Lessons in grading…
On master film makers
Tonight I saw Midnight In Paris, for the second time. Then I watched The Debt. What masterful films.
I felt enlightened having watched them. My mind was wide open. Or rather, opened wide. Opened to the skill of the directors. I could see the craftsmanship unfold right before my eyes. Like watching a master lather carve and sculpt a recalcitrant chunk of wood into a fine object. Each chip, each shaven sliver forming a beautiful piece of art.
Woody Allen drops little seeds of ideas all the way through his films. Though only the fertile mind can receive them.
It’s funny, you can watch his films simply for the basic story. What the characters do and say. Moving from scene to scene. Simply content with what’s offered on the surface. Like a magic trick. Wowed by the coin that appears as if from behind your ear. But there is a wealth of gold waiting to be mined beyond this. Hidden in the subtext, the nuances, the gestures & looks. The seemingly insignificant passing statements that are key to unlocking something much deeper. Concepts. Thoughts & Ideas.
Woody thoroughly relies on and trusts in the intelligence of the audience to see beyond the surface. To recognise the underlying statements he is making on life & reality. The observations he makes about art and the artist. I am seeing more and more this difference between a director and a master film maker.
Just as the illusionist can tell you how he is eluding you as he does it, yet you still can’t quite figure out how he does it. He tricks you in plain view.
Sure… Any director can perform his cheap tricks and charm an audience. Some directors are more sophisticated, still. Enrapturing an audience with their grand production.
But a master film maker whispers secrets in your ear as he unfolds his mystery; his illusion; right before your very eyes.
Luring you. Romancing you, even, drawing you into his message. He has woven truths into the fabric he wraps around you, and you feel the warmth. So you embrace the warmth without consulting volition. As if compelled by something greater than yourself.
He uses everything to say something. He uses the antagonist to reveal things about the protagonist. With slight of hand, by telling you an untruth about them he uncovers their true character. He draws a connection between the protagonist and some other person, figure, idea or truth. But that is gold reserved for those who will dig deeper.
Within the first twenty minutes of The Debt I saw the most believable expressions of humanity. True observations of the director. Like an artist revealing truth in each stroke of his brush. Strokes of life and reality. Each one deliberated with great purpose. The director achieving a connection between the audience and the protagonist. Like a great writer observes truths about his own reality and weaves it through his story. Each word laboured over, carefully chosen to strike just the right thoughts and emotions in the hearts and minds of the reader. The director does so on screen. With every tool he has at his disposal. Every colour in his palette, every note of the soundtrack. Every silence. Every look, every gesture, every action, every word spoken or unspoken. Every moment. Every movement or lack of movement in the camera. Every light, every shadow. Everything to say something.
Tonight, like many a night before, I have learned much and in turn, once again, i have seen I have much to learn.
I am enough of an artist to draw freely upon my imagination. Imagination is more important than knowledge. Knowledge is limited. Imagination encircles the world. Albert Einstein (1879 - 1955)
LADIES MARRY PIRATES.
The beauty featured is Australian artist, CAT VAS - http://catvas.com/
“Ladies Marry Pirates” is the title to one of her songs on an album she is to be releasing late October. (Watch this space…)
This day involved the best of chats, chasing daylight, hilairious sentiments and my mother doing make-up. The flower head-piece featured was a D.I.Y last minute thing which I’m thinking creating more of and selling.
Dream day. Dream girl. I’m lucky,
Raaaahhh x
Two of the most talented chicks I knows achieved the impossible dream. Check it out!!
