Inspiration

As a video production major, I tend to dissect movies and point out flaws instead of sitting back and enjoying a flick. There have been few directors who continue to impress me so much that I get 'sucked in' like the rest of the crowd, completely oblivious to the outside world while engulfed in their created story.

The first director to do this was Christopher Nolan. When watching Memento, I ignored two phone calls and postponed going to the bathroom because I did not want to interrupt the 'backwards' flow that the movie was executing so perfectly. I watched Memento when I was still debating between potential majors in the summer of my Junior year in high school. From then on, I became hooked in the production world.

The story is told with a great emphasis on subtext, particularly with having an unreliable narrator. The viewer learns very early on that the main character, Leonard, has a brain condition that inhibits him from creating new memories, resulting in him forgetting everything that just happened every ten or fifteen minutes. This creates doubt in the viewers mind at some moments as to whether or not the story being told is true.

The second director that caught my attention was Quentin Tarantino.

What I like about Quentin is his style. He has an incredible knack for creating Tension and Release in his movies. The example above may not create an uncomfortable feeling out of context, but during the movie I was on the edge of my seat. Another great example is the cabin scene of Inglorious Basterds, when the Nazi general is interrogating the owner of the home while a Jewish family is hiding beneath the floorboards of the room. One shot holds for at least two or three minutes straight, without any camera movement or dramatic character action, and creates so much tension that it is unnerving to watch.

Michel Gondry, in my opinion, is the most creative man ever to exist, ever.

During the movie "Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind", the viewer notices an incredible contrast between the main characters. Clementine is spontaneous and outgoing, while Jim Carrey's character is introverted and shy. This contrast sparks many arguments between the couple. Eternal Sunshine also has a subjective meaning. During the movie, the characters' memories become so painful that they erase the memories of each other, yet at the end, fate brings them together. Should they give their relationship another try, or is failing once enough of a sign to quit?


All of these movies have great aspects that I want to creatively incorporate into my future films. These directors have truly earned the respect they have gained, and I can only hope to create a work of art that is half as good as theirs.