Monday, January 28, 2013

The Trademarks of Barry Sonnenfeld

Actors
-Frequently works with Will Smith (MIB I–III, Wild Wild West), Tommy Lee Jones (aforementioned MIB), Rip Torn (MIB I&II) and Siobhan Fallon (MIB I, Big Trouble).
-Frequently makes a cameo in his films: The Addams Family (the passenger in the model train set), Addams Family Values (Mr. Glicker), Big Trouble (voiceover as the sports color commentator), MIB I (one of the faces on the screen of prominent people who are aliens), MIB II (the father of a family who's home is actually a hidden MIB weaponry), RV (Irv, the picture on Robin Williams' eponymous RV).

Collaborators
-As a director, frequently works with Steven Spielberg (Exec Prod. on MIB I–III), Bo Welch (Production designer on MIB I–III, Wild Wild West), Rick Baker (Makeup on MIB I—III and Wild Wild West)
-As a cinematographer, frequently worked with the Coen Brothers (Blood Simple, Raising Arizona, Miller's Crossing)

Writing/Subject Matter
-[Slapstick comedy] Nearly all of his films includes some form of slapstick comedy whether its more fantastical (Addams Family, Addams Family Values, MIB I–III, Wild Wild West) or earthbound (Get Shorty, Big Trouble, RV)
-[Gadgets] Hi-tech gadgets feature prominently Sonnenfeld's films, especially in the Men In Black films and Wild Wild West. One can argue that steampunk elements in the Addams Family films are just low-tech gadgets as well.

Cinematography
-All of his films have shots taken from below eye-level and have quick camera tracking-in movements for comic/dramatic effect (Will Smith's "I make this look good" moment in Men In Black is a particularly notable example)
-Fast motion shots (Addams Family I &II, MIB I)

Editing
-Cutting between shots with similar composition to create humor (Big Trouble)

Special Effects
-Frequently uses ILM for special effects (MIB I–III, Wild Wild West)

NOTE: This is a living document, so it may be updated in the future on a semi-regular basis.

Monday, January 14, 2013

The Trademarks of Brian De Palma

Having watched many films for a future montage of the director's work, I've created a list of common threads, ideas and techniques of the writer/director Brian De Palma.

Actors
Frequently works with the following actors:
Brian De Palma also makes cameos in his own films: Murder à la ModThe Black Dahlia

Writing
-Post-modern or ironic variations/references to older films and filmmakers (Hitchcock's Rear Window, Vertigo and Psycho into Dressed To Kill; Antonioni's Blow-up)
-Dark, unhappy endings (Sisters, Phantom of the Paradise, Blow Out, Carrie, Carlito's Way, Scarface, Redacted)
-Gruesome scenes of violence where the violence is not shown directly but heavily suggested (Scarface, Dressed To Kill)
-Characters or antagonists that have double-identities or ulterior motives
-Over-the-top, campy style or tone (Murder à la ModPhantom of the ParadiseDressed To KillScarface, Raising Cain, Body Double)
-Strong female characters (Carrie, Femme Fatale, Dressed To KillThe Black Dahlia)
-Known for his particular brand of Hitchcockian thrillers, over-the-top comedies and psychological melodramas Dressed To Kill
-Social satire on pop culture (Hi, Mom, Sisters, Phantom of the ParadiseDressed To KillBody Double)

Cinematography
-Split-screen: De Palma uses various types of split-screen framings in nearly all of his films, whether done optically with two different shots, split diopter shots to focus on two people who are a great distance apart (Dionysis in 69, Get To Know Your Rabbit, Sisters, Phantom of the Paradise, Carrie, The Fury, Dressed To Kill  Blow Out, Scarface, Body Double, The Untouchables, Bonfire of the Vanities, Carlito's Way, Mission Impossible, Snake Eyes, Femme Fatale, The Black Dahlia, Passion)
-POV shots (Phantom of the Paradise, Dressed To Kill, Scarface, Body Double, Wise Guys, The Black Dahlia)
-Shooting from bird's eye view (Murder à la Mod, Snake Eyes)
-Showing important visuals in an indirect manner (Dressed To Kill, Body Double, Blow Out)
-Slow zoom/track in shots at dramatic moments in the narrative (Body Double)
-Frequently moving camera
-Extending dramatic moments in time through a combination of editing and slow motion photography (The Black Dahlia)
-Dutch angles during heated arguments or discussion between characters (Casualties of War, Raising Cain, Carlito's Way, Mission Impossible, The Black Dahlia)
-So called "Director's POV" shots where the camera moves independent of the action (Scarface, Snake Eyes)
-360 pan around (Wise Guys)
-Camera circling characters in love or at important moment (Carrie, Obsession, Blow Out, Body Double, Bonfire of the Vanities)
-Speed-up shots (Murder à la Mod, Carrie, Wise Guys)
-Long Take shots
-Shots taken from a diegetic camera (Murder à la Mod, Hi, Mom, The Fury, Dressed To Kill  Blow Out, Scarface, Body Double, Wise Guys, The Black Dahlia)

Editing
-Short burst montage consisting of axial cuts away from or closing in on an object or person (The Black Dahlia, when Joshua Hartnett's character sees the Black Dahlia at the end of the film, or in Mission to Mars when the robot sends the correct signal to the face mountain and there is a brief pause waiting for a result)
-Rashomon-style flashbacks by various characters that add more information an important moment in the narrative than what was not previously seen or noticed by the audience and/or protagonist (Murder à la Mod, Mission Impossible, Snake Eyes)
-Sound Design that interlinks the audio and visual (Phantom of the Paradise, Blow Out, Wise Guys)

NOTE: This post is a living document, so it will be updated on a semi-regular basis