Photography has been part of everyday life for most people nowadays. With the ease of taking photos with phones and other gadgets, one can easily capture a moment and make precious memories of the mundane and ordinary. However, many prefer to take it a step higher and create something out of the box. Digital and content creators get to be creative by the day to attract more followers. Most media-savvy individuals look for inspiration and search for techniques popularized by well-known artists, photographers, and filmmakers. One of the recent trends is the use of the style of Wes Anderson, and this RFO condo in Tagaytay is the best place to do this trend.
WHO IS WES ANDERSON
photo from: https://www.architecturaldigest.com/story/inside-a-wes-anderson-designed-luxury-train
Wes Anderson is an American filmmaker, with films known for their eccentricity, unique visuals and narrative styles, and frequent use of ensemble cast. Some critics cite Anderson as a modern-day example of an auteur or a director who seems to be the “author” of the film in his significant influence type of approach in directing. He was considered to be a prominent figure in the American Eccentric Cinema.
WHAT IS A WES ANDERSON STYLE?
photo from: https://mymodernmet.com/succession-wes-anderson-trailer/
One may wonder how the techniques in Anderson’s films became popular among content creators. It may be simply because the story in his films ordinarily happens to people. But what’s outstanding is his cinematography. His style is characterized by a rich visual aesthetic, particularly in how he uses the color palette. He came up with his own personal style. However, he was able to develop a style that set him apart from the rest when it came to cinema. In his movies, one will notice his symmetrical perfectionism and center-point framing. His style is a precise combination of these eight ingredients:
- Head-on camera angle. This shows the subject looking straight at a mirror, where the camera acts as the mirror.
- Symmetrical shot. The subject is framed in the center in isolation.
- Tableau shot. This makes use of a proper combination of hues, saturation, and brightness in the staging and framing of a scene.
- Birds-eye view. This is a technique top shot is used.
- Still camera or foregrounded camera movement. This is one of the types of camera movement where the subject is shot nearest to the camera.
- Slow motion. This is an effect in filmmaking where a shot is taken at a slower speed in contrast to the normal movement.
- Montage sequence with a soundtrack. This sequence may either be short shots or still images that are shown in continuity allowing them to follow a certain rhythm and with music playing in the background, making them appear as a whole.
- Harmonious color palettes. It is normally a collection of three to five colors that appear beside each other in a color wheel and is used to create an image that is pleasing to the eye.
HOW WES ANDERSON USES COLOR PALETTES IN HIS FILMS
photo from: https://www.studiobinder.com/blog/wes-anderson-style/
In most of Anderson’s films, one may be able to know the characters or the storyline merely by looking at one frame. He is able to show these through the use of colors. His ability to effectively balance the hue, saturation, and brightness in his films is one of his distinguished approaches. His typical color palette consists of primary colors such as red, blue, and yellow. He uses the highest possible saturation for these colors in order for the colors to pop out, giving distinction to the character. The colors themselves are able to tell a story or at least create a base for it since they are used to signify his characters and their vulnerabilities. It was said that he normally plays with the hue, saturation, and brightness.
HOW TO GET A WES ANDERSON AESTHETIC
Content creators may be interested as to how they may create an Anderson-inspired aesthetic. One may want to watch some of his films. However, a few tricks he use are:
- Ensure there is proper lighting.
- A symmetrical style is recommended.
- Pastels are more likely a favorable choice for the color palette.
- Something vintage is suggested in the background.
- An accent object is a must.
- Presence of playful details should be present. Instead of hard lines and sleek design, go for wavy-edged or scalloped lines.
- Repetition or layering is also helpful in the arrangement of items in the background.
WHAT IS THE WES ANDERSON TREND?
The recent trend on TikTok depicts some of Wes Anderson’s techniques on how digital creators approach their posts showing daily lives. It was said that it was started by Ava Williams when she posted a video on TikTok of a train journey with the caption, “You better not be acting like you’re in a Wes Anderson film when I get there”. Nowadays, more TikTok users are incorporating the distinct style of Wes in their videos depicting everyday occurrences. The visual-led approach to cinema of Wes Anderson has inspired many media-savvy users to imitate his style in the manner by which their Instagram posts are created, either in their photos or in their videos. However, experts feel that although his technique is the recent trend among content creators, most of them come up as a poor mimic of Anderson’s work. The posts still lack the true style of Wes Anderson.
An effective way for someone to recreate Anderson’s style is to carefully come up with a story. The story needs to be conveyed in a well-balanced shot that features the eight ingredients of Anderson’s style. Setting an RFO condo in Tagaytay as a setting for the creator’s content, while mixing the other ingredients may help him come up with content depicting a style that is truly Wes Anderson’s.
MORE INSPO FROM WES ANDERSON
Watching his movies is also a way to fully grasp his approach. And what better way to enjoy them than in one’s very own RFO condo in Tagaytay? The Royal Tenenbaums, dubbed as Anderson’s best film, shows how significant the use of color builds up the character in the story. The films, Bottle Rocket in 1996 and Life Aquatic with Steve Zissou in 2004, both show how Anderson’s color palette influences his story-telling technique. In another movie, Rushmore in 1998, the focus is more on aesthetics. In The Darjeeling Limited, a film he directed in 2007, the colors black and white dominated the color chart, for him to effectively depict contrasting views of death. A cartoon he made in 2009, Fantastic Mr. Fox, he appropriately used coloring and highly saturated color palette, appropriate for a cartoon. In his next film, Moonrise Kingdom in 2012, saturation and brightness became more prominent. In 2014, he made use of vivid saturation and hues when he used an assortment of colors in the film, The Grand Budapest Hotel. He used this technique helped to tell a larger-than-life story. He came up with another animated film in 2018 entitled Isle of Dogs, where he made use of movie color schemes in animation. He went back to stop motion animation for this movie and instead of his usual yellow saturation, he made use of red to show love and passion since the movie is about a boy on his way to an island to rescue his dog. His recent movie entitled Asteroid City was pegged as his most successful movie to date. This movie inspires more digital creators to flood social media with their different take on an Anderson mimicry.
With this new learning and inspiration in mind, one may learn how to create something extraordinary while capturing everyday moments either in photography or in video. A content creator who owns a unit in an RFO condo in Tagaytay may create a reel using the property as a setting to get the best results in Anderson’s style. Frequent use of his techniques in one’s content may be a way to perfect a Wes Anderson type of still images or short shots. A content creator who is able to master the approach in Anderson’s films may be the next trend-setter.
Related Blog: Photography Ideas at Home
