Recently I have been continuing with my stylistic research to inspire and help my script development.
The Book of Eli (2010)
Directed
by - The Hughes Brothers
Director
of Photography – Don Burgess
Colourist
– Maxine Gervais
“A
post-apocalyptic tale, in which a lone man fights his way across America in
order to protect a sacred book that holds the secrets to saving humankind.”
The
Book of Eli is a great cinematic portrayal of an apocalyptic world and the
cinematography is amazing. Don Burgess does an astounding job with the
photography, the whole film is shot beautifully, especially the extreme wides
used throughout, they conjure up such an atmosphere when coupled with the
incredible set design. I would love to use some extreme wides in Gone as they
do make a piece look very cinematic but it all depends on what locations we
get, most small budget productions have to be shot quite close up as they don’t
have the sets that blockbusters such as this do. I also love the use of
silhouetting in the shot above, I find it such a beautiful device in films and
I would love to use it in Gone if I get the opportunity and a striking sky.
The
symmetry in this shot is lovely, the curves on either side are very pleasing to
the eye, especially when Denzel Washington is in the middle of them. I would
like to use some symmetry in Gone where appropriate, but I know it will only
work in certain circumstances. The colour grade by Maxine Gervais works really
well at complimenting the cinematography and adding to the apocalyptic
atmosphere. All the colours are extremely de-saturated and the contrast is
quite high with a very deep blue tinge to the shadows. I really want Gone to
have a strong stylistic grade like the one on this film I believe it really
adds to the imagery and the atmosphere. I also love the use of really gloomy
skies, it makes everything look much more ominous, as if the sky is closing in.
I would imagine that they are CGI’ed in, maybe we could do that on Gone? I
think if we can replace the skies in some of the travelling shots of Ollie it
will make it seem more like the end of the world is looming upon him.
Children of Men (2006)
Director
of Photography – Emmanuel Lubezki
Colourist
– Steven J Scott
“In
2027, in a chaotic world in which humans can no longer procreate, a former
activist agrees to help transport a miraculously pregnant woman to a sanctuary
at sea, where her child's birth may help scientists save the future of
humankind.”
In
my eyes Children of Men is an amazing film, I love the concept, storyline,
cinematography, colour grade, lighting, production design and acting.
I
took some inspiration for the storyline when adapting Gone, into a 10 min film
from a series concept, from this film. I liked how it was about a man in
possession of something really precious (that everyone wanted to have for
themselves) how he had to protect it and get it to the right place to give
humanity a fighting chance. I think it is done in a really imaginative and
innovative way, it is executed in such a way that it is believable, I want to
be able to achieve this with gone. I like how it is not a film about the fall
of civilisation because of some fatal virus and there are no zombies, it is
about a genetic malfunction with the human race. Infertility is something that
some people do suffer from which makes this a scary concept and much more plausible.
The
cinematography in this film is incredible and there are even a few iconic shots
like the one above when they are in the car and how they achieved it with
sliding chairs etc. Another of my favourite shots includes the long shot when
Clive Owens character Theo is running amongst the fighting to try and get to
Kee and her baby. The shot follows Theo for an unusually long time through the
a bus and blood gets splattered on the lens, something I hear Cuarón wanted to
get rid of but his crew advised him otherwise and I think it works great. The
grade is also really effective throughout this film at conjuring up the feel of
a world that has gone to pot. It is very de-saturated with a bluey tinge to the
shadows, this seems to be a re-occurring theme in apocalyptic type films.
The Hitcher (2007)
Directed
by – Dave Meyers
Director
of Photography – James Hawkinson
Colourist
– Christopher Savides
“A
young man and his girlfriend driving across country become prey for a cunning
serial killer, who blames all his murders on them.”
Although
I am not necessarily a fan of the content of this film I love the
cinematography, I think it has some beautiful shots in it, which help build
tension and create atmosphere. I like how the video camera is used in the shot
above with the character in focus on the screen but out of focus in the
background, could this work for the video diaries in Gone?
I
really like the use of a low angle wide here, the road stretching out in the
foreground looks great and the characters out of focus because of the heat haze
really emphasises the weather conditions.
There
are quite a few extreme close ups used to build tension, this works especially
well in eye close ups like above.
Hawkinson also uses silhouetting a few times throughout the film, I am a
very big fan of this and really hope I will be able to work it into Gone
somewhere.
I
also like the grimy colours used in the grade, the shadows are quite blue which
works well for a horror themed film, or any film with a dark subject matter. I
feel that colour grading is extremely integral to the feel and ambience of any
film/programme.
