Sources of Inspiration

Since reading Tom's posts on Inspiration for Our Short Film and True Leaders of Film, I have been thinking about how films inspire us in different ways. As Tom shows in the former post, some inspiration is direct; we see a shot or technique used, we see the value and effect of it, and we subsequently try to recreate something similar in our own work. After reading the latter post though, I realised that, in role models: the people we admire and aspire to be like, we find a different kind of inspiration. The indirect inspiration that we gain from role models doesn't push us into recreating the work of a particular person, but it does encourage us to acheive similar things; to produce works that in some way match up to those of the role model, whether it be in content of the piece, its effect on an audience, or in the amount of success it has enjoyed. Whilst these two types of inspiration are equally valid, I believe that they are most powerful when combined.

In a previous post, I stated that, 'currently, we are aiming to produce a cerebral drama with a tint of mystery and noir.' Below, I have compiled a list of films that can be said to combine these elements of genre, where I find direct inspiration in the type of narratives and visual styles they contain, and indirect inspiration in the effect they have on an audience. 

Donnie Darko
Described as a 'beautifully twisted masterpeice' by Empire, Richard Kelly's Donnie Darko is a film that suspended me in wonder from start to finish, and has maintained its position as my favourite film since first viewing. I personally revere the film because of its synthesis of creativity and complex thought, so that the audience are drawn in both by the appealingly dark aesthetic, and by their intrigue for the mysteries presented by the film.

The film seems even more astounding when we consider that it was Richard Kelly's directorial debut with a feature film, that it had a relatively small budget of $4.5 million, and that it was shot over a period of only 28 days! Kelly's masterpeice inspires me because it takes viewers on a thrilling and thought-provoking journey, with an unconventional narrative that people will puzzle over again and again. If Tom and I can develop a narrative that provokes thought in this way, then we will be very much satisfied that our project has been worthwhile.


The Films of Christopher Nolan

Memento, The Prestige, Inception, Batman Begins and The Dark Knight were all directed by Christopher Nolan, and can all be said to combine the style of film noir with the genres of mystery and psychologcial thriller. Similarly to Richard Kelly in Donnie Darko, Nolan weaves complex thought and creativity together to present an audience with something that is both aesthetically and intellectually pleasing. However, I feel his genius surpasses that of Kelly, because whilst Kelly's post-Darko work has become increasingly reliant on far fetched sceince-fiction tropes, Nolan maintains an air of sublime mystery, darkness and suspense in every film he works on. Morevoer, he prevents audiences from becoming tired and acclimatised by giving each film its own distinct twist: 

• Memento could easily resemble any other contemporary thriller, were it not for the unconventional spin Nolan puts on the genre, revealing the narrative backwards in segments through the eyes of a character with an unusual form of memory loss.
• The Batman films provoke thought about society using the dystopia of Gotham City, but pays homage to the roots of the franchise with comic-book action.
• The Prestige is a film about illusion containing a plot that is an illusion in itself, but all of this is presented in the style of a period drama with a visceral Victorian London setting.
• Inception explores the intracacies of the human mind, the pervasive nature of love, and the existential crises we face, all within a conventional heist-movie narrative with a deeply emotional dramatic edge.

The intellectually challenging nature of Nolan's films has directly inspired me to work with Tom in weaving a narrative that will encourage people to think both openly and introspectively. His recurring method of giving each film a distinct twist has inspired me to try and do similar; to produce an intellectually thrilling short film containing enough drama to pack an emotional punch.

The Films of David Fincher
Although I have only watched two of Fincher's films: Fight Club and Se7en, it is clear that he chooses a distinct visual style for each of his films. In Se7en, it is the dank, dark brown, rainy mise-en-scene that provides the character for the film, and in Fight Club, it is a similar dark, dingy mise-en-scene, juxtaposed with visceral action and saturated lighting that makes it recognisable.

Recognisable is the key term here, and the reason Fincher's styles inspire me, because a distinct visual style gives a film easily recognisable properties that can be transferred to trailers, posters, reviews or any kind of advertisement material. Such a distinct visual style for our own film would obviously be desirable, as it would give our film the recognisable properties that we can use in our ancillary products of a poster and a film review.

