Placeholder Image

字幕表 動画を再生する

  • Characters looking out of windows.

  • They're lost.

  • Introspective.

  • Undecided.

  • Trapped.

  • This is a motif we find in the films of Sofia Coppola.

  • A director who has mastered the art of isolation.

  • But these shots are just the beginning.

  • There is so much more going on.

  • "- You're not even old enough to know how bad life gets.

  • - Obviously, Doctor. You've never been a 13 year old girl."

  • Remember to subscribe and click the bell to stay in the loop with

  • more filmmaking videos like this.

  • Thanks to the following subscribers for requesting this video.

  • Keep the suggestions coming in the comments.

  • We will be spoiling the following movies.

  • Are you ready?

  • Let's take a ride.

  • Watching Sofia Coppola's work, there is often a distinct mood.

  • The depth and richness of her imagery, paired with sounds

  • and music, seep under the skin.

  • There is a consistent theme running underneath them all.

  • Whether alone or in ensembles, all of these characters are dealing

  • with the consequences of isolation.

  • She doesn't tell us these characters feel isolated.

  • She does more than simply show us this detachment.

  • She makes us feel it ourselves.

  • With all the filmmaking elements at her disposal, Coppola

  • tailors each towards this goal.

  • But how does she do it?

  • First up, story.

  • - This idea of isolation is clearly a focus in the stories Coppola tells.

  • To me, I always like characters that are in a moment of transition

  • in their life and you're trying to figure out what the next stage is.

  • So any characters that are in a moment of kind of self-discovery.

  • - The Lisbon sisters on house arrest.

  • A pair of lost souls far from home.

  • A debutante thrust into royalty.

  • A movie star without purpose.

  • Students and their teachers on the outskirts of war.

  • These are characters who are isolated emotionally, geographically or both.

  • And in movies like "The Bling Ring" and "On the Rocks", we see the lengths

  • people will go to to avoid isolation.

  • "- Where are you from? - Pagora Hills.

  • But I was away for a year, so did homeschool.

  • - Bummer."

  • - Pursuing friendship at all costs.

  • "- We need to get out of here.

  • - It's fine. Don't freak out."

  • - Or allowing their insecurities to take over.

  • "- There were some of his co-workers toiletries in his luggage.

  • - I think we should follow him. - What?

  • - Yeah, I think we should.

  • Keep an eye on him, see what he's up to.

  • - No, I, I can't do that."

  • - The resolution to their existential crisis is elusive.

  • Some break through them.

  • And some are overwhelmed by them.

  • But no matter the setting or circumstance, Coppola has a unique ability to make her

  • characters and their plight, relatable.

  • She admits that "Lost in Translation" is semi-autobiographical in this regard.

  • - I spent a lot of time in Tokyo in my 20s.

  • And I really wanted to make a film about my experience of just being there.

  • I got married not long before and kind of felt isolated.

  • I was in this stage where I wasn't sure if I'd made the right choices

  • or what I was doing in the post-college beginning of my adult life.

  • "- And what did you study? - Philosophy.

  • - Yeah, there's a good buck in that record. - Yeah.

  • Well, so far, it's pro bono.

  • - Well, I'm sure you'll figure out the angles."

  • - Coppola's films skip goal-driven plots for more observational character studies.

  • But establishing this isolation on the page is just the beginning.

  • She also builds the worlds around her protagonists with production design.

  • So much visual storytelling can be achieved through production design.

  • And few filmmakers understand this potential better than Coppola.

  • To emphasize the loneliness at the core of her films, Coppola

  • tends to switch between extremes.

  • Maximal and minimal.

  • Some sets are bursting at the seams.

  • "Marie Antoinette" surrounds herself with decadence to relieve the

  • pressures of her royal obligations and disrupt her confinement.

  • On the opposite end, the sets are pared down to nothing.

  • Johnny's living at the Chateau Marmont is bare and lifeless.

  • Simple details like unhung artwork help communicate his unsettled

  • and transient state of being.

  • "- Shouldn't you be in school today? - It's Sunday."

  • - Costumes are another focal point for indicating characters in isolation.

  • "- I was always self-conscious that I wasn't,

  • you know, as good looking as other people."

