Why We're Obsessed with Stanley Kubrick Movies— Kubrick's Directing Style Explained

stanley kubrick is what we call a complete filmmaker his mastery of each element in the filmmaking process is legendary film directing i think is the misnomer directing the film is only you might say one third of the process you know writing the film directing the film and then editing the film wendy each one of his films is different from the last one but there's no mistaking a stanley kubrick movie so what makes kubrick's film so timeless and how does his work remain an inspiration to filmmakers today you will learn by the numbers i will teach you here's johnny [Music] we're going to look at what makes stanley kubrick movies so iconic his dynamic camera movement his brash use of color his enigmatic stories and messages we'll cover these topics and more as we wrap our minds around the work of a true cinematic artist if you want more videos like this all you have to do is to hit subscribe and don't forget the bell icon for notifications first let's talk about story come and look at it son you shouldn't jump on every single emphatic line it looks fake i thought it it fit you know what's the matter with itself shelly i'm telling you it's too many times every time he speaks emphatically you're jumping and it looks funny i would imagine to anyone sort of looking at me i have a vague withdrawn look on my face because what i'm just doing is thinking about the story or other scenes whatever it is i always have plenty to think about stanley kubrick movies focus on big ideas in their own way each film is about the human experience and kubrick's movies become opportunities for us to understand ourselves our hubris the planes are fully armed with nuclear weapons with an average load of 40 megatons each our genesee [Music] our dehumanization what do we do for a living ladies kill kill kill he's always searching for truth but the ambiguity in his films leaves these existential ideas open-ended this allows us to see something different every time the films don't change but we do this is what makes them timeless when crafting stories like kubrick choose grand and meaningful topics that encourage us to consider the world around us but leave the conclusions open to interpretation now let's talk about kubrick's production design and you keep thinking that you'll never get burned each film looks vastly different from the last [Music] but it comes down to this kubrick uses design elements like costumes and sets to reinforce the theme of each film there was me that is alex and my three drews at its core a clockwork orange is about contrast and contradiction we can see this contradiction represented in the iconic outfits worn by alex and his droogs kubrick uses white to complicate our associations with innocence and purity the bowler hat and cane are symbols reserved for proper gentlemen but these two are subverted even alex's fake eyelashes on a single eye act like an androgynous interpretation of a monocle using costumes to echo the themes create a cohesive storytelling and in 2001 there is a very interesting pattern that ties directly to its theme a circular pattern of life death and rebirth kubrick hints at this mythological idea with circles in many visual elements throughout the film by using this circular motif kubrick creates multi-layered meaning people do not react to abstractions you know they only react to direct experience and you can take an inanimate object like a star or a world or even a galaxy and somehow make it into a very poignant thing which almost seems alive by making the theme visual we can understand it on a deeper subconscious level if you want to use production design like kubrick build sets with visual patterns that echo the themes of your story and use costumes that are rich and irony to suggest themes like duality in eyes wide chart kubrick went overboard with a motif of christmas lights and christmas trees any guesses on how many shots there are head over to our blog where you can see a mood board with every single shot why don't you come in for a second next color his use of color is bold and a resting the hue saturation and brightness are all elevated the stargate sequence in 2001 is an experience unto itself [Music] a dazzling and immersive spectacle of color [Applause] but in many cases kubrick uses a single color in dramatic fashion in moments of death and dying kubrick tends to use green we can see this in 2001 a clockwork orange and of course the shining let's take a closer look at kubrick's final film eyes wide shot where the connection between death and green is continued an early scene finds dr bill harford tending to mandy a woman who has barely survived an overdose you are a very very lucky girl a deep green dominates the wall while she's wrapped in a teal colored towel later bill enters a restaurant with green awnings doors and decorations where he reads about the death of a woman he suspects to be mandy when bill visits marion her father's deathbed is surrounded by various shades of green and when bill returns to domino's apartment the walls are painted as sickly green why don't you come out for a second and her roommate tells him that domino has just been diagnosed hiv positive she got the results of a blood test this morning and it was hiv positive not every instance of green and eyes wide shut can be associated with death but many can if you want to approach color like kubrick use color to amplify your character's emotional states or tie them to larger themes like death but above all else be bold for a more detailed analysis of color check out our free ebook on color theory where we break down the color palettes and their meanings from some of your favorite films it might be better to just play it as a medium shot with the situation what can you do with your head down yeah well that's not bad let's do that wendy listen to me let me out of here and i'll forget the whole goddamn thing it'll be just like nothing ever happened let's move on to cinematography very good jack excellent there are many iconic elements to kubrick's cinematography his use of bright practical lighting or his symmetrical framing but let's talk specifically about his tracking shots good find the last three we're quite good kubrick often leads or follows his characters with the camera we watch and move with them in an almost voyeuristic manner and we become part of the scene something a static camera might not provide in the shining when the torrance family arrives at the overlook the camera follows them everywhere it's almost as if something is watching them we know there are dark forces at the overlook and halloran warns dany that he may be in danger is there something bad here well you know doc when something happens it can leave a trace of itself behind kubrick's voyeuristic tracking shots go a step further for an entirely different and sinister purpose the low angle and speed of the camera cannot be a human point of view this unnatural perspective could represent something