Director Case Study: Stanley Kubrick

Stanley Kubrick was born in the Bronx, New York, in 1928. He started out as a photographer and eventually taught himself all aspects of film production and directing after he graduated from high school. Many of his films have broken new ground with their use of cinematography – for example, The Shining (1980) was the first film to use a Steadicam, creating a much more raw, urgent and realistic feel to the action on screen. He was a film director, screenwriter, producer, cinematographer and editor who completed the majority of his work in England. His films are typically adaptations of novels, and he has covered various film genres such as science-fiction, romance, black comedy and, most importantly, horror. His career within the film industry spanned from 1951 until his death, in 1999. He was also known as a perfectionist when it came to his filmmaking; he would work closely with his actors, and would take extreme care when it came to scene staging.

 I chose Kubrick because, throughout all of his films, he tended to focus on human nature as a theme – he has focused on and acknowledged the fact that there is a constant battle between freedom and constraint rather than focusing on one or the other (society is good because it keeps us from killing each other, and teaches us ‘morals’ however, it also makes us conform to expectations and not be able to do what we want to do). This challenges minds of audiences, and gives them food for thought, which is what I hope to achieve when making my trailer. It also links to my trailer as I want the audience to both see that Dennis is the antagonist, but be able to sympathise with his childlike vulnerability. Kubrick also tends to build up symmetry/regiment within his shots/scenes in his movies, especially in The Shining, A Clockwork Orange and 2001: A Space Oddysey, and then breaks it. I have found when watching any of Kubrick’s films that this uncommon technique proves to be really effective as it gives an eerie and uncommon feel, as well as building tension, which I think would help to add a scarier feel within our trailer. It also tends to feature prominently in The Shining and A Clockwork Orange – in The Shining, we often see characters in dual symmetry, which is evident in the scene in which Jack is in the red bathroom with the ghost of former caretaker, Grady. The characters are both seen to have the same body language, and both feature in the same shots; a long shot, a medium long shot, and then a close up follows of each face. They are almost mimicking each other’s body language, creating symmetry between themselves, and therefore building tension – when will the symmetry break?

 Another example of Kubrick creating symmetry within scenes and shots, is when he uses his camera as ‘the fourth wall’ (as shown in the bathroom scene in The Shining). He often places the camera where the fourth wall is supposed to go, rather than focusing the camera solely on the characters within the frame (for example, like Wes Craven does in the Scream movies as shown below).

This makes the audience feel more powerful – they are able to see every piece of action which is going on in the environment the characters are in. It is also an extremely unusual shot, creating a haunting and memorable feel, as it is alien to the audience, so they are likely to think about it’s significance more. This reflects the fact it is a psychological horror. 

Another thing that Kubrick is noted for is his use of symbolism within his movies; within The Shining, mirrors are used to symbolise deception and illusions. This is executed in an extremely subtle way, in which is unnoticeable unless you look into it. For example, there is a mirror placed in the doorway of the Torrance’s apartment. This mirror reflects the door’s surface, even when the door is open, as shown below. 

Throughout the whole film, mirrors play a key role; there is mirrors in the doorway of Room 237, a mirror in the Torrance’s bedroom, a mirror in the bathroom conviniently reflecting the door Jack is trying to break through. This use of mirrors could not only be symbolic of deception, but could also link to the hotel’s impossible layout (doors leading nowhere, impossible rooms and corridors). In this way, it is clear that Kubrick constructs everything that happens in his movies for a reason, giving meaning to the narrative as a whole.

I will be using Kubricks techniques throughout my trailer in various ways – I am extremely drawn to his use of putting the camera where the fourth wall is supposed to go and so, depending on how professional it looks, I would love to give this a try when shooting my trailer.