The summer sun is hammering hard in Nashville, so I’ve been attempting to limit the hours I spend outdoors. This has led me down a path where I find myself watching and studying a lot of films. Over the last week, I’ve entered the world of award-winning filmmaker, Wes Anderson. In fact, The Life Aquatic is playing in the background as I’m typing. His films, like The Royal Tenenbaums and The Darjeeling Limited, are opening my mind to a radical new dimension of the art. Yes, they most certainly are a work art.
I’m a huge fan of vibrant colors, which Anderson uses to his advantage in seemingly every shot (especially primary colors). It’s almost as if the backgrounds of his films come to life and become characters, playing intricate roles in every sequence. Anderson’s unmatched level of symmetrical shots, dysfunctional character development, and witty scripting really get a young filmmaker’s imagination running.
Perhaps the most intriguing part of all this film studying is that I’ve also rediscovered the joy of making films, and at one of the most capable points in my life. Later this summer my team, Sons of Liberty, will be competing in the Nashville 48 Hour Film Project. We held our first official team meeting last weekend as we created a short comedy about an over patriotic gym coach while painting an allegorical portrait of the weakness of overly boastful nationalism.
This will technically be my fifth go around with the most frantic, exhilarating 2 day film competition in existence, but the first time I’ve competed in several years. I’m particularly exited about what this electric July weekend will hold since my film knowledge and technical skills have certainly increased 10 fold since my last attempt. We’ve put together a really creative, hardworking team this year, so needless to say, this project is going to something to remember.
Admittedly, there’s still a lot to learn on this filmmaking journey of mine. Every day I strive to learn a bit more and take a few more steps down the road.
A fire has been sparked and it’s not going to burn out anytime soon.