  • - Coppola explains with an example from "On the Rocks".

  • Clothing provides the little clues that tell you who characters are.

  • And Laura's trying to figure out who she is at the moment.

  • She wears a custom-made Paris Review t-shirt, but also old band

  • t-shirts from her previous life.

  • In "The Beguiled", the dresses inform their situation without

  • the need for expository dialogue.

  • Miss Martha and her students have been deserted at their school for some time.

  • And so, the colors in their dresses are faded.

  • And alterations are made as they grow.

  • Coppola adds how her production designer, Anne Ross, continued

  • this idea with set decoration.

  • She made the house with vines growing up it.

  • And that feeling of neglect really helped set the stage that

  • they're cut off from the world.

  • "- I can't say that it hasn't been a struggle.

  • - Well, I admire her strength.

  • I know it must be hard for you to be strong all the time for these girls.

  • You're lucky to have a woman such as yourself to keep going for all of them.

  • - I'm just trying to give them what they need to survive in these times.

  • It's a very different world out there that they're going into.

  • I don't think they realize that."

  • - With production design, Coppola injects context around her characters.

  • Who they are.

  • Who they're trying to be.

  • Where they've been.

  • And where they may be going.

  • Now, let's move on to one of Coppola's strongest elements in production design.

  • Color.

  • Color is a key element in Coppola's visual palette.

  • She indulges in feminine pastel worlds and neon-infused cities.

  • As Coppola explains, her preference is for more subdued color schemes.

  • Usually, I love not very saturated colors.

  • That's something in my films.

  • I always want low contrast.

  • But not always.

  • It depends on the subject matter.

  • Because when we made "Bling Ring", it was really garish.

  • And it was this awful kind of US Weekly subject.

  • Color is also used to divide the worlds these characters traverse.

  • The contrast between the beige suburban world and the glittery night of the city.

  • I thought DP Harris Savides made a really beautiful look out of this

  • world that isn't so beautiful.

  • "- So, what qualities do you guys admire about Angelina Jolie?

  • - Her husband.

  • - Mm hmm. Okay.

  • Anything else?

  • - Her hot bod. - Okay.

  • Okay, well, the hot bod is not a characteristic."

  • - For "The Virgin Suicides", DP Edward Lachman explains how color

  • helped isolate the characters.

  • I was aware of the tone Coppola was aiming for.

  • A difference between the male and female worlds.

  • That's why I tried to create the two worlds visually.

  • One of the girls inside being locked in their house with magentas and blues.

  • And then one with the boys outside in this more austere sunlight

  • and stronger saturated color.

  • In these films, color is used as an emotional measurement.

  • It marks how these characters see the world and how they feel inside.

  • Coppola's control over color could be attributed to having

  • studied painting and photography.

  • But this background will become even more apparent in the next section.

  • Cinematography.

  • It might sound obvious or trite, but Coppola is a very visual filmmaker.

  • Much of her preparation starts with visual references that she

  • shares with her department heads.

  • She will even tape these reference images into the script.

  • Here is a mood board assembled for "The Beguiled".

  • She will often find inspiration in photography to set the mood

  • and direction of her projects.

  • The look of the "Virgin Suicides" was sparked by the work of Bill Owens.

  • John R. Hamilton's candid shot of Clint Eastwood informed the spirit of "Somewhere".

  • And Larry Sultan's portrait is given a direct homage in "Lost in Translation".

  • The best photography tells a complete story in a single image.

  • Coppola takes this practice into her own work with strong compositions.

  • Press pause on just about any frame in a Sofia Coppola movie and they could stand

  • as amazing photographs on their own.

  • Much of this feeling of disconnection for these characters is achieved

  • through framing and composition.

  • Here's Lost in Translation DP Lance Acord on how this works.

  • - The loneliness that can be created with space, I feel like

  • that was achieved on that film.

  • Allowing shots to be wider, allowing people to be smaller in frame,

  • kind of hanging on those shots.

  • - We find this in her extreme wide shots.

  • Or with heavy use of negative space.

  • We also find slow zooms that inform this idea of isolation.

  • They close in to apply pressure.

  • Or open up to let the environment overwhelm the character.

  • Consider this moment.

