The Unique Script

Guillermo Del Toro, a director who makes it his aim to portray  imaginary worlds based on real life ideologies. He has created films that have captured many viewer’s love and attention.

Del Toro is most known for his films, The Devil’s Backbone (2001), Crimson Peak (2015), The Shape of Water (2017), and Pan’s Labyrinth (2006). 

Each of these films carry his distinct style choices that have given him his name in the film industry. He is most known for the characters, or rather creatures, that center his films. Each of these creatures are obscure and they always have features that make them disturbing, yet ethereal in a sense. They hold an air of magic and often look as though they are curious in nature. Each of these creatures are made purely out of makeup, no CGI. This organic portrayal furthers the realistic aspect of the film and adds to the fantasy that prevails in each of his films. 

Fantasy is another theme that Del Toro focuses heavily on. His films are one of pure imagination. Each and every one of his works have a distinct, yet abstract reality to them that only adds to the out of body experience his audiences have. For example, in his 2006 film the Pan’s Labyrinth, Del Toro focuses on a young girl who uses her imagination to portray a magical world of the faun. As the film progresses we see the depth of the young character’s mind and we see a heavy portrayal of fantasy characters and articles that enhance our experience as the audience. Then in his 2017 film, The Shape of Water, we are exposed to our own fears as humans through the main character, the monster that was kept and examined by humans. The film is shot through the monster’s
experience and it exposes the raw fear we as the human race have, the fear of what is different. Through this portrayal of realistic fears shaped through a fantasy world, Del Toro captures the attention of the audience and ensures the film’s dystopian aura. 

Del Toro also uses his personal experience to enhance the connections to his films. He does this through his relationship with the Catholic religion. The religious appearance of Catholicism may not always be outright, but there will always be a Catholic believer, religious story or theme, article, artifact, or religious entity. For example, Hellboy II: The Golden Army made in 2008, featured the Angel of Death throughout the film. This connection, no matter the degree, offers a connection of spirituality that furthers Del Toro’s agenda of portraying a fantasy world.

Guillermo Del Toro is, in simple terms, an artist. He creates characters that hold intricate details from costuming to their own development as a person or creature. This attention to detail is one that will always be present in each of his films, which usually ensures their success. He allows for imagination to run wild and instills a certain depth in each shot in his films that embody a world of magic. This connection to an altered reality allows for his audience to connect to the film and its characters on a deeper level than other films in the genre.

I for one fall in love with the world Del Toro creates. Every aspect of his films gives a sense of mysticism that I cannot help but fall into. I cannot help but let myself become entranced by his design of sets, costuming, and overall plot

Quentin Tarantino produces some of the most highly anticipated films to reach the box office. The appeal of his films is the raw violence and overall chaos that his films have. Tarantino is most known for his films Pulp Fiction (1994), Once Upon A Time in Hollywood (2019), Django Unchained (2012), and Inglorious Bastards (2009).

 Quentin Tarantino’s writing style is a huge part of what’s made him so successful, but more than that, it is his shot choices that bring the audience deeper into the narrative. Tarantino, like all directors working at the top of their game, uses the camera as his most powerful storytelling implement. 

One of his most popular camera angles would be the wide shot. When a director wants to show a character in relation to his or her surroundings or, when a director wants the audience to appreciate the full scope of a subject’s predicament within those surroundings, nothing fits the agenda more efficiently as a well-crafted wide shot. Tarantino himself once said, “I want to top expectations. I want to blow you away.” His wide shots do just that, they enrapture the audience’s attention with a single angle shot. His wide shots let you take in every detail of the world he’s built for you.

His next tactic would be the use of crash zooms. A “crash zoom,” also known as a snap zoom, is a sudden, rapid zoom in on a subject, and you start to see it in Quentin Tarantino’s work from Kill Bill onward. It’s an intense effect, and heightens the drama around any moment.It’s like an extreme close-up but elevated to a higher degree.