Avatar (2009)
Directed
by – James Cameron
Director
of Photography – Mauro Fiore
“A paraplegic Marine dispatched to the moon Pandora on a
unique mission becomes torn between following his orders and protecting the
world he feels is his home.”
Although
I know many people who would disagree, I think Avatar has a very powerful
conservational message perceived in such an epic film. The humans in it have
destroyed their own planet and are now set on ruining another beautiful world
for their own gain because of greed. I personally came out of the cinema
feeling like something needs to be done about how humans treat the planet we
live on. Our planet is an amazing place and it deserves to be treated with
care, we need to conserve it and all creatures that inhabit it. If I can manage
to say even just a fraction of what Cameron managed to with Gone I will be
happy.
As
it is to be expected for such a highly awaited film, visually it is stunning,
the camera work and special effects are phenomenal. I love the use of cranes
and jibs to get great high angled moving shots. The special effects are next to
none, they really have created a whole other world and it looks amazing, the
colours are incredible and the attention to detail is remarkable. I like how
the colour grade changes between the two worlds, the parts with the humans on
their ship is very dark and de-saturated with the shadows in blue, like the
image above, I think this is to depict how they are dark and sinister in
relation to the story. The parts set on Pandora are really vibrantly colourful
but it is still predominantly blue as the pandorans are blue themselves.
The Lorax (2012)
Animation
– Illumination Entertainment
“A
12-year-old boy searches for the one thing that will enable him to win the
affection of the girl of his dreams. To find it he must discover the story of
the Lorax, the grumpy yet charming creature who fights to protect his world.”
This
is a brilliant animated film with a very powerful message about conservation
for kids. It is set in a world where there are no trees and Ted desperately
wants to find some to impress the girl he likes. In the shot below there is a
mechanical flower with a fake bee that comes out of it, I think this is showing
how there are no bees and giving a subliminal message that we need to conserve
the bees.
As shown above, the trees were held in high regards, people
paint them on the side of their houses and appreciate how precious they
were/are. Ted puts his life in danger when he goes on search for the trees as
he passes the signs shown below, this shows how important he thinks it is to
get the trees. 
The place where the trees are is beautiful, it looks natural,
well as natural as it can for an animation. The lorax is the protector of the
trees, he is feisty yet very loveable and cute and spends his life trying to
protect the trees that are left. I think it is great how they have created such
a great character to put across this important message. The face of the Lorax
has also been used in the marketing of some hybrid cars, this shows how they
are backing up their conservational message by supporting eco-friendly cars. It
really works how the message is put across in a way that is not shoving it down
people’s throat’s, it is subtle but yet still powerful. It is intended
primarily for children and I think this is a great angle to work as they can
influence their parents but they are the next generation
and if they all use eco-friendly cars the impact will be
massive. I really want Gone to have a message like this, I want it to be subtle
so people aren’t put off by it but enough to make them want to make a
difference. Perhaps there is something in an adaptation for a children’s
programme with my concept?
I am Legend (2007)
Directed by – Francis
Lawrence
Director of
Photography – Andrew Lesnie
Colourist – Sam Daley
“Years after a plague kills most of humanity and transforms
the rest into monsters, the sole survivor in New York City struggles valiantly
to find a cure.”
I
love I am Legend as a film, I think it is a brilliant concept with some amazing
acting and a lot of raw emotion. The concept is not necessarily related to Gone
but it is apocalyptic with some similar characteristics. I like how they slot
in the flashbacks for when Robert Neville is with his family, you know they are
from the past but they don’t use any transitions or sound effects to make it
too obvious. I like how they are slotted in and give more of a back story to
Neville and the situation the planet is in. News reports are used also to
reinforce the storyline and tell the audience how the disease started. I like
this as a device for story telling and think it will work well in Gone.
The
production design and sets for this film are amazing, the way they have made
the city look so deteriorated and old works really well at creating the right
atmosphere, I think that some of it would have been done in post with matte
painting. I would like to use matte painting in Gone to try and add in cracks
and dirt into Ollie’s surroundings, this will help show the demise of
civilisation. The special effects and makeup on the infected is extremely
effective and believable too.
I
find Neville’s relationship with his dog so moving, he really cares for her,
she is his only friend and the only thing keeping him sane. I find that
audiences tend to care more about animals in films that the humans. This is why
I think the scene where Ollie feeds the stray dog some of his last food it will
really tug on the viewer’s heartstrings and make them like him more as a
character. The lighting is also beautiful all through out this film but
especially in the dark scenes, like in the image below where barely anything is
illuminated in an extreme wide, just stunning.