Fortunately, Tom and I take much of our inspiration from similar sources, and since beginning the course, we have been discussing and sharing our favourite films to ensure that our respective visions for our own film and the ancillary products are as similar as they possibly can be. I am confident that we can use our overlapping sources of inspiration, along with our individual ideas, to create a short film that is both original and professional.

Genre Theory & Auter Theory

In my previous post, I wrote about 'genre' as a method of categorisation, and explained the restrictions of this method when applied to short films. After reading this post, our media teacher provided Tom and I with some reading material about Genre Theory and Auteur Theory. In this post, I will explore these theoretical fields, and explain their relevance to our practical production.

Genre Theory

This field encapsulates all study relating to the concept of 'genre,' from arguments surrounding its definition as a word in use, to analysis its utility in the modern world. Previously, I explained what I saw as the defining characteristics of a particular genre: narrative tropes, and the film's effect on the audience. I must stress, however, that this is only my personal perspective, and it is immediately clear from research that this is by no means a standard interpretation of 'genre.'

The concept of genre was first used by the Greeks, who felt that the type of person an author was determined the type of poetry they wrote. Evidence for this can be found in the earliest surviving work of dramatic theory, Poetics (c.335 BCE), where Greek philosopher Aristotle writes of poetry as having 'split into two kinds according to the poet's nature.' Whilst the distinction genre is used to draw here is very simple: that one author's work is different from another's, the implications of this are nonetheless very important; if there is a deterministic relationship between an author and his work, then genre relates to the process that created the work, and not just the work itself.

Jacques Derrida sporting a quintessentially philosophical look.

In The Law of Genre (1980), French philosopher and father of deconstruction Jacques Derrida articulated the idea of genre in relation to process, stating that texts actually participate in genres, rather than belonging to them. In a 1986 paper entitled History and Genre, Ralph Cohen responded to and built upon the ideas of Derrida, writing the following:

'...since each genre is composed of texts that accrue, the grouping is a process, not a determinate category. Genres are open categories. Each member alters the genre by adding, contradicting, or changing constituents, especially those of members most closely related to it. The process by which genres are established always involves the human need for distinction and interrelation. Since the purposes of critics who establish genres vary, it is self-evident that the same texts can belong to different groupings of genres and serve different generic purposes.'

In contemporary Genre Theory, British semiotician Daniel Chandler has stated that genres create order to simplify a mass of available information; to promote organisation instead of chaos. Whilst most modern theorists agree with Chandler as to the utility of genre, many still argue differently over the best method of categorisation. Jane Feuer, the Professor of Film Studies at the University of Pittsburgh, sees genre classification as being divisible into the three following methods:

• Aesthetic - Texts organised according to certain sets of characteristics.
• Ritual - If a text performs a 'ritual' associated with a 'system of ritual', then it is a practising member of that 'system.'
• Ideological - Texts promoting or evoking similar ideologies are part of the same category. (This is the method most commonly used when marketing a text.)

Conversely, in Writing Genres, Amy J. Devitt talks about genre as being a rhetorical device. She essentially states that genres are not free-standing entities, but are interconnected amongst themselves and the works they describe; they are generated from the culmination of every factor present in the construction and consumption of a text. Whilst this particular theory, with its fluid and versatile method of taxonomy, doesn't make the categorisation process any easier, it does allow for more choices, for both the consumer and the producer; genre is there simply to aid a decision, and consumers and producers are free to choose how to use it.

The idea of choice and personal freedom brings us nicely onto Auteur Theory.

Auteur Theory

Unlike Genre Theory, which is a field of study containing many different ideas, Auteur Theory is more comprehensive and distinct, making it a theory in itself. Advocates of Auteur Theory believe that a director's creative vision will always be apparent in their work, regardless of the production processes it endures.

