When asked the question, who influences you as a creative person... the list is essentially endless. From the hundreds of creative people exposing their talents to the world it seemed almost impossible to pick just one.
Danny Boyle
Danny Boyle is my favorite director and storyteller at this time. His ability to direct has not only inspired me to pursue a career like his, but his unbelievable writing and storytelling is what truly makes him my favorite. He is know for many movies like Slumdog Millionaire, 28 Days Later..., 127 Hours , and Trainspotting.
I believe that he can envision something in his mind and then communicate it perfectly on screen, a skill in which I hope to some day develop. Not only is his vision brilliant, but he is able write compelling scripts that tell meaningful stories. So much of a good movie is because of the story. In Boyle's most recent film 127 Hours, a story taken from the novel, Between a Rock and a Hard Place , a man's arm becomes trapped underneath a boulder where he remains for "127 hours". The entire movie was brilliantly shot using a style I had never personally seen before. Boyle uses contrast throughout the movie showing hallucination of water and escape, when the reality is a far more depressing situation. The man is stuck and the only way out is to cut off his arm, that's where affinity towards the character. You have to like the character to continue following the movie, and the audience becomes immediately emotionally attached when you realizes what he has to do.
NOT FOR THE FAINT OF HEART!!!!!
Danny Boyle also has an uncanny ability to create tension and release. In his film 28 Days Later... he is constantly playing with this important theme. The movie is about a global virus called the "rage" virus that effectively end modern civilization. Humans are no longer humans, but they are infected with rage and want to kill anything that is not similar to them. The entire movie is based around one character who wakes up in a hospital bed only to find out how cold the world has truly gotten. Begin the tension...... (audio file below)
The final thing I would like to talk about is Boyles ability to enact conscious and subconscious thought. He is constantly challenging his audience to think about the situations they are put in, what are they viewing, how is the sound effecting the scene, what is the theme of the story. Hundreds of elements that he literally, consciously tells us, or forces us to subconsciously think. In perhaps his most famous film, Slumdog Millionaire, one of the final scenes of the movie gives the audience the chance to actively figure out the answer to the question... but was there ever one specific answer....?
Great examples - and awesome creative influences, Jay!
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