Being a film fanatic means I watch a LOT of movies. Whether I enjoy them or enjoy picking out the things I hate about them, watching a movie is always an intriguing experience for me. I am often asked who my favourite director is, and as you would expect from most media students, my response is often “I have too many”. Cinematic history has produced so many greats, and even though the film industry is being boycotted by piracy and not producing as many movies, there are still a large amount of great well known and emerging directors out there that have turned their own unique vision and style into a trademark. Just as I reflected in an earlier post, filmmakers seem to often be driven by a similar theme in all their work. Here I am going to have a look at JUST A FEW of my favourite directors and the common themes, techniques and style displayed in their works.

Wes Anderson

• All of his films share a distinct colour palette
• Framing is manipulated to create a painting-like effect
• Physical comedy is hyper hyperaccentuated

Main themes: nostalgia, the discovery of family/community in the strangest of places/people, the idea of an “adult” opposed to children.

Tim Burton

• Dark, melancholic undertones even for the most innocent and child-friendly stories
• Unique drawing style replicated on animated characters
• Use of Danny Elfman’s constantly compelling score

Main themes: death, loss, growing up in a confined environment, feeling surpressed, childhood.

Quentin Tarantino

• Great comedic moments in-between scenes of high intensity
• Enormous focus on a film’s inspiration, from the Western genre to Bruce Lee martial arts films
• Compellingly three dimensional characters

Main themes: revenge, racism, justice, vengeance, power.

There are so many more themes that each of these director’s address, as well as more techniques they have become so well known for, but alas I must conclude on this note;

I have learned that it is okay to discover that all your work has been about the same thing the whole time. If you can tell a story different from your last but based on the same concepts, it is still a new story, and it is okay to use the same techniques to develop them so.