Alfred Hitchcock

The theory takes its name from the French word for 'author,' because the first proponents of auterism were writers for the influential French film magazine of the 1950s, Cahiers du Cinéma. They praised filmmakers such as Alfred Hitchcock, Howard Hawks and Jean Renoir for being the absolute 'auteurs' of their films. Part of the purpose of auterism was in promoting Alexandre Astuc's ideal approach to filmmaking, where directors would use cameras in the same way writers use pens, so that they are not hindered by conventions in film and storytelling.

Since the 1960s, Auteur Theory has been criticised by critics and screenwriters alike, who have argued that it is wrong to ascribe authorial merit to the Director alone, when screenwriters and producers have given an equal amount of creative input, if not more.

Contention or Collaboration?
Some critics and spectators see Genre Theory and Auteur Theory as being at odds with one another; they believe that the former argues that all films abide by a certain set of conventions, of which there is a finite amount, and they believe that the latter argues the opposite: that films are free from constraints, and the resultant product is purely dependent on the filmmaker's vision. I think advocates of this view misunderstand the ideas of Genre and Auteur theorists.

I am of the opinion that Genre Theory as a field of study and Auteur Theory as a hypothesis are interelated; I believe that the collective artistic voice of a production team does transcend genre (in the sense that genre can only categorise to a certain extent, and the influence of the artistic voice surpasses this extent, making a film unique within its genre), but I also believe that genre is important for filmmakers and viewers alike. Genre provides a method of taxonomy by which we can organise and identify our tastes, experiences and sources of inspiration; whether we subscribe to the tastes, experiences and sources of inspiration of others, or of the past, is an individuals own decision.

What Does it All Mean?
Well, for Tom and I, Auteur Theory instills a great amount of confidence; if filmmakers truly have total creative freedom and control, then together we can surely achieve exactly what we intend to. Genre Theory, whilst not so inspiring, is helpful all the same, for it affirms the usefullness of genre in organising our own ideas. My own personal study of genre has also assuaged my fear that genre constrains filmmakers' with conventions; I now see genre as something much more versatile and fluid, which tends to appear more concrete from the perspective of consumers, who are bombarded with genre categories in the process of marketing.

In summary, I now feel confident to continue taking our short film in the direction Tom and I want, and I see the utitlity of genre when it comes to marketing a film. In our subsidiary products, a review and a poster, we will include a combination of conventional factors from the overlap of genre that will no doubt be present in our film between mystery, film noir, and drama. This way, we can market the film to its most responsive audience, but also retain its uniqueness.

Genre & Short Films

Dictionary.com defines the noun 'genre' as follows: 

1. A class or category of artistic endeavor having a particular form, content, technique, or the like: the genre of epic poetry; the genre of symphonic music. 
2. Fine Arts A) paintings in which scenes of everyday life form the subject matter. B) a realistic style of painting using such subject matter.
3. Genus; kind; sort; style.

When we refer to a genre of film, then, we refer to a particular kind of film. When we say that a film is a particular 'kind' of film, we are asserting that it must belong to a certain category, and for such a category to exist, all the films within it must share some amount of common material.

The genres regularly used to categorise feature-length films are as follows, along with some of the associated characteristics:

• Horror - Scary, shocking, unnerving, dark, absurd.
• Thriller - Tense, complex, mysterious.
• Sci-fi - Futuristic, visually stunning, obscure.
• Comedy - Funny, simple, feel-good.
• Drama - Thought provoking, emotional, meaningful.
• Documentary - Factual, relevant, contemporary, witty.

Other genres such as Action, Mystery, Adventure and Crime can all be seen as subsidiary genres to those above.

An image from The Exorcist (1973), an iconic film of the horror genre.

Although people tend to relate genre just to the tone and effect of the film, the aspects that tie a film to a particular genre actually go much deeper. As I see it, genres are defined by narrative tropes and the intended effect on the audience. I use 'tropes' in the way it is defined by Meriam-webster.com: 

b : a common or overused theme or device : cliché 

Taking the 'Thriller' genre for example, a defining trope could be: an ambiguous event occurs and a character attempts to uncover and/or rectify the situation, and a defining effect could be: the audience are made to feel tense, and eager to follow the complex plot.

