In the video, Anderson explains that he wanted to start the film loudly and immediately. Because the amount of main characters in Boogie Nights is so large, and community/ family is one of its major themes, commencing the story in a busy nightclub while acquainting the audience with the film's leading characters is very effective. However, I think it would be more reasonable for me to model my opening after something closer to the opening scene of Pulp Fiction (1994 dir. Quentin Tarantino), by building anticipation throughout the segment and then interrupting its peak with a freeze frame/ title card- just because having a large cast isn't feasible with my resources and I'd still like to create something bold and stylistic. When describing the opening Anderson goes on to say,
"[It's] just like dialogue, and people are screaming, and it's not important to hear every single word, you know, because it's really about vibe and no one's really saying anything of any real importance."
That line in particular has really resonated with me as I've discovered that I'm someone who places prime importance on vibe/ tone/ feeling in film. Harmony Korine spoke of a similar philosophy in this wonderful, two part interview about Spring Breakers.
In the commentary, Anderson continues talking about the dialogue in the scene, referring to it as "chat talk." "Chat talk" occurs when people are close enough to talk in code or with the near absence of nouns. Because I plan on making a story that centers in on two characters that are already close, I could most definitely employ that method of dialogue in my opening. "Chat talk", to me, falls under the same sentiment I mentioned in my last post about starting scenes in the middle of the action, adding to the idea that there is or has been constant motion happening offscreen.
Anderson then discusses his shot influences, namedropping Scorsese, Truffaut, and Jonathon Demme. I found this really cool side-by-side comparison of Boogie Nights and Scorsese works that could definitely inspire some shot ideas for my opening!
Naturally, the commentary excluded a lot of my favorite parts of Boogie Nights, as it only covered the film's opening. One technique I'd love to make use of that the film often did is establishing scenes through a series of close ups to communicate necessary information about location, time, or characters. This technique, to me, follows closely after the "show don't tell" mentality, and is a lot less blatant than the standard ELS. I like the idea of starting my opening with a series of photograph-like close ups on objects in the setting that could translate some of my characters' traits.
Moreover, I really like the way Boogie Nights uses music to guide scenes. I've also discovered in my research that The French New Wave had a major influence on Boogie Nights, so I will definitely look deeper into that.
Obviously, it's impossible to ignore the film's beautiful 70s aesthetic. As I mentioned in my first post, that is something I'd love to experiment with!
In the commentary, Anderson continues talking about the dialogue in the scene, referring to it as "chat talk." "Chat talk" occurs when people are close enough to talk in code or with the near absence of nouns. Because I plan on making a story that centers in on two characters that are already close, I could most definitely employ that method of dialogue in my opening. "Chat talk", to me, falls under the same sentiment I mentioned in my last post about starting scenes in the middle of the action, adding to the idea that there is or has been constant motion happening offscreen.
Anderson then discusses his shot influences, namedropping Scorsese, Truffaut, and Jonathon Demme. I found this really cool side-by-side comparison of Boogie Nights and Scorsese works that could definitely inspire some shot ideas for my opening!
Naturally, the commentary excluded a lot of my favorite parts of Boogie Nights, as it only covered the film's opening. One technique I'd love to make use of that the film often did is establishing scenes through a series of close ups to communicate necessary information about location, time, or characters. This technique, to me, follows closely after the "show don't tell" mentality, and is a lot less blatant than the standard ELS. I like the idea of starting my opening with a series of photograph-like close ups on objects in the setting that could translate some of my characters' traits.
Moreover, I really like the way Boogie Nights uses music to guide scenes. I've also discovered in my research that The French New Wave had a major influence on Boogie Nights, so I will definitely look deeper into that.
Obviously, it's impossible to ignore the film's beautiful 70s aesthetic. As I mentioned in my first post, that is something I'd love to experiment with!
Until next time!
CS
No comments:
Post a Comment