First week in “Finding the Ear”
Our first week in this studio focuses on obviously, introduction. We did watch some clips from three widely-recognised filmmakers though; Martin Scorsese, Wes Anderson and Christopher Nolan. What most interests me is Christopher Nolan’s distinct and unique style across his films. Especially an analytical research on Nolan’s pattern of styles and filmic conventions across his different films. Nolan’s imagination of high concept within his films has been not only creating an idea outside the box, but it is like Nolan has also create his own circle somewhere in a space outside the box. This is like what is shown with the man killing his little self and in turn killed by a bigger self of him, in which can represents the idea of karma. I have learned that he consistently portray the sense of uncomfortable time passing through the use of clock ticking. Most of his characters has some kind of psychological instability or rather obsessive, as seen here in his short Doodlebug.
Another aspect I have noticed across his films are that he often present subjects within a subject as it is presented in Inception with the idea of dream within a dream. Similarly, Doodlebug with the character in a parallel world meeting himself in smaller size (and bigger). His usual film attributes chiaroscuro lighting, dark messages, slow camera movements and disturbing subjects (actors, setting, etc.) all determines film noir kind of filmic aesthetics. We can say that Nolan has mashed up different ideas and characteristics of film conventions combining them repeatedly to identify his own sense of auteur style. Thus, this leads me to encourage myself to find my own “voice” as a media practitioner, finding what I value and what my purpose is with my own style. Possibly in the future though, I am interested in different audience reactions to certain styles directors have communicated. This is because probably I do value the audience reactions as I communicate my ideas through films.
http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0411302/reviews