Film Director - Christopher Nolan's "Interstellar" (Loneliness)

Film direction and cinematography in Christopher Nolan’s “Interstellar” (2014).

The film “Interstellar” portrays the loneliness of the world and the feeling of separation from loved ones. While the film is centred on the theme of exploration, it’s portrayal of utter loneliness is inseparable as the two themes heavily connects with each other.

Nolan’s portrayal of loneliness comes from the idea where humans are natural born explorers and must venture outwards to seek and break boundaries, however the consequences of doing so results with the suffering of loneliness in the unknown.

Interstellar Saturn scene: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ITwYEIY2FlE

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Still scenes from the film where negative space contributes to the essence of loneliness and utter isolation.

Nolan’s perception of loneliness in directing some of the narrative sequences involves negative space and the scaling of subjects as key elements to depict the theme of isolation and the sadness of feeling being away from loved ones and from home. The direction of cinematography is similar to that of photography where negative space can subtly convey the sense of being emotionally isolated from everyone around you.

I had made some experiments where I deconstruct the playfulness on the way Christopher Nolan compose/direct some of the scenes in terms of object placement and camera movement in visual storytelling.

An attempt to alter the cinematography of Nolan’s film by adjusting and cropping some of the still images from sequences in the film where negative space is heavily used in the portrayal of loneliness. I had applied the rule of thirds on each images to help rearrange the space and object placement within the film/camera frame, which are critical to create the immersion of isolation in visual narrative.

Experiments using various subject matters and methods (digital painting) to create the sense of loneliness in combination of composition (photography) to visually communicate the sense of feeling emotionally isolated from civilisation. Continued using the idea of scope and scale from the first set of experiments, I played around with colours as the main focus to communicate emotions, which can visually speak a particular emotion on its own, i.e. blue and green representing sadness, red and yellow representing playfulness, passion or energetic. The subject matters doesn’t necessarily have to be humans and I had chosen some objects that somewhat connects with emotion, such as the kite, which represents the freedom it would give a person and to leave all the problems behind (the loneliness, depression, etc.)  And the tree, which represents the solitary feeling (also referring to the actual solitary trees that grows on its own in the middle of nowhere).

From these experiments, choosing colours can be difficult as it could limit the expression I wanted to convey, as the emotion is mostly isolation which only the colours of blue or green can relate to closely. Warm colours kind of contradicts that representation loneliness and it doesn’t seem to work overall. 

My conclusion piece to the context of Loneliness in the film “Interstellar” directed by Christopher Nolan. The experiment is to reflect the emotional state of loneliness with the universe, where we are nothing but stardust in infinite space, essentially implying that we are all forever alone as one. The sleeping figure is to symbolise the slumber that has an effect on those who have loneliness, floating in the void who wants to shut themselves out from society and wants to avoid contact. The stars in the surrounding darkness in space are to symbolise the hope and dreams that there will be a day to break free from that loneliness that we are seeking, on our journey to find love and happiness that we have longed for after suffering from the feeling of isolation. 

References

(1a) Nolan, 2014

(1b) Nolan, 2014

(1c) Nolan, 2014

(1d) Nolan, 2014

Bibliography

Interstellar Saturn. March 2015 [Online] [Accessed: 27^th Dec 2016] Video available from: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ITwYEIY2FlE

Interstellar, 2014. Film. Directed by Christopher NOLAN. USA: Paramount Pictures, Warner Bros. Legendary Entertainment, Syncopy, Lynda Obst Productions.

Photographer - Niki Feijen's "Disciple of Decay" (Nostalgia)

Niki Feijen Photography of Isolation and abandoned objects.

The context behind the photography of abandoned places and objects by Photographer Niki Feijen is to captivate and conveying the sense of ‘lost’ moments or memories of old frozen in time, through the use of subject matters such as furniture, ornaments, beds, chairs and clothes. The visual connotations are to represent the nostalgic emotion where one revisits places from the past, an urban exploration of the homes that were left untouched since their owners had departed.