Saying that characters in Tarantino films are often in peril is an understatement, and his use of the crash zoom heightens those feelings of dread and disorientation.  In the film Kill Bill, Stephen rushing to Calvin Candie’s aid or the Bride waking up from her coma are moments of maximum drama, and Tarantino appropriately employs the technique to keep the audience on the edge of their seats.

Another most distinctive practice of Tarantino’s would be the trunk shot. In almost, if nit, all of his films, he portrays the characters on screen opening a trunk while looking down into it. This forces depth into the shot in a very natural manner. The characters on screen gain a complexity to their actions and intent in each of these scenes as it portrays a new dynamic to the audience. Those watching will garner a better sense of adrenaline from the scene and will then be able to connect to the character further.

Quentin Tarantino is a genre of himself. He has nurtured a career with films of intoxicating and seductive violence surrounding the lives of criminals. His success in the film industry has been rampant and I honestly would not expect anything less

Sofia Coppola did not start her career as a director. She started in the fashion industry before releasing her acclaimed films. Once her film directing career started she released film after film. She is most known for Lost in Translation (2003), Marie Antoinette (2006), and the Bling Ring (2013).

Coppola is a household name mainly because of her film, Lost in Translation, starring Bill Murray and Scarlett Johansson. She won an academy award for best original screen write for the film. 

Her first project was a fourteen minute black and white short named Lick the Star (1998). Although not a feature length production, Lick the Star contains many of the visual motifs and distinct directorial choices that would define Coppola’s work in the years to come.

The film explores the agony of adolescence and the ever changing social status of middle school girls. It is narrated by a young female student returning from a short absence to find the queen of seventh grade, named Chloe, has taken reign over her social group. The girls have plotted to slip rat poison into the lunches of fellow male students; inspired by the V.C. Andrews novel ‘Flowers in the Attic’. As the plan takes off, so does the quick demise of Chloe’s social status. After a misunderstanding and a game of telephone dethrone her, she becomes isolated and attempts suicide.

There are several instances of scenes and shots in Lick the Star which Coppola carries over into her feature length films. She seems drawn to stories centered on characters longing for a sense of acceptance and need for emotional stability during difficult transitions in their lives.

Coppola frequently uses a car to move characters along while physically along through the film while internally they are at a cross roads. For example, in the opening shot of Lick the Star, a young girl gazes out of a car window watching the scenery pass by as she contemplates the dread of returning to school after missing several days. She knows in middle school things change rapidly and wonders what will be in store for her.

Similar shots of young people gazing out of car windows and contemplating their circumstances can be found in many of Coppola’s other works. In Somewhere, the character of Cleo looks out the window while her father is in the background looking forward. It demonstrates their distance and need to reconnect.

Further use of separating a character for a visual allusion to their emotions are bathtub scenes. The intimate setting of these shots only enhance our awareness of the vulnerability of the characters internal well-being. The point of view of the camera is also important as we are looking down on the subjects. In Lost in Translation we see the defeated Chloe’s attempt at suicide after taking pills and sliding down into the bathtub in Lick the Star. the point of view allows for the audience to truly understand the emotion the characters express.

Sophia Coppola has made a name for herself in the industry after separating herself from her famous father, who directed The Godfather and its sequels. She put her distinctive visual style into the filmmaking world and did not look back.

Her work is a beautiful symphony of lighting, costuming, and interesting angles. Coppola a world of engagement surrounding each of her works. She is a true artist with her work and I look forward to witnessing her future work.

    Tim Burton is a director who has embodied an entire genre. He has taken an entire universe of art and claimed it as his own. He has created cut classic after classic. With The Nightmare Before Christmas, Edward Scissorhands, Corpse Bride, and Sweeney Todd, Burton has gained an entire cult-like following.

His style of directing is known as “gothic suburbia”. He uses claymation, stop motion, and shadows to perfect this aesthetic. The shadowing in his films is very distinct. You will often see the chiseled bones of his characters and the drastic sensationalized set pieces. 

    These aspects of shadowing add an odd comparison of reality. Everything you see on the screen holds a sense of reality, only it is dramatized. For example, in his film Edward Scissorhands, Burton portrays a quaint neighborhood where the only thing to do is gossip. However, the color theme of the town and actions of the characters add a sense of dramatized eeriness. 

