 Mar. 2017.
"Stanley Kubrick". Biography. N.p., 2017. Web. 7 Mar. 2017.
http://illusion.scene360.com/movies/72675/stanley-kubrick-film-inspirations/
"Steven Spielberg". Biography. N.p., 2017. Web. 7 Mar. 2017.
"Spielberg Discusses Sources Of Inspiration, Offers Filmmaking Advice | News | The Harvard Crimson". Thecrimson.com. N.p., 2017. Web. 7 Mar. 2017.
