A NOTE ON STYLE
Style can simply be understood as a filmmakerʼs unconscious aesthetic preferences. Their leaning towards certain kinds of worlds because they seem more authentic or pure, or because through their knowledge and experience they can recreate them faithfully. Filmmakers are usually not aware of their style because to them what they are doing is natural and obvious. To use a certain color scheme or camera angle is simply because itʼs the only way to do it.
Style is a byproduct of following oneʼs ideals, not an ingredient, itʼs something which comes out of a project, not goes into it. Style is often misinterpreted as a way to create an identity by superficially changing the look of oneʼs work. The aesthetic choices in these works have little or nothing to do with content and everything to do with looking different or current. This kind of thinking may be better defined as surface style.
Media which have an obsession with surface style are music videos, advertising and fashion. Their inherent aim is to stand out, to promote an identity, rather than pursue a vision, with only a small number of exceptions. The individuals making these works are often obsessed with their own industry and are viciously aware of being ripped-off or having their style bitten, as it were. Of course, originality is possible in any medium, and we all wish to create something new, something different and interesting, but this cannot be achieved by simply enforcing a look, it has to work from the ground up.
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