    This entices the audience to watch on because it is enigmatic. Burton’s skill of manipulating the set to become a different sense of reality is one that is so great that his films have become known for this aspect alone.

    Burton is one of those directors who has an easily identifiable visual style. Almost all of his films revel in gothic imagery. From the characters themselves, to the props, to the houses and cities where the films take place are sculpted in an exaggerated, almost cartoonish way to emphasize “goth” features. One the most obvious and famous examples of this type of style is the costume and makeup for Edward Scissorhands, who looks like he belongs in some sort of creepy goth punk rock band. Not only is the character himself gothic, but he lives in an old gothic mansion. This is similar to the visuals in Beetlejuice. Not only is the main character’s presentation very punk rock, but the entire film takes place in a creepy antique haunted Victorian home. Another great example is Burton’s Batman where the gloomy, almost industrial streets of Gotham City are strewn with ornate details. Not to mention Burton’s Batmobile, which mimicked the sweeping lines and elaborated details of classic 30’s custom coach designs. In his later films, Burton uses CGI to expand the impact of his visuals even more. Alice and Wonderland features multiple characters generated by CGI so that their proportions are exaggerated to emphasize their gothic stylings.

    The plot line and characters of Burton’s films are a factor that his following can always predict. Nearly all of Burton’s films focus on a main character who is some sort of outcast from society. Furthermore, this character is typically very strange and eccentric. Usually they are an outcast because nobody understands them. Edward Scissorhands is a great example. He is mysterious and alone due to his “unfinished” condition. In Batman, Bruce Wayne is pretty much a mysterious rich guy that distances himself by hiding his secret identity. Ed Wood is the story of a filmmaker who made strange films and acted eccentrically. Big Fish focuses on the stories of Edward Bloom, which seem exaggerated to the point that his family doesn’t believe what he says. Charlie and the Chocolate Factory is the familiar story of a group of children who get a chance to meet an eccentric, reclusive, and very mysterious candy maker. Finally, in Alice in Wonderland it is Alice who, against society’s pressures, doesn’t want to be told how to live her life. In her despair she tumbles into the rabbit hole once again.
The world Burton creates is one that is undeniably fascinating. He creates a fantasy that feels so close to reality. He is a director that has become more than a name. Tim Burton is a genre at this point in time. No director has achieved the same success in his line of script and filmmaking. He is a true artist who takes pride in the way he creates a world where his fans can escape

Michael Bay is a director of controversy. He is often critiqued for the movies he films and it becomes too difficult to find an unbiased source referring to Bay. Many attack him for his sense of “excess” that he offers Hollywood. 

Bay’s most famous films are Bad Boys (1995), The Island (2005), Pain and Gain (2013), and most famously, the Transformers series starting in 2007.

The style of film Bay has acquired is quite polarizing. They are movies with little to no plot. The stories themselves are often child-like in reality, these are plots that cater towards a certain audience, arguably men. The direct storyline of the films is set so that the actions on screen become the main focus. This is what a Michael Bay movie is about, the adrenaline.

This is infamously called “Bayham”, the use of movement, composition, and quick editing to create epic scale. He captures this essence in every film because of the style of “mise-en-scène” which is a focus on the visuals of the filme, everything in front of the camera is essentially the story. From the set design, lighting, and the actors, every action on screen is what becomes most important instead of the plot. 

Bay uses shots that make the screen feel huge. It forces the audience to feel the movement in the scenes, the audience cannot fully grasp actions in the moment. The techniques he uses are nothing of significance at face value. However, Bay has become a master of his work and has perfected the famous techniques. He uses a circular motion camera that pans around the character that is looking straight ahead. He is one of the few directors who have successfully produced the shot. The way Bay films the shot is by creating a chaotic background that makes the audience feel as if the character itself is taking a shift in scene. 