The Road (2009)
Directed
by – John Hillcoat
Director
of Photography – Javier Aguirresarobe
Colourist
– Michael Hatzer
“A
post-apocalyptic tale of a man and his son trying to survive by any means
possible.”
This
is a beautiful post apocalyptic film, the world created through production
design, colour grading and acting conjures up such an atmosphere. I love the
pace of it, it is very slow and poignant. I would love Gone to have the same
pace and care that The Road does, however I am not sure how achievable that
will be in 10 minutes.
The
cinematography wonderful throughout, lots of lovely long tracking shots but cut
with intimate close ups. The visuals in general are amazing, the attention to
detail in the sets is incredible and the extremely de-saturated colour grade is
very effective. I think a really de-saturated grade will work wonders for
creating the atmosphere in Gone.
I
love the costumes, I would like to make Ollie look as travelled as the man does
in the image below.
The Woman in Black (2012)
Directed
by - James Watkins
Director
of Photography – Tim Maurice-Jones
Colourist
– Rob Pizzey
“A young lawyer travels to a remote village where he
discovers the vengeful ghost of a scorned woman is terrorizing the locals.”
The Woman in Black is a great tension
building film, I have taken some inspiration for the tenser parts of Gone from
it. There is lots of mist used that makes it seem like there is scary unknown
things ahead. Slow paced most of the film and then get quicker at the scary
parts - builds up tension really well. Silence used really effectively Freaky
objects - dolls and children toys. De-saturated colour grade. The scary bits
happen mostly at night when he cannot get away. The flashes of shadows work
really well and make the audience jump. Sound is key to building tension in this
film, things move suddenly and make you jump
Pans Labyrinth
Directed
by – Guillermo del Toro
Director
of Photography – Guillermo Navarro
Colourist
– Chris Wallace
“In the fascist Spain of 1944, the bookish young stepdaughter
of a sadistic army officer escapes into an eerie but captivating fantasy world.”
Although
the subject matter of Pans Labyrinth is not similar to Gone, it is a great
atmospheric film and I definitely take some inspiration from it. It is shot
beautifully and the colour grade is phenomenal. I believe that every great film
I watch takes me a step closer to being a better camera operator and director.
Man on Fire (2004)
Directed
by – Tony Scott
Director
of Photography – Paul Cameron
“In Mexico City, a former assassin swears vengeance on those
who committed an unspeakable act against the family he was hired to protect.”
Man
on Fire is one of my all time favourite films and it has inspired me in many
ways but the one thing that I love and think will work well for Gone is the way
they use transitions and effects when Creasy is getting weaker. I like how they
blur the image and make it shake. If I can use this throughout the film for the
flashback transitions I think it will work really well.
Memento (2000)
Directed
by – Christopher Nolan
Director of Photography – Wally Pfister
“A man, suffering from short-term memory loss, uses notes and
tattoos to hunt for the man he thinks killed his wife.”
Slow paced. Makes the audience think
about the story Black and white and colour for different times - the story
going in different directions. Perhaps different colours could work in Gone for
the flashbacks? You get clues as you go along, the audience is finding things
out as he does, draws them in to the film. Tattoos to remember things. The fact
that he does not know what has happened builds tension and anxiety. It is
constantly keeping the audience on their toes thinking are people lying to him?
The pace works really well and there is nice use of flashbacks.
The Happening (2008)
Directed
by – M. Night Shyamalan
“A strange, horrible and unprecedented crisis begins in
Central Park. A high school science teacher, his wife and a young girl do what
they can to survive it.”
This
film has a few similarities to Gone, all the bees have died out and there is a
conservational message in there. I believe the message this film is trying to
put across is how nature will fight back if we continue to abuse the planet.
The tagline of the film is, “We've Sensed It. We've
Seen The Signs. Now... It's Happening”, which definitely reiterates the fact
that it is about how humans are ignoring the fact that wildlife are doing
extinct because of how they are treating the planet. Although it is a horror
film and the message may be a bit hidden to some audiences I believe that the
core purpose of the film is not too dissimilar to Gone.
28 Days Later (2002)
Directed
by – Danny Boyle
Four weeks after a mysterious, incurable virus spreads
throughout the UK, a handful of survivors try to find sanctuary.
This
is yet another brilliant apocalyptic film and it is British. Some of my
favourite parts of the film are the bits filmed in a deserted London. Maybe it
is because I am very familiar with the area and know how busy it normally is,
but I find these parts very powerful and extremely eerie. It is very bizarre to
see London like that. I would love to film similar stuff for Gone but I don’t
really have the funds or time to produce it which is a shame.
Some other films I have watched for
inspiration include:
