Directions Unit: Director research- Wes Anderson

Wes Anderson

Wes Anderson is an American director known for 'quirky' films that are hugely stylised, he has specific trade marks that mean the audience know when they are watching a Wes Anderson movie. These include; shooting with extreme wide angle lenses, use of shots where characters are breaking the fourth wall, he will often go from one character/action to another and then pan back often with a handheld camera and like Tim Burton he has certain actors such as Owen Wilson and Luke Wilson who he will cast repeatedly.

In '94 Anderson and (Owen) Wilson's short "Bottle Rocket" was screened at the Sundance Film Festival, it was so well received that they got funding to make it a feature-length. Although it wasn't a commercial hit it gained a cult following.

Character stories

Characters within Anderson films are written to be going about their day to day lives before being brought into the narrative, this allows characters to be set up and established with out really being apart of the story. Examples of this are Becky from 'Moonrise kingdom'. Becky is first introduced to the audience eating a sandwich, she later offers food to the men around her (Scout Master Ward being the only one who accepts). This has set up Becky's relationship with food as well as the love connection between her and Scout Master Ward in the back ground of the main story/scenes. Even though all of these details are written in the screenplay for his films they are something that are iconic to Wes Anderson movies, both live action and animation.

This allows for the universes in Wes Anderson movies to appear as an actual reality, the movie gives the sense it will continue when it ends.

Camera

The way Anderson decides to use the camera in his films is distinct and unique. You know a Wes Anderson film when you see it partly because of character placement or camera movement.

Wide shot

 Anderson commonly uses wide shots in his movies in which the lead character is primarily in centre shot. This can help denote the solitary nature of the characters within their narrative (as Anderson stories generally have a theme of broken homes that resolve in the end). 

Panning/tracking

Another move that Anderson does with the camera a lot is panning/tracking of characters through scenes as a way of establishing setting as well as creating movement within the shot.

 It helps to keep the pace of the story as well as directing the audience's eye to certain points.

Link to all of Wes Anderson's pan shots

This is something I'd like to use in my film particularly as it can be erratic and allow for lots of movement and energy within it, mirroring the erratic energy from the Mad Hatter and other characters.

Symmetry

Anderson's use of symmetry is contrary to what directors conventionally do, they generally aim to have a scene as natural as possible so that the audience can be immersed in the movie, this means no symmetry. 
Wes Anderson however wants to remind the audience they are watching a film, he stages his scenes so they are perfectly symmetrical and are done as though in a theatre.

Not only this it is also visually appealing for the audience, as well as meaning it's easier to have match on action cuts within the movies. 
He repeats this in all his films including animations such as 'Fantastic Mr.Fox', making it an iconic trademark of Wes Anderson.

This is something I'd like to try and use in my film, as I feel it would not only look good but will allow for a setting to be modest and simple yet effective.

Colour

Colour in Anderson movies is something that is particular to each film, each one having complimentary colours making it visually appealing.

This is something I'd like to try and keep in mind for my film the limited colour schemes help in my attempt to keep it away from Burton's vibrant adaption of 'Alice in Wonderland'.