The use of quick camera work is almost always seen. Bay will pan out and in of shots that allow for the eyes to follow, but for the brain to lag. When this is accompanied with the mandatory explosive scenes, it becomes a spectacle to the eye.

Another technique would be his “hero” shot, a staple in any Bay movie. This shot often portrays a sense of chaotic superiority in the male character. It has its benefits of expressing to the audience who the main attraction is, the leading male or males.

This is one of his main critiques he faces, the focus on having the male character always be the hero or main character. Many categorize Michael Bay as the director who is the epitome of selling the fantasy of a “male’s savior complex”. He focuses heavily sometimes on the heroism of the male gender. This is mirrored with the characterization of women in his films. Bay has been known to overly sexualize his female characters and has received a substantial amount of criticism.

Further, many people believe his films are excessive. This view is that Bay’s films are far too chaotic. That the films have scenes that are only adrenaline inducing scenes with little to no time for the audience to notice the details of the scenes. For some viewers this is enough to be enraptured by the film, for others, they view it as childish and an awful style of directing.

No matter how controversial Michael Bay may be, his craftsmanship in his technology and expertise is admirable. He has a talent in exploiting the desire his audience has to be engulfed in a fantasy. His films have grossed billions of dollars and he has gained a title as the most successful director in his genre.

Michael Bay seems to be a sort of enigma in the filmmaking world. His name is one that is infamous. You either love him, criticize him, or, like me, respect his success even through being controversial. Whether people would like to admit it or not, Michael Bay is a director that knows how to create an amazing fantasy world for those who he targets.

Steven Spielberg is arguably the most successful director the public has seen so far. Almost, if not all, of his films are critically acclaimed. He has been dubbed a cinematic chameleon who has produced the masterpieces of Jaws (1975), Schindler’s List (1993), Jurassic Park (1993), The Adventures of TinTin (2008), etc.

Spielberg is a director who adapts their styles to match the circumstances. He is an “Iconoclast”, never afraid to take risks when directing his films. This characteristic has been seen to work in favor of his career. Take for example the cult classic, Jurassic Park, this film was exceptional because of the revolutionary step in CGI at the time.

This ability of adapting to his time has made many of his critics and fans believe that he is one of the few directors to have no specific style. They claim that the plots differ too far from each other to be recognized as a Spielberg film. 

However, Steven Spielberg has produced many commonalities throughout his time in the film industry. His diverse portfolio of films all have the sense of suspense ingrained into their plot. In his 1998 film, Saving Private Ryan, the antagonist was the Nazis, who fought the Americans on a battlefield. His film, Catch Me If You Can (2002), induced adrenaline throughout the audience because the plot focused on a very risky con-artist. The suspense Spielberg nurtures allows for all of his films to become addictive to the audience.

The success of his films is also credited to the new techniques Spielberg was able to introduce. His films began to use the technique of the “Spielberg Face”, a camera zooming into the character’s face while they are looking towards an object off screen. The object they are looking at is not revealed until after the camera has focused on the aforementioned shot. The focus on the face in the shot allows for the audience to experience a more human connection to the film. In modern times this shot is nothing revolutionary. However, during Spielberg’s filming, focusing specifically on this type of expression had never been heard of.

He also introduced the “mirror effect” to the film industry. The effect has camera angles focusing on a mirror or window reflection to capture the character indirectly. Through this camera work the audience can see the detail of the scene without taking away from the connection to the character. This effect is also used throughout many of the action scenes in his films. Many times the reflection of the destruction occurring is seen throughout the reflection on a car window. In Jurassic Park, Spielberg modeled this by portraying the T-Rex chasing the Jeep, while showing it in the reflection in the Jeep.

One of his more experimental techniques was his introduction of visual texture in his films. Steven Spielberg paved the way for future directors who would use the technique of having bright lights add an ambiance to the scenes and the plot itself. In his films, attention is focused on the contrast between bright, dark, dreary, and
glowing aesthetics that certain types of lighting offer. Arguably, Spielberg’s most successful use of this technique is through his films that focus on extraterrestrial creatures. In both E.T. (1982) and Close Encounters of the Third Kind (1977), Spielberg perfected the art of effectively using light to aid the plot through visuals.

