COP Practical - Auteur Theory

My COP essay is based on the idea of auteur theory and applying that to animation. The concept is not something I have previously looked at but I have found is quite fascinating from doing research around the stop. Throughout my essay I referenced various aspects of film making that can also be applied to animation such as the use of cameras, lighting, themes and overall direction. As examples I used various directors whose work I'm familiar with in order to reference the way they were and are used by established directors. The directors I referenced specifically during my essay and that I have looked at for research purposes are; Stanley Kubrick, David Fincher, Alfred Hitchcock and Wes Anderson.

Each directors I looked at had a certain method or style that I could reference and look at in closer detail. Whether that was the low key lighting that Fincher uses repeatedly throughout his work to depict a level of unease and grime that is representative of the dark themes that run through his films; the use of symmetry that is often seen in scenes throughout Kubrick's work; or the colours and aspect ratios that Wes Anderson uses to make his films have a very particular visual style.

My idea for the practical side of the brief is that I would like to create a series of vignettes or samples of action where I can incorporate the techniques and hopefully to an extent emulate the visual style of several directors to show I have examined and absorbed in a sense, their individual artistic direction. The video will be between two or three minutes long and split into two sections. The first section will show around seven to eight short clips, each lasting around ten to fifteen seconds looking at a particular technique or notable way that one of the chosen directors portrays the visuals in their films. The second half of the video will repeat the same clips, but this time with annotation mentioning the director and the technique that I have attempted to demonstrate.

So far, my ideas for scenes are;

• A character sat at a desk, featuring a symmetrical shot, similar to that of Kubrick's.
• A shot of a city scape, wide angle with the low key lighting often seen in Fincher's work.
• Some imagery depicting self destructive behaviour and overall dark themes, referencing Fincher's themes.
• A vibrantly coloured scene, representative of the colour in Wes Anderson's films.
• A scene that plays with aspect ratios, looking at Anderson's use of them. (1.33:1 / 16:9 / 2.35:1)
• POV shot, used extensively by Kubrick.
• Dutch tilt, used frequently by director of film and animation, Tim Burton.
• Mental disorder themes, used by Fincher.
• Characters you wouldn't find in reality, Tim Burton's work.