Inspiration from filmsFilms I admire

In order to produce the best piece short film that I possibly can, inspiration is key. Through being inspired, a person can become motivated to recreate something that they personally admire. The thoughts and ideas of a person can be reverberated substantially, which will help in the production of any work that they intend to do.

Below are a list of films that I admire for their aesthetic merits and the ways that they have been produced. The list of films could be considered lengthy, so films written in bold will be expanded on.

Short films that inspire me:

“The huge snooze” – Ciaran Davis. “Un chien Andalou” – Luis Bunuel. “A trip to the moon” - Georges Méliès. “A trip to Mars” – Thomas Edison. “Vincent” – Tim Burton. “Doodlebug” – Christopher Nolan. “The black hole” – Future shorts. “One man’s loss” – Future shorts.

The huge snooze:

“The huge snooze” is a film that I admire purely because of the quality shown in the acting, editing and overall production of the film. The fact that this film was made by an A2 student, who took the same course as me makes me feel confident that producing a short film successfully is a real possibility. For somebody to produce a film as smart, conventional and mature as this is really incredible – which is why I admire it so much.

For my short film, I wanted to incorporate a sense of German expressionist cinema and Film Noir, because I feel that they will complement the style of my film and the time period that it is set in. “The huge snooze” has a great mix, with both of these cinematic styles being presented in professional looking ways.

The screenshot above was taken from the opening credits of “The huge snooze”. Whilst this isn’t from any particular scene in the film, the font that has been used, as well as the effects in terms of editing are really conventional for this type of film. It is features like this that make Film Noir and German expressionist cinema stand out from other genres, because it is so typical and almost personal to that type of cinema.

Another convention of Film Noir/German expressionist cinema (In terms of credits) is the way in which these credits are laid out. The font remains the same, whilst the background becomes a little lighter with the use of mise-en-scene. It would be safe to say that the credits alone inspire me.

This shot is a particular favourite of mine. As already mentioned, the genre of the film is Film Noir – I personally love the way that the white of the protagonist’s shirt stands out against the dark mise-en-scene of the setting. This really gives the film a classic feel to it, which can never be argued with.

Without a shadow of a doubt, this is film that I truly admire, for more than just its story. The film is very aesthetically pleasing, in terms of colour contrast and the effects used.

A trip to the moon:

I would be lying if I told you that I don’t love old films. I personally think that they are absolutely fantastic. A trip to the moon is perhaps my most favourite of

all old short films. The film gives a real sense of nostalgia, when we think back to just how difficult it would have been for them to make it.

This is the main reason as to why I love this ‘short so much. Considering that it was filmed back in 1902 – A trip to the moon is way ahead of its time. The screenshot below is a perfect example of just how creative the producers were. France in 1902 was not economically gifted. The mise-en-scene would have had to be cheaper than what Hollywood were used to.

As we can see from the screenshot, only four things in the frame are actual physical objects – The characters and the capsule. The background is smartly designed to look three dimensional.

What I love about this scene, is that it is almost comical. The fact that the surface of the Moon was even considered to have looked like that highlights the lack of knowledge, but the creative genius behind the producers of the film.

Surface of the Moon in “A trip to the Moon”

The real surface of the moon.

How can these two inspirations help me in my A2 coursework?

These two films can help me in my A2 coursework because they offer features that have given me the motivation to carry on with my film and try to succeed even more than before. I feel that these films are perfect examples of their genres, and boast the skill that both old and modern day films require to be successful.