Christopher Nolan Directing — A Video Essay on Nolan and Time

Christopher Nolan and Time — a video essay about time as the dominant motif in Christopher Nolan movies. Christopher Nolan’s Writing Process Explained ►► https://bit.ly/no-n-ti StudioBinder's Screenwriting Software ►► https://bit.ly/sb-sws Special Thanks to: redafs music ►► https://bit.ly/rd-mu Chapters 00:00 - Intro 01:03 - Nolan’s Screenplays 02:15 - Memento Timeline Breakdown 02:54 - Showing Time 03:56 - Editing Time 04:40 - Time and Music 06:01 - Dunkirk/Shepard tone 07:46 - Recap Time is at the core of many Christopher Nolan movies. It is the dominant motif on textual and subtextual levels. But how deep does this relationship between Nolan and time really go? In our latest Christopher Nolan video essay, our goal is to identify all the various elements in Nolan’s filmmaking where time plays an important role and what these efforts all add up to. From the script, the imagery, and even the soundtrack, let’s figure out how Christopher Nolan makes us see, hear, and feel time. You can find Nolan’s infatuation with time in his screenplays, both in the plots but also the way they are structured. Whether written individually or co-written, many of Nolan’s scripts work on both these levels. Memento is told backwards and forwards simultaneously; The Prestige uses a non-linear structure to weave together a story of past and present; Dunkirk blends three different timelines into one. We can also find time represented in the imagery itself. Consider the extensive use of slow-motion in Inception, which gives us the audience a way to mark time in the various dream levels. Or the mind-blowing mix of forward and reverse motion in Tenet. Finally, the soundtrack is yet another venue to showcase the relationship between Nolan and time. With Inception, Nolan and his long-time composer Hans Zimmer took Edith Piaf’s “Non, je ne regrette rien” and turned it into something quite fascinating. As time slows in the various dream levels, the song itself stretches out into something almost unrecognizable. Zimmer then built much of his score around this slow-mo version. In Dunkirk, along with an ever-present ticking watch on the soundtrack, Nolan and Zimmer utilized the Shepard Tone. The Shepard Tone is an audio illusion where an ascending or descending scale appears to endlessly rise or fall. Christopher Nolan and time will go down in history as one of the most consistent and elaborate pairings of artist and motif. This doesn’t mean that all filmmakers should focus on time but the lesson is to find a motif that speaks for the film and inject it into as many layers as possible. #FilmTheory #VideoEssay #Filmmaking ───────────────────── VIDEO EDITOR: BRANDON SCULLION ───────────────────── Songs used: Penumbra - Hannah Parrott Time - Inception Original Soundtrack Combust - Luke Atencio Edith Piaf - Non, Je Ne Regrette Rien Destabilization - Hans Zimmer Inception Soundtrack The Mole - Dunkirk Soundtrack Cyndi Lauper - Time After Time Music by Artlist ► https://utm.io/umJx Music by Artgrid ► https://utm.io/umJy Music by Soundstripe ► http://bit.ly/2IXwomF Music by MusicBed ► http://bit.ly/2Fnz9Zq — SUBSCRIBE to StudioBinder’s YouTube channel! ►► http://bit.ly/2hksYO0 Looking for a project management platform for your filmmaking? StudioBinder is an intuitive project management solution for video creatives; create shooting schedules, breakdowns, production calendars, shot lists, storyboards, call sheets and more. Try StudioBinder for FREE today: https://studiobinder.com/pricing — Join us on Social Media! — Instagram ►►   / studiobinder   Facebook ►►   / studiobinderapp   Twitter ►►   / studiobinder