One major inspiration to me is the work of Wes Anderson, an American film director, screen writer and producer. Anderson has gathered a cult following among the underground with classics like 'Bottle Rocket', whilst also cracking into the mainstream with his more popular works which includes Roald Dahl's 'Fantastic Mr.Fox'. Creating a unique style, Anderson often only uses still shots when shooting his films, however he also utilises steady cams to pan and zoom in certain scenes, this limited range of camera shots helped establish and distinguish Anderson's style. I would like to experiment with this minimal camera shot technique as it could be used to help present the dull life I'm trying to portray in my short film and will contrast with all the action and unrealistic notion of popular movies, which will also give my short film a sense of social realism. If this technique is successful it will heighten the underlying concept of my short film, making it perhaps stronger and more effective overall.
Another aesthetic style which is noticeable in certain Anderson Films is the potent theme and focus on colour. For example, in 'Moonrise Kingdom', a film directed by Wes Anderson, the colour 'yellow' is seen in almost every shot throughout the film. This style can also be noted in 'The Life Aquatic with Steve Zissou' this time with a different colour to suit the mood of the movie. This leads me to believe that Anderson uses a small colour palette for each of his works to help develop both the characters and the setting. I will also create my own minimal colour palette and theme for my short film to enhance the mood of my film.
Here is a scene from Wes Anderson's Moonrise Kingdom, in which both the above techniques can be seen:
9 Shots
Another inspiration for me is the work of street photographer '9 shots'. Street photography has always been of interest to me as it shows humans in natural poses and common situations. This reflects the true characteristics and probably mundane scenario which life is, for many people, which is something I want to inherit into my short film... Reality, showing emotion, exhaustion and isolation rather than the false poses and acting seen in both popular photography and films. Another thing I like about 9 shots street photography is that the character in his shots is usually smaller in scale compared to the scale of the setting/scenario. This could make the person less noticeable or less important which signifies the isolation of the character and their lack of effect within society. This is a technique I could deploy in my short film to achieve the desired effect of showing the mundane and lonely life of my character.
Here, below, is an example of 9 shots work, which encaptures the dull reality of every day life.
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