kees on tumblr (Home)

I have received hundreds, literally hundreds of requests for doing a [the films of] Christopher Nolan. Somehow, you all thought that if he wasn’t the next director, he wasn’t going to happen at all. That’s not true. [the films of] Christopher Nolan was and always has been planned for November, simply because I wanted to keep you guys very much involved in the project, and delaying it each time would spark up conversations about it (and it did). Finally, here it is. It was one of the more fun episodes to do, but also pretty tough.

Nolan is a fan-favorite and so there’s hundreds, maybe even thousands of tributes to him on YouTube. Naturally, I’d checked some of them out. One incredibly awesome tribute was made by Stas Ivanov, it’s a very trailer-y tribute. I would never have done it quite like that for the series because the series is less about building up anticipation and more about analyzing the director’s filmography, but wow.

The pressure was definitely there but I decided to not let it get to me, I wanted to do the tribute I set out to do back in January. I wanted to somehow create that feeling of information being made unavailable to you, which is often the case in Nolan’s films. That’s not something you figure out in a day or two so that was incredibly tricky. I also wanted that fantastic tension throughout his films, the idea that the story would be resolved in the end, and then that final nugget of information that makes you doubt everything you just saw.

Let’s get down to business.

The video opens with a fade to white. If you think that was on purpose: well done. White, much more than black, creates a feeling of presence, there’s something there. But with the uncommon audio and no real information as to what is there, it’s still nothing. If you think what a load of bullshit then I recommend you watch this bit again, and try to feel it.

I just really love this quote, there’s something about the delivery that makes it so awesome.

If you listen to this on a good pair of speakers, you’ll hear a very low tone penetrating the audio here. It’s from the LFE track of Inception.

I cut these three shots (this one and the two prior) as long as possible, I wanted to delay the hit so as to create suspense or tension if you will.

Even though I tried to refrain from using the big, epic orchestral pieces for this one, there’s no use trying to ignore this stunning score by James Newton-Howard and Hans Zimmer. I also wanted to really familiarize Nolan at first, so that I could do some strange stuff later on.

If you look closely you’ll actually see the title doesn’t just fade in but actually is contracted from the white.

I really, really, really wanted Following in here, not just a glimpse but a proper piece. I always feel people overlook it even though it’s where Nolan’s style originates. What did frustrate me was that this film is not available in it’s original aspect ratio. It’s filmed in 1.33:1, yet the DVD transfer is 1.62:1, and there’s no other version!

Cobb is revealed at ‘go wrong’. I also really like the slow-motion with the track, it makes it look hyper-realistic in a way. This sequence is a tribute to all the villains in Nolan’s films.

One of the main reasons Nolan’s films work so well is because he and his brother write their own scripts. You can feel the trademark in every little bit of film. I wanted lots of dialogue because it’s such a key part of his films.

Love how the guitar note moves up along with the street.

I’m not a big fan of Insomnia but I know many people think it’s overrated, so I wanted a quote in here.

And, of course, Batman’s one rule is not killing anyone, which is what the previous quote reflected on.

This is such a brilliant bit in The Dark Knight. It also predicts mayhem, which is what the next 10 seconds consists of.

This is one of my favorite cuts.

I wanted both the gravity-shift walking and the non-gravity fighting in here, but somehow when I placed them apart, it just seemed like I was lingering on about these two shots, so I placed them together even though it’s a mess continuity-wise. I kind of like it though.

I love the cape-sound from Batman so it has a nice little cameo here.

Are you watching closely? with a black screen. I hoped this would make people somehow guess the next sequence, as if there’s secrets in there.

Caine’s quote is about secrets as well.

The Crystal Method’s Why So Serious Remix kicks in here. I wanted a finale that was both epic and unusual, and this track was just that.

Another Joker-quote, but can you blame me?

I love this bit, the image slows down exactly when the music starts to twist. And of course, he’s falling into a tub of totally still water, so that impact will cause chaos.

The titles are in Bebas Neue and have a light vignette over them which contracts over time, so it seems like the title is moving out of the light.

These final seconds are my absolute favorite, I just love how synchronized the jumpcuts work.

Do I believe the world’s still there?

I put this shot of Inception over this quote, with the world disintegrating. Fantastic scene.

Is it still out there?

The video ends with a question and it’s neither resolved in audio nor video. Just before you can see a reaction in his eyes or face (relieve that the world still exists) the video cuts to white and the audio changes too. Sort of an Inception-ending for this kind of video.

And that’s it! I had a ton of fun working on this episode, I’d already seen all his movies so that was a relieve, for once, because Mr. December is quite a handful. I won’t reveal anything about him just yet, I think a promo will hit soon. Thank you all for watching and liking [the films of]!