Posts Tagged "moviemaking"

3Apr2018

“I have a way of filming things and staging them and designing sets. There were times when I thought I should change my approach, but in fact, this is what I like to do. It’s sort of like my handwriting as a movie director. And somewhere along the way, I think I’ve made the decision: I’m going to write in my own handwriting.” – Wes Anderson

In honor of Wes Anderson’s second feature length animated film and cinematic masterpiece ‘Isle of Dogs,’ we at Digistars Make-A-Movie Workshop would love to share some formal techniques and hallmarks of Wes Anderson’s Films that make them so amazing! His work is easily distinguished by its aesthetic, particularly his use of framing, color, and music.

Wes Anderson’s Staging and Framing Techniques

First, he often uses planimetric staging and symmetrical framing. Planimetric staging is when the camera is placed 90 degrees perpendicular, or at a right angel, to the subject. Symmetry is the balance of similar forms on both sides of the frame, in other words, it is when one side of the frame nearly mirrors the other side. Here is a video from cinema essayist Kogonada that shows symmetrical framing as well planimetric staging in Wes Anderson’s films.

 

 

Wes Anderson’s Use of Color

Secondly, Wes Anderson’s use of color is highly developed. One of the first things I learned in art school that I find to be true is that many novice artists use bright colors, which is certainly not the case for Wes Anderson. You can see from the following video that his pallet is wide ranging, but his frame is often comprised of tints, shades, and tones of various hues arranged in color blocks of complementary, complementary and analogues, and warm and cool color combinations.

 

Wes Anderson’s Use of Music

Lastly, to choose the music in his films Wes Anderson works with his music supervisor Randall Poster. They search for music that conveys the emotion of a scene and that they want to bring to a film’s audience. The hardest part of that process is having to get the rights from the artists and publishers to use the music. In his earlier films such as Rushmore and Bottle Rocket he used music from popular culture such as Elliot Smith, Nico, and David Bowie, but in his more recent films he has used mostly scores by Alexandre Desplat. You can listen to almost all the songs (approximately 196)  ever used in Wes Anderson’s films here: Music In Wes Anderson’s Movies

Kids can start learning to animate like Wes Anderson does in our claymation program! Attend a summer camp or suggest bringing Digistars Workshop into your school, and maybe one day you will be working on your own animations, or perhaps even helping make a Wes Anderson movie!

‘Isle of Dogs’ is in theaters now: Go see it and prepare to be awed by how beautiful and life-like animation can be when it’s done at 24 frames per second and at such high level of precision. Try to identify where the elements discussed here appear in the film, and notice how they add to the viewing experience. Then incorporate them into your own movie productions!

Have a great week!

 

C Diamond
Program Director
Digistars Make-A-Movie Workshop


20Aug2016

Visual storytelling has different demands than a story told on a printed page. The movies and shows we watch in theaters, on television, or online are thoughtfully crafted to transport us into their reality and believe that we are there with the characters. When we watch a series of episodes in a show, the producers can use a type of shorthand to remind of us what sort of world we might be entering in the opening credits.

The opening credit sequence of a show can set the mood, establish the location, introduce the actors, and even preview the storyline; or it could be as simple as a single word on a black screen that sends shivers down the spine of the viewer. In this modern age of countless viewing options, the opening credit sequence plays an important role of capturing watchers away from other distractions.

While early television shows used the opening sequence to pay homage to sponsors, a good opening can become iconic. The original opening sequence for Game of Thrones, for example, took 3 months and 35 people to create. Read more about the fascinating history of the opening credit sequence in Katie Ingram’s recent article for The Week magazine.

While we haven’t yet started filming series of shows with our 8-year old filmmakers, Digistars programs encourage participants to create title screens and end credits as part of their complete moviemaking experience.

Titles and credits are just one part of the moviemaking process that we cover in all of our programs for elementary- and middle-schoolers.

Register for a Digistars program today to introduce the wonder, fun, and skills of digital storytelling to your favorite child!


14May2015

Still got a week open in your child’s summer? Let’s make a movie!IMG_2292

We have been working hard to design a fun, entertaining, and educational summer camp experience for kids in 2nd through 8th grades, and it’s looking like we’re going to have a fantastic crew of junior filmmakers working with us this summer!

Our seasoned instructors are passionate about helping students put together movies and develop knowlege that will follow them into the real world of school, career, and beyond. Our world is increasingly dependent on visual media and communication and filmmaking demands skills beginning with effective storytelling and continuing with storyboarding, script-writing, filming, and editing into a finished product. Tomorrow’s enterprises will value employees with creative vision, skills, and talents.

Join us this weekend at the Neighborhood Music Stapleton studios grand opening celebration and be the first to see our awesome summer camp location! Free music lessons, face painting, and an entrepreneur’s row will make it a fun afternoon on May 17th, 3-5:30 pm. Be sure to stop by our table before 5 pm to watch some videos and say hi!

Summer camps vary week by week and include session in both Claymation and Live Action Filmmaking for the low, low price of only $175. Learn more and register at http://www.makeamovieworkshop.com/summer-camps/

Get your registration in now before the session you want is closed!

New Movies Posted

If you’ve been looking for your student’s masterpiece, be sure to check our News section as we try to post new movies as quickly as possible once the session ends. We are still working on uploading some recent classes as well as finishing up the year at a few more schools, so look for more movies to be posted in the next few weeks.

Adding New Schools Next Fall

We are starting to book new schools for the fall and have already confirmed our expansion into Isabella Bird Community School, Christ the King Elementary, and High Tech Academy. Please feel free to pass this information along to any schools where you would like to see a Make-a-Movie Workshop enrichment program offered!