If you browse the internet looking for short films, you will find that the vast majority fall into the categories of comedy or drama, with only the occasional thriller, and perhaps even a rare horror short. This, I believe, is no coincidence, or even an artistic trend, but an inevitable result of the method of categorisation we apply when we talk of 'genre'. As I explained above, genres are defined by narrative tropes and the intended effect on the audience. Short films are restricted in terms of genre, because they cannot facilitate tropes that are suited to feature-length running times. In other words, there aren't a great amount of 5-minute thrillers, because filmmakers would be hard-pressed to convey a quintessential thriller trope in that short period of time.

It follows that, the longer a film's running time is, and the greaters its budget is, opening more avenues for creativity, the greater the film's capacity for tropes becomes. Because it is unfair, and less sensible, to judge a short film's genre on the tropes it contains, people generally rely on the other side of the coin: the film's effect on the audience. Personally, I beleive that short films mainly fall into the genres of either comedy or drama, because this is the greatest distinction anyone can make based on the effect on the audience alone. A comedy clearly makes people laugh, and a drama obviously draws out emotion, but a thriller could do either or both of these things, and still be called a thriller, as could a horror, documentary, or a sci-fi. In summary, short films have less scope in terms of genre, because they are less capable of facilitating the tropes that define a genre, and are judged solely on their effect on the audience, which will always be to either draw out emotion (like a drama) or make people laugh (like a comedy); otherwise the short film wouldn't be worthwhile.

Basing judgement on our ideas so far, I would categorise our short film as a drama. I think it is incredibly important, however, that we do not let this categorisation influence our piece; Tom and I take our inspiration from a great variety of sources, and it would most certainly be detrimental to restrict our creative input in order to comply with a particular genre. Nevertheless, I think it is worthwhile to clarrify and summarise ideas from time to time, to help ensure the planning and production is specific and achievable; the last thing we want is to begin drawing up a storyboard with no certain narrative, only a vague ordering of events. Therefore, I will state that, 'currently, we are aiming to produce a cerebral drama with a tint of mystery and noir.'

Considering this, my next step will be to research the work of directors whose films combine the elements Tom and I hope to combine in ours. After this, I will clarify our ideas for the films narrative in a synopsis or treatment, which will illustrate the chronology of the key scenes, their relevance, and the intended message of the film.

Directorial Techniques to Consider

Now that we have our initial ideas pinned down, it is important to begin considering the practical techniques we can actually use to convey those ideas. After listening to our pitch, our teacher provided us with some films that may be of interest to us. Among these were the films Apocalypto, for its ability to tell a story in a foreign language, even if watched without subtitles, and Dead Man's Shoes, for its distinctly British style in both a visual and narrative sense. 

Apocalypto
Apocalypto is an action epic made by Mel Gibson in 2006, which focuses on the story of one Mayan villager during the civilisation's demise. Although our aims in making a short film are pretty much polar-opposite to those of Gibson in his high-budget feature, Gibson does utilise techniques that we could also find useful. In our pitch, I explained that an important feature of our film would be an internal monologue of the protagonist. Because this monologue will dominate the film, we won't be including a great amount of diegetic dialogue. However, one of the main messages we want our film to carry is that 'selflessness often goes unrecognised,' and the lucidity of this message obviously depends upon the minor characters' reactions to the protagonist. If we are to keep the amount of dialogue to a minimum, and also illustrate the minor characters' ignorance of the protagonist's actions, then we must be efficient in visual storytelling.

This is where Apocalypto is relevant. All of the speech is in the Yucatec Maya language, and without subtitles, viewers such as Tom and I, who are far from fluent in the language, have to watch the film more closely to understand it. Viewing a film in this way makes the role of visuals in the storytelling much more apparent.

The excerpt below illustrates this well; even if it is muted, and the subtitles are ignored, the scene still makes sense. A story is told through the physical actions of the actors, the type of shot that captures them, and the way these shots are edited together. 