A more discernible aspect of his films would be the soundtrack. The songs used in the film can be recognized by a single note being played. The adrenaline inducing Indiana Jones theme song and the unsettling Jaws backtracks are among the most recognizable soundtracks in film. These masterpieces are created by John Williams, the composer of all, but one, of Spielberg’s films. Williams is the film equivalent to Danny Elfman, the composer most known for his creation of The Nightmare Before Christmas and The Corpse Bride soundtracks. William’s brilliant take on the composing for each film elevates the action being portrayed by the character and the emotion that each member of the audience experiences.

Steven Spielberg may be an “old-timer” in the film industry. However, the “old-timer” produced a household name that has managed to build a career full of classic movies every household watches. His movies have defined specific eras in film. His cult classics embody the entertainment of a generation. 

His films will be studied for years and his mind will be adored long after we have forgotten our own names. The chameleon that is Steven Spielberg is cherished by his cult following, fellow filmmakers, and critics. He has created multiple fantasy worlds that expose the raw fear of the unknown. 

I highly doubt that anyone will ever truly grasp the revolutionary mind that is Steven Spielberg. For, his films are their own world and his career, timeless. 

Kathryn Bigelow is a director who is constantly breaking the stigma of women in film. She is one of the most successful female directors in the business. Bigelow was the first female director to ever win an Oscar for best directing.

She has produced 10 films throughout her thirty years in film production. Her most acclaimed films are the famous cult classic Near Dark (1987), Zero Dark Thirty (2012), and her Oscar winning film, The Hurt Locker (2008).

Kathryn Bigelow is known for the violence that is involved in almost all of her films. However, her style of directing the plot of violence has evolved throughout her career in film. Her early films held a seductive portrayal of gore and aggression. As her directing evolved, her films expose the raw and emotional reactions the characters have. This growth has made her movies a beautiful symphony of imagery and emotion.

The portrayal of this connection of violence to emotion by her style of filming. Her movies hold interludes between transitions that rarely focus on people or characters. They are often slow motion scenes of imagery that allow for the attention to remain on the plot because of the hypnotic anticipation it breeds. This attention to the plot allows for an emotional attachment to the emotions of the character on screen. It is also enforced by the foreshadowing Bigelow incorporates into the film. She starts her films with a shirt scene that turns into a lesson for the character later in the film. For example, in Zero Dark Thirty, the main character, Maya, is introduced to the film through a torure scene where she is gathering intelligence. This is her first interaction with such pain and it makes her far more equipped later in the film when she is being tortured again. This lesson allows for the audience to feel the emotion of the character’s journey and it supports a connection between the character and the audience.

The plot of the films are often the most recognizable traits to her directing style. They hold a sense and focus of what is taboo in society. The plot is seen as controversial to those who are from certain political and socio economic perspectives. Bigelow says that she likes to focus her scripts on topics that are not talked about enough or are different from the normative society. Her films are either based on a real event or a fictional story based on a controversial topic. Take for example her film, Point Break, where the plot is based on the “surfer life”. The film disregards the more popular lifestyle of a livelihood where holding a successful career and having a focus on earning money is the main focus. Instead it focuses on the irregular life, where enjoying the nature the world offers and living a life filled with family is the primary goal.

Her films also portray a male-dominated society through the female gaze. Bigelow does not veer away from any plot we commonly see in action films because she is a woman. Rather, she takes these themes we see and portrays it with a greater sense of reality. She exposes how women are often not taken seriously in the military and police field. This is done by portraying how a man feels superior based on the powerful position they hold or the gun they are permitted to holster. Bigelow uses her own experiences to point out the injustices of these fields, whereas, her male counterparts usually follow the cliche by making men “saviors” and females “seductive”. She is able to make her films more personal to the audience by having many of the male characters be young, not fearless, and often making mistakes throughout the film. 