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Looking into the photography book of Niki Feijen’s “Disciple of Decay”, the composition and subject matters plays a key role in capturing the essence of isolation and the hauntingly beautiful landscapes of homes and objects that were once filled with life, laughter, joy and personal associations. Delving back to the past by revisiting places of old that we once lived in brings in the emotion of nostalgia, where we reflect on the simpler times we have when we were in our youths.

Nostalgia is one of the strong emotions I always go through as I often reflect on my memories through old objects or revisiting places I have not been for many years that makes me who I am as a person. I will deconstruct the photography of Feijen to explore the effect of how composition, lighting, framing and context can tell a story or narrative through various photographic techniques. Loneliness also ties in with the emotion of nostalgia where singular objects often conveys the sense of isolation, the refusal of letting go of the past or to leave a mark behind as a reminder.

Quick photographs exploring composition and object placement using the rule of thirds. Framing is also key as minor details in the background or foreground can contribute heavily on how you want to portray the object or environment, including negative space.

While the framing and composition are important to capture the essence or moments in time, I will attempt to take some of Feijen’s photographs and manipulating the composition by altering the shape and size of each photograph. Changing the size or making the photo to focus on one particular object and excluding the rest can help to express the importance of objects and ornaments that will represent nostalgia, as they are normally associated with personal attachments to the past. Colouring is also something that I think will play a role as a visual language to make the viewer feel personal towards the subject matter in a way that they will too, reflect on their past or childhood.

Cropping out sections of some of Feijen’s photographs to see if the alterations of the composition has an effect on how we perceive its context. Shifting the framing and the focus could change the way how we observe and interpret the imagery, as it can change our perspectives on what is important within the camera frame. 

Desaturating the colours of the photos to black and white, as greyscale photographs generally associates and represent the ‘past’, memories of old, or to document our history.

Applying a similar formula from Feijen’s photography of visiting old places, I had revisited my old hometown where I had spent the first 8 years of my life. I had brought with me an old clock which was given to me by my late grandfather many years ago when I was a child. The old clock, out of other objects that I could have chosen, is perhaps the most symbolic, as it represents the ‘time’ of my childhood (the clock representing time) and the nostalgia. It was a little difficult trying to incorporate both the object and the setting itself, as it was hard finding a right location to situate my object in. The locations I visited in my hometown are the areas I closely grew up with, and I desaturated the colours to black and white or to a singular hint of colour to represent the ‘past’. The aim of the object is for it be on its own in an environmental setting that I once grew up in, which will enforce the idea of nostalgia, by combining the visual elements of the object that represents the ‘time of childhood’ and the familiar setting from the past.

My conclusion to the investigation in Niki Feijen’s photography in capturing the sense of nostalgia through the use of objects/ornaments to represent the past. Following the earlier photo experiments in using a familiar object from childhood, I combined the idea of changing the surrounding environment to greyscale gold to represent the warm, fuzzy feeling of nostalgia of my hometown, with the idea of leaving the object in the photo unchanged and unedited, as a visual connotation to represent its relevance to my childhood that makes me who I am as a person. This idea is informed from photography that combines black and white photographs with colours, where certain objects remains in colour, similarly in the film, “Schindler’s List”, by Steven Spielberg, a black and white film that shows a scene with a girl in her red ‘coloured’ coat, a visual metaphor that is symbolic to represent the innocence of the people. 

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The location of my conclusion could have been better, however I chosen an area where there is decay (to reflect on Feijen’s photography of decaying environments) to represent the aging hometown that has not changed over the years since I have left.

References

(1a) Feijen, 2013

(1b) Feijen, 2013

(1c) Feijen, 2013

(2) Spielberg, 1993

Bibliography

Feijen, N. (2013) Disciple of Decay. Eindhoven, The Netherlands. The Art of Urbex. 

Schindler’s List, 1993. Film. Directed by Steven SPIELBERG. USA: Universal Pictures, Amblin Entertainment.