Steven Spielberg

By Ryan Still

Director, Screenwriter and Producer.

Early Years

• Used to make short “adventure” films with his friends and even charged 25 cent admission to these home films whilst his sister sold popcorn.

• At the age of sixteen Spielberg had just made a feature length film, which will later inspire Close Encounters

• He worked on many TV films before working on his debut film The Sugarland Express.

- Massively over-budget - Prior to shooting, Many actors involved in the film

could not believe the ideas Spielberg had in mind for the film.

- Set the bar for all blockbuster action and adventure films

Roy Schneider

Richard dreyfuss

Robert shaw

Peter benchleyLorraine gary

Carl gottlieb

- Considered to be the most realistic portrayal of war.

- Initial omaha landing scene had it’s own, $12 million budget

- Roughly thirty amputees were used in the making of the scene

- Spielberg did not storyboard the scene, but rather filmed the shots in the moment.

Tom Hanks Vin Diesel Matt DamonGiovanni Ribisi Bryan Cranston

Liam Neeson Ralph Fiennes

Ben Kingsley

Spielberg considers Schindler an “enigma”

Spielberg considers Schindler to be a ‘good man’ at his core, Spielberg uses minute actions displayed by Schindler throughout the film to portray his character.

Filming Techniques

Dolly Zoom: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=svEPWBxpYjoJaws +

Goodfellas

The dolly zoom is used usually when a tense or pivotal part of the story occurs. During a dolly zoom, the camera will move towards the character whilst zooming out at an equal speed (or vice versa). The effect causes the background behind the character to move towards the screen at a very fast rate, whilst the shot is slowly filled by the character’s face. The fast movement towards the viewer creates an uncomfortable ‘intrusive’ feeling for the viewer; this technique is used very effectively by Spielberg in ‘Jaws’, in which the character is looking into the distance, at this point we can not see what they are seeing, but only their reaction to it. Sometimes when left for an extra beat, this shot can be very effective in quickly creating an atmosphere of tension. The shot is usually accompanied by the rising of strings that we hear in almost every horror movie this century

• The use of a prop can carry forward the scene and will usually have some significance to the story. The prop is used sometimes for characters to interact with one another; this can show us the relationships between specific characters very quickly. In the Omaha beach scene for example, Spielberg introduces us to a convoy of boats, filled with soldiers. He then takes us into the boat, but rather than immediately focusing on the character’s (Tom Hanks) face, he initially shows us his interaction with his water bottle, as he tries to take a sip. The character’s nerves and extreme sense of fear are expressed simply by the use of introducing the scene with the prop. This shot, accompanied by the overpowering sound of waves, which slightly drown out the soldier’s voices, gives us a sense of isolation: heightening the character’s vulnerable image.

Use Of an Object/prop:Omaha Beach scene

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lCEFOx5Hc2Y