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zack snyder is one of the most
successful blockbuster filmmakers of his
generation
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his filmography is varied
from historical epics
to dystopian futures
and yet each of his films showcases a
stark operatic visual style
we're going to dissect three elements of
schneider's signature look and how they
work together to create striking images
that lend themselves to epic action
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arguably the most obvious element of
zack snyder's style is his penchant for
slow motion
like many directors he uses it to
heighten the intended mood of a shot
where tragedy becomes more tragic
and romance becomes more romantic
snyder will often have lots of movement
and slow motion shots
whether it be flying spears
or water droplets to create an even
larger sense of spectacle
but snyder's signature approach to frame
rate is speed ramping
which is a technique that changes the
speed within a shot
this is ideal for epic action sequences
here we see schneider shifting between
fast motion and slow motion
these sequences were shot anywhere from
100 to
frames per second
allowing snyder to toggle in and out of
slow motion in post-production
snyder's use of speed ramping creates a
rhythm in the action without needing to
cut moving from one jaw-dropping moment
to the next
for more on frame rate check out our
previous video
zack snyder's manipulation frame rate
makes everything heightened as does our
next technique
hello darkness my old friend zack snyder
is known for the dark tone he has
brought to the comic book genre
his films are often grim and gritty
aided by high contrast
a style that includes bright highlights
with dark shadows in the same image
i've always been a flan of slightly
desaturated
and high contrast imagery that's just
aesthetically what i'm attracted to
the first step to get this look is with
low key lighting which uses a strong key
light and little to no fill light to
create stark shadows
in snyder's imagery we often see this as
backlit figures in silhouette
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another technique that is often used to
accentuate this contrast is a
post-production process called bleach
bypass
this is a film developing technique that
typically pushes the contrast increases
the grain and desaturates the colors
but for 300 snyder and his team created
a special process with many steps to
emulate the look of frank miller's
graphic novel
one of the devices that we use to create
that high contrast look is called
crushing where we take all the digital
information in the film and we compress
it
contrast lines where the blocks feather
into the mid-range are very smooth and
very much like frank's drawings
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since 300 schneider has created a
similar high contrast look in his films
did you get it for rock
yeah we got it
in this scene from batman v superman
snyder's high contrast style is on full
display sorry
using strong backlight in each shot
makes each character little more than
shadows
unlike the brighter and more colorful
trend in contemporary superhero movies
this high contrast backlighting gives
his movies a harder edge
snyder's high contrast creates a moodier
tone but it also works in service of
complex set pieces often in tandem with
the next technique
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a common theme in zack snyder's visual
style is his use of a shallow depth of
field
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while some directors will shoot an
action scene with a deeper depth of
field to capture everything in the frame
snyder will often opt for the opposite
in order to make action feel intimate
and focused such presentations give even
the smaller moments of a battle an epic
scale
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in army of the dead snyder took this
love of shallow focus to the
extreme one of the lenses he shot with
was a 50 millimeter canon dream lens
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the canon dream lenses are these lenses
built in the 60s the guys at zero optic
they took the dream lenses completely
apart
and re-house them
and so they could be cinema lenses
using a wide open f .95 aperture
resulting in extremely shallow focus and
by shooting wide open it also works well
with snyder's preference for low light
i'm going to shoot the entire movie wide
open there's never going to be a stop on
any lens for the entire film
okay
in this scene a shallow depth of field
emphasizes a tragic loss i know where
she went she's my daughter
i'm gonna get her back i'm not gonna let
you go out there alone
by only having cruz's face in focus the
viewers aren't distracted by the horde
of zombies behind her in this moment
it's just her and scott
like snyder's other techniques his
shallow depth of field also works to
create a heightened sense of drama in
this scene from justice league almost
every shot employs very shallow focus
allowing for a dramatic focus pull to
reveal batman's arch nemesis
this technique also creates a dreamlike
feel hinting that this is batman's
nightmare
there's a reason not many other action
directors use shallow depth of field the
way schneider does
it's very difficult
shooting wide open lenses at this speed
and you've got millimeters of critical
focus i mean you have to be pretty brave
to shoot
the film the way you did
snyder's use of frame rate high contrast
and shallow depth of field creates an
epic and heightened visual style
each element works together towards
common goals
to create the most epic shot possible
that amplifies the action and injects
beauty into violence
you don't need a huge budget to shoot
like zack snyder it all comes down to
smart film making decisions and
extensive preparation
snyder's storyboards many of his movies
which is why his shots always appear so
carefully constructed
with studio binders pre-production tools
you can prepare just like snyder
time to write storyboard and schedule
your own projects
what are some of your favorite zack
snyder shots do they use some of the
techniques we've mentioned tell us in
the comments
there's a goddamn zombie tiger
that's crossing the line
now start building your own style see
you in the next one
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[Applause]
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why can't you just