Over the summer I watched a whole bunch of Sergio Leone films. It had been something I'd been meaning to check out for ages and when I spotted the dollars trilogy for a tenner (bargain!!) it was something I just couldn't say no to. I'd already seen Once Upon A Time In The West and was already a convert but really studying his style made me more determined to understand visual storytelling. Along with Alfred Hitchcock, Leone must be considered one of the great visual directors. Like Hitchcock he came from a background of silent films (his father was a silent film director) and both were masters at framing and setting up shots to the point where dialogue was not required. The opening scene in Once Upon A Time In The West is a good example. The film features no dialogue for the first 7-8 minutes but is no less enthralling for it. It's fair to say that watching his films has had a major influence on my personal project and his style is something I'm currently trying to emulate through animation. One of the things that I find interesting is how he uses stillness or silence as a means to build tension. It's something that is also used in Japanese Anime to build up to some kind of dramatic or frantic piece of action and it is these to things primarily I want to hopefully reflect in my own project.
The video below uses footage from the aforementioned Once Upon A Time In The West along with a rather fitting song by Arcade Fire. Even if you're not familiar with Leone's films this vid does a pretty good job at summing up what his films are about. Enjoy :)
No comments:
Post a Comment