I would like to create films which have a unique, distinct style.
I appreciate films which have a
darkness to them. For example, Terry Gilliam’s Twelve Monkeys, like his film Brazil, is both literally
and proverbially dark, with the scenes set in the future having dark, gothic architecture which suits
the subject.
I have used colour to try to create atmosphere as well. One inspiration for me were posters for the game “Batman: Arkham City” in which characters were depicted almost entirely in
black and white, with only a small piece of themselves in colour, drawing the attention of the audience to that part of them.
In my film “Body” I tinted every clip red to create an atmosphere of
violence.
I want to choose music which reflects the atmosphere of my films.
That is why I chose for my film
about “body” the song “Midnight, the stars and you”, an iconically ironic choice because of the
juxtaposition between joy, contained in the song, and horror through the violence in my film.
I am also echoing a film which I appreciate, Stanley Kubrick’s The Shining, which is frightening by being
confusing. In the film, unlike in the book, the audience is given no explanation for the strange
visions that appear.
I also like music which fits the subject without being ironic; such as the darkness which comes
through the song “Nothing’s gonna hurt you baby” by “Cigarettes after Sex”, which I put into my film
“light”, in which I showed images of a man walking into darkness.
I also want to gain the viewer’s trust in my films. It is essential to have that trust, because it
enables the viewer to enjoy the film. That is what most writers want. The desire for trust is why in
my film “Politics” I used words like “Unity” which is especially relevant in the aftermath of Brexit
and in the face of the Coronoavirus outbreak.
That desire for the trust is also why I chose for that
film the speech from Charlie Chaplin’s “The Great Dictator” with its emphasis on the goodness of
man.
A distinct style can be found in different ways, for example through the use of only still images in
La Jetée, which interested rather than inspired me. I would say the same for the concept of
entering dreams and stealing information in “Inception”.
What most inspired me more was Twelve
Monkeys, because of its wider variety of scenes, using past and present, and Inception because
of the variety within the dreams.
I am a strong believer in stories in films.
Stories keep the audience invested.
I especially like films
which contributes new ideas to old franchises, which attracts new fans, which I feel, is vital to
keeping a franchise afloat.
A Director I admire for doing that is Gareth Edwards, who refreshes the Star Wars genre in Rogue One by showing darker, more unethical and unscrupulous behaviour by
members of the rebellion, usually thought of as infallible paragons, mirroring real life revolutions
and insurrections.
It also give the average man’s view of the Star Wars galaxy, with no Jedi and
only one Sith in the film.
Good stories can also work in less mainstream films.
Twelve Monkeys has a plot which explores
difficult issues such as mental illness whilst keeping the audience interested to see whether the
past can be changed.
The film also provides a twist in its casting by having a traditional action hero actor, Bruce Willis, in a less action oriented role, giving him room to develop.
Stories can also
appear in animation, as shown by a writer I greatly admire, Genndy Tartakovsky, creator of Samurai Jack and other animations, who creates a very particular atmosphere by his combination
of soundtrack, plot and animation style.
My aim as a filmmaker and writer is to be creative, not original, because creativity, not originality,
opposition or deviation, is the opposite of derivative writing, which is dull.
Tomás 