♪ ♪
"- 12:45. Restate my assumptions."
3:14.
Restate my assumptions.
"- One: Mathematics is the language of nature."
One: Cinema is the language of images.
Two: Everything around us can be represented and understood with images.
Three: If you analyze the images and sounds of any filmmaker
patterns emerge.
♪ ♪
Today, we're going to look at the patterns of a filmmaker with a singular voice
Darren Aronofsky.
"- Every movie has a film grammar
that tells the story the best possible way."
Visually each of his films has its own personality.
♪ ♪
From gritty realism to poetic formalism.
In this video, we're going to look at the elements
that give Aronofsky's movies their edge.
Isolating their mechanisms
to better understand
how patterns can illuminate the artist.
"- In the beginning...
there's nothing."
♪ Director's Playbook Intro♪
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Darren Aronofsky movies explore dark territories of the human experience.
"- Ready.
And two."
So prepare yourselves for some shocking content.
First, let's talk about Story.
Thematically, Darren Aronofsky movies are rather consistent.
We follow obsessive characters
willing to sacrifice themselves to reach their goal.
"- Hello."
They are driven.
Obsessed.
Insatiable.
Addicted.
And their pursuit often ends in their destruction.
Let's use our heroine from "Black Swan" as an example.
Nina desires to be the lead in a new production of Swan Lake.
She is perfect for the swan princess.
She is pure, kind and clean.
But she has another role to play.
"- He picked me, Mommy."
The Black Swan.
A dark shadow.
The embodiment of an evil curse.
A body begins to change
as a transformation nears completion.
This sets Nina on a path towards destruction.
"- Go get some help! Go get some help!
What did you do?"
If you want to build a story like Aronofsky
write characters that will stop at nothing in their pursuits.
Even if it will ultimately destroy them.
♪ ♪
Our second subject: Production Design.
♪ ♪
The worlds of Aronofsky's films can be familiar.
Or otherworldly.
They can be chaotic.
Or pristine.
In his biblical epic,
we see Earth as it was in the very beginning.
Unformed and raw.
To achieve this he found physical locations
that matched these qualities
in Iceland.
The black jagged beaches.
Treeless landscapes.
All of this authenticity
makes Noah's connection to nature more direct
and elemental.
The beginnings of life are all here.
We can understand Noah's plight visually.
His purpose is pure and uncomplicated.
"- Be fruitful and multiply...
...and replenish the Earth."
In "The Wrestler"
Randy the Ram Robinson is living a less than glamorous life.
He inhabits the ruins of his once successful career.
His world is constructed with the remnants of his past.
It is a hollow and rundown world.
Everything is beaten down and broken.
Just like him.
In "Black Swan" mirrors become a motif
that serves a dual purpose.
Nina's world in the ballet
is completely dependent on image.
Perfection is a necessity.
To capture this oppression,
Nina's personality is splitting right down the middle.
At first, she sees doubles.
Nina is surrounded by her own fragmenting self.
"- Stop. Please stop.
- How about...
I dance the black swan for you?
- Leave me alone!"
To recap,
Aronofsky uses production design to build worlds around his characters
that reflect their personalities,
remind us of their goals
and support the theme of the film.
If you'd like a closer look at the real-world locations from "The Wrestler"
or a collection of mirror shots in "Black Swan"
check out our storyboards,
linked in the article below.
Next up: Color.
How does Aronofsky use color to create character?
He gives his protagonists
a consistent and thematic color palette.
These colors aren't immediately obvious,
but they are there nonetheless.
Allowing, the subconscious to find the patterns.
Sarah's red dress is a relic from a past
and the key to her future.
The effect is a cohesive character design
that keeps our focus on her primary goal.
"- It's a reason to get up in the morning.
It's a reason to lose weight.
To fit in a red dress.
It's a reason to smile.
It makes tomorrow alright."
In "The Fountain"
three stories are connected as one.
They are set thousands of years apart
in dramatically different locations.
But there is one element
that brings them all together.
Gold.
It is the color of the ring given to Thomas by Queen Isabella.
"- And when you return,
I shall be your Eve."
Gold is the color of their bond.
This bond carries over into the present-day story.
"- It's actually a nebula wrapped around a dying star.
That's what makes it look gold.
What?"
These stories are connected across time and space
with a single color binding them together.
Make sure to check the description below for a free ebook
where we provide countless examples
that explain the signs of color
to inspire your own projects.
Our next subject: Cinematography.
Aronofsky's primary focus is capturing his character's journey.
His focus is their focus.
And he achieves this with two camera techniques.
Centered framing.
And close-ups.
It's a very simple but effective strategy
that keeps the focus on this character
in search of this goal.
In "Noah"
the visuals are constructed to put what's important front and center.
The symmetry and cleanliness of the image
maintains its focus and purpose.
In "The Fountain,"
the characters occupy strong and centered positions.
As are the objects of their desire.
Nothing else matters to the character.
So Aronofsky keeps our attention
just as focused.
