Symmetry in Color

In addition to digital art being a large passion of mine, I also really enjoy the art form of filmmaking. It has provided the world with so many great stories and memories over time. Honestly, I Am pretty sure I quote movies maybe 5+ times a day. Being the self-proclaimed movie buff that I am, I have seen my fair share of both incredible and downright terrible films. Of this total time of movie watching, I have grown to absolutely love one director in particular. That director's name is Wes Anderson.

You may recognize him thanks to his popular like The Grand Budapest Hotel, Moonrise Kingdom, Fantastic Mr. Fox, and his most recent, Isle of Dogs. In my opinion, Anderson has to be one of the best, if not the best, directors of all time. His take on filmmaking is just so unique and pleasing to watch that I can't get enough of his work. His artistic style and profound skills in storytelling have allowed him to create amazing works that you can watch hundreds of times and still find something new that you had not seen before. Due to my love for his films, and my focus on style in these last few posts, I thought I would share with you all my top 3 reasons why his style is second to none.

1. Detail, Detail, and More Detail If you take a look at any film created by Wes Anderson, you will quickly understand why I mention this. Every single prop, piece of lighting, and extra are designed and placed in the way that they are for a specific reason. All of his scenes are just jam-packed with so many interesting details that re-watching his movies is an absolute must. As a detail-oriented person myself, I can't help but get excited about seeing all that is included in a scene and how it changes the tone and feel of the shot and the movie itself.

2. Heavy Focus on Color Like his attention to detail, Anderson also sticks to a strict color palette for each of his films. For example, in The Grand Budapest Hotel, he utilizes a great color palette consisting of light shades of pink accompanied by saturated accent colors of red and purple. These colors a not just tied into important plot points but into everything in the film whether it be costumes, props, set pieces, you name it. By sticking to a common palette throughout entire movies, all his work just has a unique and satisfying look and feel.

3. Symmetry is Key As hinted by the title, my third reason for Wes Anderson being such a fantastic director is his extremely recognizable use of symmetry in some of his shots. Being a little OCD myself when it comes to balance and symmetry, I just absolutely love these types of shots. There is just something so satisfying about looking at near symmetric camera shot. My favorite use of symmetry in his work has to be the shots from Moonrise Kingdom. Specifically, I like the shot where Sam and Suzy's tent is ripped away by Suzy's dad Walt. When the tent is ripped away, revealing the whole frame, the resulting shot is just so satisfyingly symmetric and fun to look at. This specific characteristic of his films has to be my favorite because of how memorable and artistic it makes the shots become.

Overall, Wes Anderson is an extremely talents artist and director. His films are so unique and distinguishable among the large seen of movies today. They bring me so much joy and I would recommend that everyone go try out one for yourself. In fact, start with his latest film Isle of Dogs. It is an incredible stop-motion film that keeps you laughing and smiling the entire time!

(P.S. If you're still not sold on sitting down and watching one of his films, at least check out some of the trailers down below. I hope they will convince you!)

Isle of Dogs

The Grand Budapest Hotel

Moonrise Kingdom

Fantastic Mr. Fox

The Life Aquatic with Steve Zissou

- Jared