Del Toro & Sang-ho: Creative Process Discussion – Busan Film Festival
Key Takeaways from teh Text:
This text presents a conversation between two directors (Yeon Sang-ho and Guillermo del Toro) discussing thier approaches to filmmaking, with a particular focus on animation, live-action, and the importance of embracing unexpected moments. Here’s a breakdown of the key ideas:
1. Animation vs. Live-Action:
* Animation’s Strengths: Offers astounding flexibility in visual style and emotional expression through shape,movement,and design. It has a broader range for conveying emotions.
* Live-Action’s Strengths: Benefits from the authenticity and talent of actors, providing a different kind of emotional delivery.
* Director’s Desire: Yeon Sang-ho, despite working more in live-action recently, still harbors a desire to create legendary animation like the works of Osamu Tezuka. He finds a similar joy in working with creatures in live-action as he did in animation.
2. Embracing the Unexpected & “Accidents”:
* Yeon’s Story (Train to Busan): he initially avoids drawing storyboards due to his animation background, but found it necessary to sketch a scene with zombies being dragged away to clarify his vision for the crew. The final scene closely resembled his sketch.
* Yeon’s Story (Set Dressing & Rain): A heavy rain washed away set dressing intended to represent the past, but the resulting muddy floor improved the scene, making it more fitting.
* Del Toro’s beliefs: experienced directors learn to listen to the film itself. “Accidents” aren’t setbacks, but rather the film revealing what it wants to be.
3. The Art of Filmmaking:
* “Everything is Drama”: Del Toro emphasizes that emotional impact is paramount, irrespective of the scale of the spectacle.
* “Poetry with Hardware”: Filmmaking is described as combining artistic vision (“poetry”) with technical elements (“hardware”) like camera movement, lenses, and editing to create emotional resonance.
* Collaboration is Key: All visual elements (wardrobe, set design, cinematography) are interconnected and work together to create a cohesive whole.
In essence, the text highlights the directors’ belief in the power of both technical skill and artistic intuition, and the importance of being open to serendipity during the filmmaking process. they both value the unique strengths of animation and live-action, and emphasize the collaborative nature of bringing a story to life.