INTO THE WILD

Sean Penn, one of my favorite actors, directed this astonishing film that to me, is one of the most moving pictures released in the last 4 years. The story, the photography, the characters, everything feels right in this film and the passion that Sean had for this project really shows of.

Enjoy some amazing color palettes and framing of the opening sequence:






One of my favorite aspects of this film is the simplicity in the compositions. Take a look at some of these very simple but beautiful shots:






There are 2 sequences in this movie that are worth of hanging on your wall. I actually have a few prints from these 2 sequences. Take a look at the first one:





The following scene, where our main character runs through a herd of wild horses, has some of the best photography in the movie. Very dreamy and surreal looking imagery with great silhouettes.





What an amazing movie. Definitely one of my all time favorites!

SLUMDOG MILLIONAIRE

Directed by Danny Boyle, this movie won big at the 2009 Oscars. I saw this movie a few months before it became a huge hit and I knew it was gonna do well, what an amazing picture! The slums have been portrait-ed very real and harsh. Look at some of the great stills from some of the slum scenes:






The cinematography in this movie is gorgeous. There are a few scenes in particular that really caught my attention. The scene where our 3 main characters find themselves fleeing from the slums in the pouring rain has some excellent photography:






I like how they tell 2 stories in the same frame in this sequence and especially how you can already tell what will happen in the movie. Latika and Jamal found each other, but Salim is the outsider.




The next sequence that I love is where the 3 of them run away from Maman and his men through the railroad tracks. Take a look at these incredible shots:







Here is a still that caught my eye because of its amazing staging. Great light vs dark moment and what a vibrant blue!



Inspired by this staging and blue color I painted a little industrial scene:



In this shot it is all about the bad guy (the dude in the pink). The staging of this shot is very well done. Take a look at the shot, can you discover any significant cast shadowing in the scene? Only 1 right? The bad guy casts a huge shadow really pushing the concept that he is an important person. Really well composed!



Some more eye candy:

CRASH

A film that was praised by critics and award shows, it won Best Picture in 2006. I love this film not necessarily for its story, but for its cinematography. The movie is about racism and how people deal with it, although this is not a pleasant subject the movie feels very soft. This is achieved by a lot of bloom in the lighting:





I love the use of Bokeh and blurriness they put in the film:




In the final sequence of the movie, one of our main characters drops off a load of immigrants onto a shopping street in LA. One of the immigrants, dirty from head to toe, stands in front of a CD store and stares into the window. This particular shot I remember very well, what a way to display this immense contrast between worlds:

BLACK HAWK DOWN

One of the best combat films out there in my opinion. This film by Ridley Scott carries a very unique color scheme. Just look at one of the shots of the opening scene:



Quite a unique color choice for the sky I would say!

I love how this movie carries a very saturated pallet but overall still feels very monotone. The very first opening scene sets the tone for what is to come:




Very terrifying imagery for an opening sequence.

BHD uses a lot of duo tone pallets in its frames that work well together:






The scene where the American helicopters are on their way to the city is very intriguing. You know whats to come but in that moment everything is okay, very very well directed by Scott. All the noise fades away and the scene feels so surreal:





Here is a painting I did from this sequence:



One of the final scenes is my favorite. Again they created a very intense feeling by sound and imagery strongly combined. Noise in the background fades out and the soldiers run through thick smoke creating a very claustrophobic feeling:





I love how this shot has a very Terminator/Blade Runner color feel:




Enjoy some other amazing compositions of this film:







And what shot to end this film. So powerful: