Film studies- Task 2

Task 2: Film Theory- The Auteur Independent Study

a)    Select a director of your choice that can be considered as an auteur.  You will then need to select 2 films from which you will take examples.

The director I chose who I think in an auteur is Roland Emmerich, I will be using the films, 'Independence day' and 'The day after tomorrow'  

b)    Extracting information from at least 3 different sources you will need to  research and analyse the background , films and relevant technical information  about your chosen auteur and their films. 
Influences, Filmography, Back ground etc

1)    Extracting information from at least 3 different sources ( imdb, other websites, newspaper articles, interviews etc. )  you will need to  create a visual introduction to your chosen director. This should include details about their creative influences ( other directors,artists etc.) filmography and any relevant background or biographical information. 

Your visual introduction can be completed in Powerpoint, blogger or Word , but should contain images and relevant quotes and links.

Roland Emmerich is a german screenwriter, producer and director, his films have grossed more than $3 billion dollars worldwide, and just over $1million in the US making him the 14th highest grossing director of all time, he is most recognised for films such as independence day, 2012 and the day after tomorrow which are all films about large scale disasters which I think is one of Emmerich's trade marks in a majority of his films, a possible influence to this theme throughout some of his films is the fact that he is a campaigner for awareness for global warming, so he may be discretely trying to get a message across about the consequences of the world ending, or major disasters due to global warming or other factors, shown in films such as 2012 and The day after tomorrow.

c)    Using your research findings and observations from the whole/extracts from your selected films write a 500-word (minimum) explanation justifying why your selected director can be considered as an auteur.  You will need to ensure that you make references to

·      correct terminology

·      elucidated examples discussing  informed by genre analysis, narrative analysis and content analysis. 

use of genre

I think Roland Emmerich can be considered as an Auteur due to his use of genre, as the large majority of his films are action/adventure/Sci-Fi, examples would be 2012, based on the Mayans prediction that the world end on the 21st of December 2012, where the world faces a number of global catastrophes, also the film 'The day after tomorrow' whereby there is an International catastrophic storm which sends the world into a new ice age, both these films main themes are world disaster and ending, however films such as Independence day and Godzilla(1998) also feature the 'end of the world' theme, but also display a more physical threat and play more on the Sci-fi sides of the film such as aliens attacking the earth, or Godzilla causing trouble in Manhattan. 

use of camera and technical style 
Emmerich tends to use a lot of wide and mid shots in his films which enable him to show the widespread destruction and also the action in that particular scene, however there is also use of close shots and panning shots which shows the audience things the characters in the film may not be able to see straight away, which is also demonstrated in 2012 when the smoke and lava is behind the van and fast approaching, or in independence day when Will Smith is walking across a desert  approaching the science lab, there is a wide shot showing him surrounded by camper vans, one of which is holding an alien, he does this to show dramatic moments, or times when there is hope for a solution to the problem, the use of wide shots also implies that their are multiple people working together in order to save humanity. 

 music and sound 

In his films I came to find that there is use of both sounds than music, for example in scenes trying to build up tension there is dramatic and sinister music playing (Violins) which is also when action is happening, such as in 2012 when the family are able to fly out of the chaos in the plane, there is dramatic background music making the moment more intense and, which is also widely used in moments like this throughout the film and also in his other films like independence day, when Music is not being used the sound effects of things crashing, or breaking etc seem to be louder and much more defined where you can hear each individual piece of earth hit the ground (In 2012) which adds to the exaggerated effect of the intensity and tension of the scenes.

 content and themes
Emmerich's main theme of his films seems to be an end in humanity whether it be through a world disaster, aliens attacking or a radioactively changed creature, he seems to want to express how much we should value our world by showing people what could happen if these events were really to occur, which is very relevant to him due to the fact he is a campaigner for global warming, also he tends to show people uniting together to save themselves or the earth, rather than people fighting each other, or having people as villains, the threat is usually something bigger and either due to natural causes or the problems caused by humans themselves, which supports his views on equal rights and global warming.

settings

A lot of Emmerich's films are set in big cities or highly populated areas whereby the effects of the disaster or problem can be expressed and exaggerated, and also shows the seriousness of them, these are signature settings in his films as they feature in many of his most well known films, e.g 2012, The day after tomorrow and Independence day. 

 characters and casting ( actors).

Emmerich tends to follow the general conventions of action films within the characters where there is a strong character shown as the leader/hero from the beginning, however as a campaigner for equal rights he seems to express racial diversity in his films, such as Independence day where the hero is Will Smith where Emmerich claimed he witnessed overt racism where the producers and executives were opposed to Will smith having the lead roll in the film, and also he experienced racial problems in the making of 'The day after tomorrow' when the producers were reluctant to allow him to portray an interracial couple, but despite these problems he still showed these things, therefore it gives him his own style as a director as he doesn't always follow others opinions and is able to communicate his views in his films.