Kathryn Bigelow marks a breakthrough for women in film because of her prominence in a severely make dominated career. She has broken the stigma behind the ideology that the feminine mind is far too fragile to effectively portray the hardships and violence a person can face. She was believed to be too soft spoken to make such gory films. However, an actor in her film, the Hurt Locker, Jeremy Renner, stated perfectly that, “She(Bigelow) sees through her eyes, not her mammaries”.

Bigelow is one of the most inspirational directors the filmmaking world has ever seen. She is not only a symbol of empowerment, but she is a director who reaches further than the facade we commonly look towards. Her directing style leaves the audience with a sense of vulnerability and empathy. Her work will be remembered for its exposure to the raw emotion adrenaline induced films often lack. 

I dare to even say, that she offers the most complex experience to her films out of her counterparts. When you watch these films, do not forgo the emotion it induces. Rather, embody the feeling, for you then gain a true connection to the beautiful mind of Kathryn Bigelow.

The beauty of Old Hollywood is a criteria that filmmaker, Wes Anderson, has formed a film career on. The director is one of the most known filmmakers of our time due to his themes in film.

Anderson has created nine films, all of great success. His most notable pieces are Fantastic Mr. Fox (2009), Moonrise Kingdom (2012), and his most credited film, The Grand Budapest Hotel (2014).

These films have all been based around the male characters he creates. The male characters are all presenting straight males, who hold a childlike curiosity and sense of adventure that contradicts their age. The narration of the film is done by this childish male character. This narration adds a complexity to the film because you see the character themselves acting out a past action as they are also narrating their choices. It allows the audience to look into the character’s mindset and then relate it to the plot.

This sense of childhood in his films is due to Anderson’s connection to his own childhood. He bases his films through the lens of his twelve-year-old self. Anderson says that it is at this age that he believes fantasy and reality become one. The whole world becomes a fantasy so real that you can not help but fall in love with it.

Attached to this sense of fantasy is the portrayal of eccentricity. Anderson does this through his distinct film techniques. A staple in his films would be the use of slow-motion, he will start a scene off at a regular pace and then it will slow down in the middle of an action. This technique itself is paired with his use of quick imagery. The scenes will then cut quickly to another scene, but it will then remain static. The sharp transitions and occasional slow motion add a comedic effect, but it also gives the audience a quick emotional reaction. The audience is thrown from scene to scene with little time to process the whole action. This offers an inherent suspense that one may not immediately associate with a Wes Anderson film.

His most credited techniques to his style would be his use of symmetry and color palettes. Anderson has symmetry in every shot, no matter the angle being filmed. This is credited to his educational career in philosophy, where he was taught the psychological connection between the brain and symmetry. Anderson was able to claim this technique because of the obscurity it adds to his films, especially when paired with the quick shots and color palette. Every film has a specific color theme that paired with the plot, tells a story. For example, in The Grand Budapest Hotel, each hotel has a different color scheme. Not only is it different, it matches the characters story to a tee. This is because while the color is portrayed in the setting itself, it is often portrayed through the costuming of each character. The costume choices are able to add a depth to the character because it is so niche to the persona itself

Anderson’s films are not known mainly for the plot, but for the aforementioned film techniques. This has good reason, because Anderson writes the story for the photography aspect. He writes a script that allows for an immersive effect on the audience. Anything that is being said by the characters is put into imagery. Meaning, that the filmography is the main support of the plot. The way Anderson is able to ensure that the dynamic plot on the screen is being portrayed the way it was intended is by controlling the set. This is not a common practice on set, for many actors and directors feel too confined. However, Anderson line-reads and adjusts the actors in order to control the way the film is shaped. This control does not deter the enigmatic effect the film has, in fact, it greatly enhances it. 

Wes Anderson is not only a filmmaker, he is a storyteller. One may think of these two terms in token. However, a filmmaker is a master in the artistry of directing, a storyteller is an artist who immerses an audience into a fantasy world. Anderson is both, he does not just create one piece for each of his works, he creates a body of work that portrays the beauty in obscurity. 

