Films that inspired me

Before I delve too deeply into my own filmmaking style or develop any of my own work, I think it's important to acknowledge the artists and creators before us that inspired us to go out and create for ourselves. Drawing inspiration from other people's work is key in developing a personal taste and style to your own work. Long hours of practicing musical instruments, video games and photography have taught me that one of the best ways to learn anything is by mimicking the professionals. This post I'm making is dedicated to a few films/television shows that have heavily influenced me and my own style.

Morgan's Top Five Most Influential Movies/Television Shows

Forrest Gump

By far, my favorite film of all time. When I was young, Forrest Gump was one of the few VHS tapes that my parents owned. Among the Rugrats Movie and Thomas the Tank Engine, I would sit and watch Forrest Gump at least once a day. When I was young, I didn't understand the deeper levels of storytelling in the film, and how efficently Robert Zemeckis is telling the life story of Forrest. As a boy I just enjoyed Forrest's story and the simplicity of his worldview. The desire to tell stories like Forrest's and make movies as visually stunning as Forrest Gump was what initally drove me to become a filmmaker.

Star Trek: the Next Generation

In my opinion, one of the most underrated television shows of all time. Amongst Star Trek fans, TNG gets the praise that it deserves. The show not only has amazing acting, but it has an incredibly strong social commentary. Most of Star Trek is dialogue driven, with every other episode having a plot spurred by a political disagreement or some dumb order from Starfleet. Rarely does the show use action or physical movement to really advance the story. Some of the more memorable moments from the show are monologues and characters rather than space battles or phaser fights. The Next Generation taught me the importance of strong characters and dialogue, and how a well grounded story will ALWAYS be better than the Hollywood summer action blockbuster.

Little Miss Sunshine

Making movies can be stressful sometimes. There's a LOT of work that goes into preparing the movie and setting things up for filming/editing. Talent, crew, money and equpiment are the biggest worries on my mind when I'm planning a production and there are some days when I can't take it anymore. We all have moments where we want to give up and take the easy route home, especially as filmmakers; the stresses of trying to get your project off the ground sucsessfully are a lot to handle. Little Miss Sunshine, one of my favorite independant films of all time, is a healthy reminder that every filmmaker started somewhere and eventually hard work pays off in the end.

Game of Thrones

If you've seen Game of Thrones, then you know why it's on my list. I'm a HUGE sucker for strong characters and Game of Thrones is no exception. The George R.R. Martin world is incredibly deep, detailed and immersive which makes the experience for the viewer that much better. But that's not what inspired me from Game of Thrones. The part I love about the show the most is the editing. Every cut is made with a purpose and every shot is perfectly composed, which when combined with the story, is a filmmaker's wet dream. If you haven't noticed it yet, I challenge you to re-watch Game of Thrones and understand why they choose to cut in certain spots. The show taught me that, with a complex story and lots of characters, motivated cuts and camera movement is extremely important when putting together a film.

The Shining

A classic, but I'd be lying if I said this film didn't impact my life. One of the few movies where I notice something different every time I watch it, and it inspires me that much more to make movies like that. What inspires me about the Shining is how cinematic it is and how much detail was out into making the movie. I'm not scared when I watch the Shining anymore, rather I'm mesmerized by Kubrick's storytelling and filmmaking skills. For two hours and twenty minutes, we surrender ourselves to Kubrick and he delivers something completely unexpected. Everything I know about the rules of filmmaking, storytelling, editing and writing are present in The Shining and that's why it inspires me.

If you haven't seen any of these, I HIGHLY recommend all of them to you. Hopefully they inspire you as much as they inspired me.

-morgan

#movies #inspiration #television