  • The camera slowly constricts the space around Johnny

  • paired with a visual metaphor of being stuck.

  • This is Johnny at his lowest.

  • Later, we get the opposite shot.

  • A simple slow zoom-out that seems to release Johnny from

  • his existential confinement.

  • Through composition, framing, and subtle lens adjustments, Coppola creates strong

  • imagery with a clear point of view.

  • And a focused goal of capturing disconnected characters alone with the

  • world surrounding them on all sides.

  • Now, let's see how these images are assembled to

  • enhance this isolation with...

  • Editing.

  • With exceptions, Coppola is predominantly a mise-en-scene filmmaker.

  • This means that her images are designed to be complete without much editing.

  • She tends not to shoot coverage.

  • The lack of editing and coverage naturally creates a slower, more deliberate pace.

  • This was purposefully done for "Somewhere", as editor Sarah Flack explains.

  • Because of the way Sophia and DP Harris Savides designed the shots, there wasn't

  • much coverage in many of the scenes.

  • But the length of the shots brought with it a wonderful sense of realism.

  • Coppola elaborates that this minimalist coverage and editing style also served

  • to align the viewer with Johnny's stasis.

  • It was all about finding the rhythm sustaining a shot.

  • Not putting the audience to sleep, but still trying their patience to

  • put them in the frame of mind of this character who's bored in his life.

  • On the other hand, there are moments constructed with editing.

  • This is especially evident in capturing the unspoken language between

  • female characters as she explains.

  • The way that women communicate is very particular.

  • How you communicate so much with a glance or the tone.

  • And I think men don't see that.

  • And it's really between women.

  • "- Is Dean still traveling a lot with that new assistant?

  • - Um, account manager.

  • Yeah, she's um, yeah, she seems nice.

  • - Is she very attractive?

  • - I don't know, I mean, yeah, she's attractive."

  • - This comes into play in "The Beguiled" as the girls anticipate the poison

  • trap they have laid for McBurney.

  • "- Miss Amy picked the mushrooms today. Would you like some, Corporal?

  • - I would indeed, yeah.

  • Thank you, Miss Marie."

  • - "The Virgin Suicides" has a more subjective, nostalgic construction.

  • Just as the Lisbon girls were isolated from the world

  • the boys were isolated from them.

  • Therefore, everything we see is from the boys recollections.

  • What they remember.

  • And what they imagined.

  • To capture this, Coppola and her editors employ montage editing techniques.

  • Split screens.

  • Super impositions.

  • An iris with x-ray vision.

  • As Coppola explains, the story is told as a memory.

  • That's why it's made in a collage style of piecing together these memories

  • to try to bring back these girls.

  • "- The only way we could feel close to the girls was through these impossible

  • excursions, which have scarred us forever.

  • Making us happier with dreams.

  • Then wives.

  • Collecting everything we could of theirs.

  • The Lisbon girls wouldn't leave our minds.

  • But they were slipping away.

  • The color of their eyes was fading along with the exact

  • locations of moles and dimples.

  • From five they had become four.

  • And they were all, the living and the dead, becoming shadows."

  • - Coppola's editing is mostly restrained, letting the images speak for themselves.

  • But there are moments where memories and unspoken communication

  • are constructed with montage.

  • To dive deeper into the emotional realm of these characters in isolation, let's

  • open our ears to Coppola's sound design.

  • As we've

  • As we've seen, Coppola prioritizes mood and feeling.

  • One of the most direct ways to do this is through sound.

  • To establish isolation in "The Beguiled", we start with sound.

  • What do you hear?

  • There is clear juxtaposition between the isolation of the girl surrounded

  • by nature and the wall in the distance.

  • It all adds up to both atmosphere and plot.

  • As Coppola explains.

  • - It has a lot of awareness on the sounds of nature with the sound design of the

  • cicadas and the cannons in the distance and I hope that you feel the tension.

  • Coppola also uses sound to speak directly to the character's emotional state.

  • In some scenes, Johnny is surrounded by sound.

  • But it is the silent moments that reveal what's really in his heart.

  • A solitary meal.

  • The pull of a cigarette.

  • Johnny's heartache is soundtracked with the muted whir of a helicopter.