After watching the film with visual storytelling in mind, one thing that stood out to me was the abundance of eyeline matches. These are a staple in visual storytelling, because they exhibit the world of the film from a character's perspective, and provide justification for the way that character may act. Even if they are very short and subtle, they can convey important pieces of information. One example of a very subtle but important eyeline match can be seen at 2:54 in the video above; if it were not shown that the offering had been presented, then a factor of the negotiation between the two tribes would be lost, and the tribe of Jaguar Paw would seem much more easily persuaded. The fact that so much of the meaning of the scene would be changed by the omission of one shot illustrates the potency and importance of visual storytelling, and shows why it will be an important factor for Tom and I to consider during the production of our film.

Dead Man's Shoes
Dead Man's Shoes is a gritty independent thriller about a disaffected soldier who returns to his home town in the British midlands to take revenge on those who caused the death of his brother. As a film directed by Shane Meadows working with Warp Films, it works to most of the conventions of the vigilante/revenge thriller genre, but is set in a small town in the British midlands. Whilst the location initially seems incongruous, the beauty of Meadows' directing is in the way he can ground even the weirdest and wildest of events in reality through his use of characterisation and dialogue, so that they don't seem incongruous at all.

This aspect of Meadow's films can be seen in the below excerpt of Dead Man's Shoes. From 0:50 onwards, we see Meadows' interpretation of a conventional 'character stand-off'. Although we have many of the conventions of such a scene from a an old Western movie; namely two enemies sizing one-another up in quite a lengthy sequence to create a great amount of tension, Meadows manages to depict something that is quintessentially British. The characters are made to fit into both their location and the situation at hand; they look moderately intimidating as a gang, appear realistically unprosperous in the car they use and the way they dress, and seem quite uneducated in the way they ineloquently converse. At the same time, the protagonist, with whom the leader of the gang talks, is very unnerving in his arrogance, but without breaking the bounds of what is credible for such a person in his position. (This is all very much related to the concept of semiotics, which I introduced here on my AS blog)



Essentially, Meadows keeps his films sharp and interesting by providing the audience with a certain amount of social realism. Realism helps to captivate people, because they feel more willing to empathise and associate themselves with characters who could believably exist in this world. Realism will be a very important aspect of our short film, because whilst we are including surreal and ambiguous elements, we want the film to comment on the real world, and how real people interact. We will not be able to convey such a message unless the audience can conceivably relate the film to their own lives.

Another aspect that stood out to me on first viewing was that of the humour in the film. Despite its overly dark tone and tense atmosphere, Dead Man's Shoes contains some very funny moments, which help to break up the intensity of the plot in order to keep the audience just comfortable enough to continue watching. Many such moments contribute to the social realism of the piece, as real life is very rarely serious for extended periods of time. I feel that this kind of humour has almost become a trademark of British cinema, and a good example of it can be seen at 2:10 in the above clip, where we cut to a shot of the gang, squashed into the back of the car, debating what their leader is and should be doing.

Another illustration of this kind of humour can be found in the following clip from Guy Ritchie's Lock, Stock and Two Smocking Barrels from 1:00 onwards, where Vinnie Jones' character tells his son off for swearing, despite bringing him along in his day-to-day work as a loan shark. In this context, comedy is created because, whilst the sentiment of the father in not wanting his son to swear is realistic, the situation they are in at the time is not. 



Whilst I personally like this kind of 'socially realistic' humour very much, I do not think it would work particularly well in our short film. The humour works well in Dead Man's Shoes because, as I mentioned earlier, it eases the intensity of the plot and balances with the dark tone. Our film, however, must be short. Therefore, if we were to include a similar comedy moment, it would form a much bigger portion of the overall piece, and would definitely interfere with our surreal, cerebral tone. If we are to include any such humour, it won't be anything significant enough to be described as a 'moment' as such, and could be something as simple as one character insulting another.  

In summary, the directorial techniques which we will now consider are:

• Visual storytelling - use of eyeline matches and other such shots to convey information with minimum dialogue.
• Social realism - use of mise-en-scene, costume, location and characterisation to add a sense of realism and captivate the audience.