else entirely like the pov of the overlook itself you know some places are like people some shine some don't i guess you could say the overlook hotel here has something about it it's like shining we know the overlook can manifest its power physically because it frees jack from the locked pantry and in this scene we can see this manifestation for ourselves with each swing the camera with pans in a parallel motion wendy i'm home what began as passive voyeuristic observation has turned into active participation the overlook is throwing its own power into each swing here's johnny kubrick uses his camera in a number of ways and so can you anybody consider using your camera to give the audience an active pov by leading or following your characters check the description for our checklist of cinematography techniques where we provide dozens of helpful camera and lighting tips to hone your visuals next up editing [Music] kubrick doesn't aggressively cut like many filmmakers he allows his moments to take their time he prefers wider and longer shots that capture the character as well as their environment but there is one particular technique where he uses editing to show what a character is feeling or thinking let's call this internal montage i knew such lovely pictures in a clockwork orange alex's daydreams are random fragments of violence and destruction in eyes wide shut bill is haunted by images of his wife with another man when kubrick shows us what is in the character's heart and mind our connection to them deepens he typically does this for a single character but let's look at a unique example from full metal jacket in which we get a collective thought from a group it all starts when eight ball is hit by a sniper and we settle into this shot here the entire squad is together in a single frame every time we cut back to eight ball we experience the soldier's collective thoughts and emotions in a moment of crisis okay then save your ammo nobody fire till i tell you [Music] in these cutaways the sound and image don't match the audio plays at a normal speed while the images are in slow motion the juxtaposition of realistic audio with stylistic video is what gives this moment a surreal and dramatic edge like kubrick you can use editing techniques such as internal montage to explore the inner experience of your characters and provide a deeper connection with the audience now let's talk about sound its sound design is minimal in 2001 kubrick makes fascinating and unexpected choices in the spacewalk scenes there is no music to distract us from what's on screen the only elements we hear are breathing and compressed air the simple and minimal sound design reminds us of the absolute danger of space travel later during dr poole's space walk the sound is once again limited to his breathing until dr poole's oxygen has been severed the simplicity and coldness of this moment is communicated with a simple sound design choice silence if you want to approach sound design like kubrick strip the layers of sound away until you focus on what you absolutely need less is more as they say moving on now this is really a nicer sound for this sort of our last category music [Music] kubrick's music is bold and takes center stage in many iconic sequences [Applause] think of the ironic choice of vera linz we'll meet again at the end of dr strangelove [Music] or to synthesize pulsing dread over the natural beauty in the opening credits of the shining in a clockwork orange alex adores beethoven [Music] he's also a violent psychopath this clash of beautiful classical music with ultra violence defines the core message of the film our world is simultaneously beautiful and horrible the best example of this idea is found in this scene alex belts out singing in the rain while he and his droogs commit despicable acts our positive associations with singing in the rain become complicated it can be difficult to hear the song now and not think of the violence and brutality of the scenes [Applause] what a glory we are connected to music on a primal and emotional level and kubrick exploits this connection but for poor little alex karma comes back around during his rehabilitation he is forced to watch scenes of violence and rape which he enjoys until [Music] his beloved ludwig van is played alongside them [Music] [Applause] ruins his love for beethoven just like he ruined singing in the rain for us are you referring to the background score yes you've heard beethoven before yes so you're keen on music yes remember that ironic choices can have a powerful impact and you can use our emotional connection to music against us but before scoring your own films head over to our article on creating unforgettable film moments with music [Music] i started out by just you know getting a camera and learning how to take pictures and learning how to print pictures and if you can develop a kind of generalized approach to problem solving it's surprising how it helps you in anything so how do we define kubrickian it is that rare moment when a filmmaker's worldview subject matter and cinematic techniques all align to create a visceral and unforgettable experience to learn more check the description below for a link to our article on stanley kubrick and his directing style come back next time for another lesson in filmmaking from studio binder and sergeant hartman you will not laugh you will not cry you will learn by the numbers i will teach you now get up get on your feet let me see your war face sir you got a war face ah that's the war face now let me see your war face where nell are you from anyway private sir texas sir holy dog texas only steers and queers come from texas private cowboy and you don't much look like a steer to me so that kind of narrows it down do you suck sir no sir are you a peter pepper sir no sir i bet you're the kind of guy that would [ __ ] a person in the ass and not even have the damn common courtesy to give him a reach around i'll be watching you you're so ugly you could be a modern art masterpiece make sure to subscribe to our channel below and don't forget the bell icon for notifications you

Channel: StudioBinder

Views: 417,562

Rating: 4.9532876 out of 5

Keywords: Stanley kubrick, kubrick, film theory, video essay, filmmaker, cinematography, script, filmmaking, the shining, eyes wide shut, 2001 space odyssey, color theory, a clockwork orange, barry lyndon, dr strangelove, stanley kubrick interview, film editing, director, color in film, directing, production design, overlook hotel, kubrick stare, stanley kubrick movies, screen rant, karsten runquist, film analysis, cinema cartography, film music, stanley kubrick, film essay

Id: MwNc9Hittqg

Length: 21min 35sec (1295 seconds)

Published: Mon Aug 10 2020

Reddit Comments

[u/LAWalldayallnight]

Awesome insight into my favorite director

[u/jlj0705]

Came across this Studio Binder channel a couple of nights ago and really enjoyed what they had to say. They have some good stuff on Tarantino and Scorcese as well, two of my other favorite directors.