In "Requiem for a Dream"
our main characters are pushed to extremes
as they become overwhelmed by their addictions
Aronofsky overwhelms the audience with extreme close-ups.
Neither the characters nor the audience
are granted relief from the situation.
The same connection between audience and character
is created in "Mother."
Our P.O.V. is sustained directly through the title character.
She is confused, concerned
and this creates panic.
This oppressive perspective
keeps us locked into the character's experience.
To approach cinematography like Aronofsky
use symmetrical and centered framing
to focus our attention
on both the character and their goal.
And keep the frame close and overwhelming
to match the character's experience.
Check the description for a link
to our article where we examine Aronofsky's framing and close-ups
from "The Fountain" in greater detail.
Let's move on.
Editing.
Aronofsky uses two main editing techniques.
Traditional shot-reverse-shot.
And something he calls
hip-hop montage.
"- A challenge of the film was to connect the kids' story
with the Sara Goldfarb story.
And I connect them to what we called hip-hop montages.
The idea is to take sharp sounds
with sharp images
and put them one after the other.
And basically form almost a musical piece."
Addiction is defined by repetition.
This idea is best captured in "Requiem for a Dream."
In "Pi" Max suffers from cluster headaches.
But the consistency and severity
is captured in these moments.
So if you're editing like Aronofsky,
put us in the character's head
with fragmented and visceral images.
"- And what are you doing here?
- Take a walk with me.
- I've too much work.
- It's the first snow. - I know but they're waiting on me."
And repeat these sequences
to construct the character's experience for the audience.
Want to learn more about creative editing techniques and transitions?
Check the description for a link to our article.
Moving on: Sound.
As we've seen, Aronofsky is using film technique
to align our perspective with that of the characters.
We see what they see.
We hear what they hear.
In some cases,
this is a more objective or realistic presentation.
"- Now give it to me, brother. - All right, man.
- Fuck. Come on. Let's -"
But it can also be more subjective and abstract.
In "Mother," we are made to identify with her P.O.V.
from the very beginning.
"- Baby?"
In act one, mother is often alone in the house.
A vulnerability is accented by every creaking floorboard.
Aronofsky uses a more abstract approach to sound.
We don't hear what the characters hear.
We hear what they feel.
Nina embraces her final transformation into the Black Swan.
Listen to her fluttered breathing
and the crackling
preparing to sprout feathers.
If you want to approach sound design like Aronofsky,
isolate what the characters hear
to bring us into their experience.
This can be done with either objective
or subjective choices.
Our final category: Music.
Aronofsky uses music as
the final piece in the puzzle.
He chooses music the best encapsulates his characters.
Aronofsky runs the gamut on musical genre,
from classical to modern electronica.
But each choice is deliberate in service of the character.
♪ Orbital - "P.E.T.R.O.L." ♪
In "Pi", Max's world is defined by computers and electronics.
♪ Orbital - "P.E.T.R.O.L." ♪
Machines designed like his own brain
to quantify and calculate information.
"- Whoa! Hell, yeah!
All right! Come on, baby.
- Dance with me. - Here?
- Yeah, right here. Come on. - Uh-uh.
- Come on. - l-I've danced to this plenty.
- Okay. I'll dance for you then. Here we go."
In "The Wrestler"
The Ram is a superstar from the 80s.
His musical themes are based around heavy metal groups,
like "Quiet Riot" and "Guns N' Roses."
The choice of genre fits the character perfectly.
Establishing the time and place of his stardom.
And the modern-day juxtaposition of his comeback.
"- Round and round.
Yeah! Goddamn, they don't make 'em like they used to.
- Fuckin' '80s, man. Best shit ever. - Bet your ass."
♪ Clint Mansell - "The Last Man"♪
Aronofsky and his longtime composer Clint Mansell
use a more traditional orchestral score in "The Fountain."
It is an emotionally rich score
that connects all three storylines.
An orchestral score has a timeless quality
that avoids pinning the story to a specific time and place.
♪ Clint Mansell - "The Last Man"♪
Creating a unified story and message.
If you want to use music like Aronofsky
choose music that defines your character
and echoes the world around them.
Darren Aronofsky makes movies that are haunting, visceral and emotional.
And he does this with a singular focus in mind.
The character.
Characters that will be destroyed by their obsessions.
In worlds that are designed to echo their personality.
With consistent and thematic color palettes
framed centrally or in close-ups
whose thoughts are conveyed through editing.
Whose feelings come through sound design.
And with musical themes
that round out their characterization.
This is the directing style of Darren Aronofsky.
"- A lot of chicken flying out the door. There you go, honey. Have a good day.
- Thank you. Have a good day. - Who's next?"
Who is your favorite Aronofsky protagonist and why?
Tell us in the comments.
And let us know which filmmaker we should cover next.
To continue your exploration of Aronofsky's techniques,
our blog covers these topics and more
with shot-list and videos.
The link is in the description.
Aronofsky never plays it safe.
Every project he makes is a climb to the top rope.
And a leap of faith.
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