  • By focusing on quiet sounds like water, we feel the silence and the loneliness.

  • The cry for help.

  • The monotony.

  • Even a single drop speaks volumes.

  • The silence at this moment is deafening.

  • And it is clear that she has lost all favor with her subjects.

  • There are loud and layered moments in Coppola's films.

  • But it is her use of minimal sound design that encapsulates characters in seclusion.

  • Stripping the artifice from watching a movie so we can share

  • these private moments with them.

  • Our last element might be what Coppola is most known for.

  • Music.

  • As we've seen, Coppola makes strong visual choices.

  • But her musical choices are equally strong.

  • The musical core of these films is built from the very beginning.

  • Often integral to her writing process.

  • As she says, when I write the script, I listen to music and that's

  • usually when I find the tone or the atmosphere between the visuals,

  • the colors, and then the music.

  • For example, music by the group "Air" inspired a dreamy, nostalgic

  • tone for "The Virgin Suicides".

  • So much so, that she brought them on to provide original music for the soundtrack

  • with tracks like Playground Love.

  • Music supervisor Brian Reitel worked with Coppola to make Tokyo Dream

  • Pop playlists while she worked on the script for "Lost in Translation".

  • These tracks complete the imagery in a wash of soft distortion

  • and dreamy introspection.

  • This fits the mood she was after.

  • I wanted to create this sense of disassociation of being in this

  • kind of unfamiliar alienating world.

  • Charlotte's Sojourn is soundtracked with a somber, contemplative track,

  • fittingly titled "Alone in Kyoto".

  • When Laura's confidence in her marriage hits a low point,

  • we get a melancholy ballad.

  • "- You're gonna be all right, shorty."

  • - "Marie Antoinette" derives a lot of momentum from its soundtrack.

  • We get anachronistic tracks from groups like "New Order"

  • and "Bow Wow Wow".

  • This allowed Coppola to capture Marie Antoinette's youthful and romantic spirit.

  • But it also reinforced her disconnection from her royal duties

  • which would become her downfall.

  • Movies like "Somewhere" and "The Beguiled" prove that removing music is an

  • effective way of creating isolation.

  • On this latter film's minimal score, Coppola says the choice was made

  • because these characters have no escape.

  • - It's very restrained synthesizer tonal music that's very under the surface

  • because I wanted to have a lot of tension and just really not have songs

  • that would alleviate the tension.

  • "- What are you doing there, Miss Haney?"

  • - Coppola's use of music gets right to the heart of her characters.

  • Moments of ecstatic youthful energy provide further contrast

  • to their angst and detachment.

  • "- Why do you think Rebecca was so obsessed with

  • these women and their clothes enough to steal?

  • - I just think she wanted to be a part of like, the lifestyle, like, the

  • lifestyle that everybody kind of wants."

  • - Few directors are as invested in exploring the inner worlds of

  • their characters as Sofia Coppola.

  • Her stories center on people dealing with isolation.

  • She threads this idea into the production design with wardrobe and set dressing.

  • The color palettes sustain these somber tones and disconnected worlds.

  • Her compositions and framing add distance between the characters

  • and their surroundings.

  • She edits with a languid pace so we can share the feelings of seclusion.

  • A focus on minimal sound design brings us into these private moments.

  • And her soundtracks provide a final layer of tone and atmosphere

  • that is ripe for contemplation.

  • What else do you feel watching Sofia Coppola's movies?

  • Share your thoughts in the comments below.

  • And tell us which filmmaker you'd like us to cover next.

  • With StudioBinder's pre-production software,

  • you can write your next ode to isolation.

  • Compose your shots in a storyboard.

  • And nail down your vision with a mood board.

  • Like the one we created for Coppola's films, which you'll find linked below.

  • Until then, remember that it's okay to get lost once in a while.

Characters looking out of windows.

字幕と単語

ワンタップで英和辞典検索 単語をクリックすると、意味が表示されます

B1 中級

Sofia Coppola Directing Style Explained — 7 Ways She Represents Isolation(Sofia Coppola Directing Style Explained — 7 Ways She Represents Isolation)

  • 19 0
    林宜悉 に公開 2023 年 10 月 28 日
動画の中の単語