Auteur research

 Wes Anderson

One aspect of Wes Anderson's cinematography is the stark flatness of his compositions - in every film he directs, everything is lined up directly in front of him. He doesn't use awkward angles and when the camera moves, it creates a new flat composition. These flat compositions create lines, which create symmetry. Wes likes to centre his subject perfectly in the middle of his shot. He also uses sharp transitions. You find yourself moving through the imagery quickly, but when you move onto the next scene, the whole thing is completely static. Using sharp transitions like this creates comedy, but also generates a bit of emotional inertia - we are still reacting to the previous images while applying our emotional knowledge to new and seemingly unrelated visuals. His cutaways sometimes break a scene in half, like a flashback or a cutaway joke.

Anderson's signature style is really brought out in his use of colour palettes for his film. He uses a lot of different colours and combinations in his films and each scene has a distinct, premeditated assembly of colours. He uses dusty pastels to create timeless image qualities. For example, in The Grand Budapest Hotel.

Another way his signature style can be seen is through his use of elements created from scratch. While other filmmakers use real life locations or designs to create a cohesive world, Anderson seems to build his outright - you get the feeling that the whole place was built for the film.

Reiteration and control of information is also a trademark of Wes Anderson. He knows exactly how he wants to play out each scene. For example, if a character receives a letter, he will show you the letter. He drives home information so the viewer can't miss it.