I thoroughly enjoy the complexity and similarity in each of his films. His style of directing offers a sense of comfort and desire to understand the movie itself. He has successfully gained an avid watcher and enthusiast of the Old Hollywood aesthetic out of myself. 

I will leave you with a recommendation. When watching a film directed by Anderson, immerse yourself in the experience; witness the character’s wonder, attach yourself to the passion in each shot, and, ultimately, fall in love with the “Wes Anderson Aesthetic”.

 

The renowned filmmaker, Greta Gerwig, is most known for her film adaptation of the novel, Little Women. She was nominated for numerous Oscars and gained significant fame in the media.

Her early experience in film was started by her acting career. She acted in the films “Greenberg” (2010) with Ben Stiller and “To Rome with Love” (2012). These films exposed her to the world and experience of an actor, which she uses when she directs her movies. She then co-wrote two films with Bambach, “Frances Ha” (2012) and “Mistress America” (2015).

Gerwig debuted her solo directing career with her film “Lady Bird” (2018) and has since then released “Little Women” in 2019. Her recent debut in filmmaking has made her a popular name in the directing world and she has already been credited with a specific style of film.

 Her films have been found to fall into the genre of “mumblecore”. This genre is known for having movies that have low budgets and focus on the young adulthood of America. Even though Gerwig’s films have not fallen into the low budget category, she still manages to embody the essence of one. This is mostly credited to her early career in low budget short films. However, she directly mirrors the focus on young American adulthood. 

Both of her released films focus on young females who are navigating through their own lives. These characters both have a focus on their families and the connection they share with each member. Gerwig specializes in exposing the complexity of families through the eyes of the main character. She does this by basing her films in domestic settings where each character lives a life of normalcy, in other words, a life of a modern citizen. Through these settings, the plot exposes characters as real people going through everyday struggle. 

Gerwig’s style of writing is one that does not necessarily follow the traditional style of script outlines. She does not start her writing with a specific plot in mind. Rather, she has said that she writes on matters and conversations she hears around her, namely, the subway. With these overheard conversations she starts to formulate a script. She writes by letting the words on the paper speak to her, ensuring a sense of natural fluidity. This then has an effect on characters she creates, it allows for her characters to tell their own stories and to create their own personality.

The directing style itself is one that shoots on still frames and focuses on the character instead of the setting. This focus on the character brings sole attention to the dialogue occurring on screen. This is what makes Gerwig’s films so enchanting. She ensures that the focus of the movie is on the story the characters portray.

The unique aspect of Gerwig’s style of directing is her focus on the actor’s themselves. She has experienced the world of an actor and understands what she is asking of them. She says that she approaches her requests with sympathy because she knows first hand how taxing it can become at times. Gerwig also recognizes how important it is for the actors to be organic, especially when acting in a family setting. So, she is known for having the actors spend weeks rehearsing together to create a realistic ambiance. This rehearsal forms a bond between each actor that allows for them to effectively improvise when shooting. 

Greta Gerwig might have just started her career in directing films, but she has effectively imprinted her name in the filmmaking blueprint. The realism and wit she manages to portray allows for the audience to personally fall for the characters and story on screen. Gerwig manages to capture the normalcy of life and reveal its complexity plus humor through simple shots and compelling dialogue.

With this in mind, it is my belief that we have just seen the early stages in Gerwig’s style growth. Her directing has only room for more films that will successfully reveal how life in itself is a compelling matter full of loss, love, sadness, and hope. I look forward to witnessing her future films and will most definitely be the first in line at the box office.

 

 

In this blog site you will be reading about known directors who achieved  fame through their specific style of filmmaking. Each post will focus on a different director who uses a reoccurring theme in each of their projects. Whether it be through the tone of the film, the use of symmetry, color sets, or the casting; each post will analyze how the director turns these aspects into their signature.

These posts will include both female and male directors who have created critically acclaimed films or films that are known for their adrenaline and action. This range of directing will offer you, the reader, an opportunity to learn about the complexity filmmaking holds.

I welcome you to my blog and I sincerely hope you gain a connection to the art of filmmaking.