Asking me to select a small number of people that influence me is not fair, because all types of creativity influence me. My creativity is influenced by the creativity of others. I am influenced by filmmakers, and storytellers, and comedians, and musicians, I am influenced by artists. Seeing the master works of these artists is what motivates me to want to go out and create. What amazes me is how many of these artists can use these technical rules and skills so easily, to the point where the viewer doesn't even realize that they're being used, but develop this entire feeling and world right before our eyes with them.
For example, in Sergio Leone's For A Few Dollars More, tension is demonstrated throughout the entire film, and the release finally comes at the climax of the film. As with other Western films by Leone, tension is built throughout the entire film, the audience anticipates the main showdown, knowing that it's going to happen. We do not know who is going to win, we do not know the manner that these three characters are going to confront each other, all that we know is that something is going to go down at some point. Once this scene comes on, the audience's tension is at the max - the stare down, the anticipation. One of the greatest things about all Western films is the music, and the score here plays a pivotal role in creating tension. Without this unique piece of music, the effect that this scene has would be far less, and not nearly as exciting. Our release comes at the very end of the clip, at the end of the standoff, where we now know that everything is going to be okay for now in this world. What disappoints me is that I will never make a scene that lives up to the tension and anticipation I felt during this scene. The first time I had ever watched this scene I was on the edge of my seat, palms sweaty, the music chimes making each second last an eternity. Nobody possesses the skills to ever create a scene like this again, Leone was one in a million.
Now that I got my classic film hipster reference out of the way, let's move on to something a bit more popular and obvious. The Dark Knight is a great example of a story using contrast and affinity with its characters. Harvey Dent is the white knight, loved by everybody, the poster boy for good in the world. On the contrast, Batman is the dark knight here in this situation, hated and feared by the city of Gotham, a criminal. However, both fight for the same cause, and both initially share the same system of ideals and values, until the scene when Harvey Dent turns bad and yadda yadda yadda. I hate using something as common and popular as The Dark Knight as an example for anything, I feel as if I have more cinematic knowledge than that and I don't have to resort to one of the most popular movies of all time, but in reality The Dark Knight was a great film, and very well directed, and is a good example of contrast and affinity.
Finally, we go onto the matter of objective and subjective in film. Here in Pulp Fiction, the contents of the briefcase remain subjective. At no point do we know what's in the case. Is it gold? Is it the diamonds from Reservoir Dogs? Is it Marsellus Wallace's soul? We never know, the contents are completely up for interpretation and remain subjective the entire course of the movie. It's not like other, less exciting criminal and heist films, where we know exactly what the main characters are stealing, and what their motives are, and everything about everything, where everything is objective.
I know that Pulp Fiction has become extremely cliche over years. It's every teenager's favorite movie, because they know nothing about movies. But Pulp Fiction remains my favorite movie of all time, because the minute the credits started rolling, I decided right then and there that I wanted to be a film maker, and haven't looked back since. Yes, there are better movies, and much more impressive ones, but Pulp Fiction remains at the top of the list of the reasons why I do everything.
This is just a small taste of what influences me. I can really honestly find something in everything to be influenced by, some sort of creativity in everything that fuels my own. Which makes me excited for the future, whenever I get to express this creativity and hopefully influence other kids myself.
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