In the history of film, those directors who are good at developing the most cutting-edge audio-visual language can often occupy a place in the history of film.
Such as Hitchcock zoom.
This unconventional shooting technique has attracted many video bloggers to imitate.
Recently, on the “overseas version of Douyin” TikTok, there has been a new round of movie imitation Renaissance. This time it is the turn of the director of visual obsessive-compulsive disorder – the work of Wes Anderson (Wes Anderson).
Wes Anderson, the American director and producer, is known for his style of symmetry, unique retro color palette, and quirky features.
Such footage never gets tired of, so on Tik Tok, the #WesAnderson hashtag quickly became a high-traffic password thanks to its weird hashtag and unique parody style.
Wes Anderson, why is it popular again?
In this era of short videos, it may be too difficult for ordinary users or video creators to use novel shooting techniques to tell a good and fascinating story.
But in the language of Wes Anderson’s lens, it can.
As in the popular video of avawillyums parodying things on Tiktok under the hashtag #WesAnderson:
Ticket stubs, shoes, and the outside of the train window have been transformed into the language of “Wes Anderson” through ingenious editing.
Ms. Williams, the author of the video, said she was on the train to New York at 6:45 a.m. to visit family.
But because she was unable to visit her family as she wished, the video was edited.
“I didn’t want it to end on a bad note,” Ms. Williams said of her trip.
Instead, being a fan of Mr. Anderson’s films, she decided to pretend to be in one of Wes Anderson’s films to make herself feel better.
Why not add some artistic beauty to your life by imitating the things created by the masters?
(Netizens imitate the video, and they can also have a relaxed and lively atmosphere with their wives waiting for delivery)
Besides, Wes Anderson’s style does have the ability to discover the highlights of ordinary life.
Her video blew up all the fans of Wes Anderson.
How to imitate Wes Anderson?
Of course, the mirroring techniques of film masters usually serve the narrative, using more cutting-edge audio-visual language to help the audience better get into the plot and atmosphere of the story.
And by imitating Wes Anderson’s movie lens, we can dig out the unique side of some meaningless things in life, which is also a functional role of the #WesAnderson imitation label.
Apply Wes Anderson’s template to turn your ordinary life moments into a cinematic one.
As with many of Mr. Anderson’s films,Almost all of these TikTok videos start with a title sequence.
Usually presented as three or four quick clips, identifying where the subject is, what they are doing and what time it is.
- “First Train”
- “Along the East Coast”
- “To Central Station”
- 「6:45」
screen,Just edit the most boring and trivial scenes of the day together.
It can be a casual close-up of tying shoes, a ride on the subway, or a very daily meal with your partner.
If images of people are involved,A deadpan face is the best way to express yourself.
Accompanied by a dynamic instrumental soundtrack and quick camera cuts.
Even ordinary shots of buying commuter coffee can become the cinematic feel of Wes Anderson’s “The Grand Budapest Hotel” and “Darjeeling Limited”.
Wally Kowal, author of the photography book Accidentally Wes Anderson, said:
In making these videos, people are discovering this beauty in the ordinary.
You, who emulate Wes Anderson, are seeing your world through a slightly different lens.
The Formation of Webster’s Aesthetics
The eye-catching Wes Anderson style didn’t happen overnight, he also figured it out through a long period of confused moments.
Wes Anderson was born in 1969 in a middle-class family in Houston, Texas.
During college, he hit it off with his classmate Owen Wilson (director of the “Night at the Museum” series), and the two young men who love movies embarked on the road of movies that really belonged to them.
But they were not successful when they debuted. Some low-cost films at the beginning were even judged as “commercial failure” films.
After stumbling and fumbling for 8 years, finally due to the 2001 “Genius Family”A blockbuster hit, it earned an Oscar nomination for Best Original Screenplay.
The bold and warm colors give people a sense of a fairytale-like movie crowded in a candy box, the cold humor in the plot design, and the warm ending like a fairytale.
In this work, we can see that Wes Anderson’s unique “Webster aesthetics” and style have gradually formed.
It also gave Wes Anderson a real turnaround in his film career.
After experiencing two lesser-known works, Wes Anderson, who has cultivated into “nirvana”,Finally, in 2014, with “The Grand Budapest Hotel”, he made himself even more popular in the mainstream film industry and the public audience.
“The Grand Budapest Hotel” became the opening film of the 64th Berlin Film Festival and won the Silver Bear Jury Award. It also became the best film, best director, and best original screenplay of the 87th Academy Awards. .
In this movie, he also achieved a style that delights obsessive-compulsive disorder——Symmetrical Composition Paranoia。
Anderson, a fan of perfect symmetry, almost always places the camera on the central axis of the screen.
Even the decorations in the background, he also likes the balanced composition of left and right symmetry, and even the buildings he chooses also reflect the symmetrical style.
His subsequent works also carry out his own style to the end, going all the way to black.
“Canis Island” and “The French Dispatch” continue the consistent “Wechsler” audio-visual language and narrative style, and alsoAdded more of his irony of reality and deeper thinking about the real society.
▲ “Canis Island” even dogs must be symmetrical
In his movie shots, he tells everyone a thought-provoking fairy tale in a cheerful and humorous form, but mixed with a little bit of sad comedy.
Whether you can really understand a movie is a very metaphysical thing. Sometimes you think you understand the director’s stalk, but you actually over-interpret it.
But watching Wes Anderson’s movies is like reading a fairy tale book with beautiful pictures and warm stories.
Even if you don’t understand it, you will be attracted by the neat composition and heart-warming stories.
Folding a three-dimensional movie into a two-dimensional fairy tale book may be the most touching part of Wes Anderson’s work.
extreme attitude
Create the ultimate comfortable movie
It is the characteristic of “Webster’s aesthetics” that “appreciates both refined and popular tastes” that allows it to influence popular culture more continuously and break circles.
When a reporter told Wes Anderson himself about the imitation video of the #WesAnderson label with 1.4 billion plays on Tiktok, Wes Anderson said:You can say it, but I don’t watch it.
Wes Anderson will actively avoid watching these parody videos, not because he hates such behavior.
on the contrary,He understands fans’ imitations of favorite movies as a way of showing love and admiration.
But he himself is a highly sensitive person.
After watching the parody video, he was afraid that it would have a subconscious effect on his own creativity and expression.
In order to protect his thinking ability from being affected and be responsible for future works, he chose self-protection.
Therefore, Wes Anderson can create works that are more masterful than staying in place.
This is one of the reasons why fans love him.
This year Wes Anderson brought us a new film “Asteroid City” with a stronger Webster style.
More symmetrical composition, more playful setting shooting, always absurd and humorous plot…
The film has just been nominated for the Palme d’Or, which is Wes Anderson’s new round of impact on the statuette.
Wes Anderson’s thinking about movies and cameras also comes from life.
Life is made up of many meaningless moments spliced together, which become the guide of the story. And we use such imitation lens to record our daily life, isn’t it also recording our current life orientation?
Wes Anderson: If you can’t read the story, you can also take a look at my composition, use my technique to make a Vlog, and post it to Moments.
Isn’t such a warm summary also very Wes Anderson’s warm fairy tale narrative?