DIRECTIONS UNIT: Research (Colour/Sound/Framing/Editing)

One of my favourite singers, Lana Del Rey, recently made her own short film, "Tropico", directed by Anthony Mandler, featuring Shaun Ross & herself Lana del Rey.  "Tropico" is a tale of redemption told by her own music: Body Electric, Gods and Monsters and Bel Air from her latest album. When I first watched this, I got so magnetised by the beauty of the colouring used (though most of the time the images were out of focus) and how the flow of the film was so smooth & calm and how the sound was crystal clear. Though the film didn't have a clear and distinct storyline & for most viewers it didn't make sense, I personally think, it captured the attention of the viewers by the colours and powerful images that we, as an audience, are not used to seeing very often.
And so I decided to use this film as a sample for my own. Though my colouring won't be this bright and my images will be in focus, I will try to in some way insert this type of style into my own film.

Lana del Rey is not my only favourite artist that has made a short film to 'present' her work. Kanye West is another artist well-known for his musical short film "Runaway" directed by himself, which I personally admire as he shows that music is not the only thing he can create. I love the in vintage-y style it has though expresses modernism through various and small ideas throughout the film. I also love the combination of the artist's music with the whole plot of the story and how this film is a perfect combination of both. The colours, the sound, the costumes, the light and every single detail in this film is absolutely amazing, and it definitely doesn't bore the audience as it has a very interesting image. Kanye's inspiration was mainly through other famous artists such as Pink Floyd's "The Wall" and Michael Jackson "Thriller" videos, as well as the 1984 American rock musical drama "Purple Rain" and painters: Picasso and Matisse. Directors Federico Fellini and Stanley Kubrick as well as fashion designer Karl Lagerfeld are also direct inspirations of his short film. And what's it about, you may ask? Its a love story between a man with a half- woman half-phoenix, and is set to his music from on of my favourite albums of his: "My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy" (2010).

However, Kanye West and Lana del Rey are not the only talented film-makers as well as musical artists that I love. One more example is Thirty Seconds To Mars with their powerful musical video "Hurricane" which runs for around 13 minutes and was directed by the lead singer of the band, Jared Leto (under the pseudonym Bartholomew Cubbins). The experimental long video takes place in what is believed to be a dream, and explores a violent and sexual world where the members of the band, 30 Seconds To Mars, are stalked and attacked by various figures, known as "The Gimps" and there are various other images introduced throughout the short film. Of course, this video was banned and censored when first released due to its elements of violence, nudity and strong sexual images in an almost pornographic context. Despite that, I was captivated by the powerful images throughout the film and how it affected the whole outcome of this shocking but at the same time inspiring video. 
Below I've attached the video:

Below is a video of the making of the short film "Hurricane":

Thank you for reading, I will be posting more soon.
Yours,
I.