Inspiration from 'UP' (2009)

Inspiration from Up

The film ‘Up’ (2009) was beautifully crafted, charming,  simultaneously offering a heart-breaking and heart-warming story. An 8 year old boy turns up at the elderly man’s doorstep, causing the two to embark on a journey, whereby the man begins to fulfil his dreams of travelling. The narrative resembles a similar theme to our synopsis, whereby a man reconnects with his inner-child by being faced with a memory of himself as a young boy. Akin to ‘UP’, the man in our film acknowledges his passion for sailing boats and it is hinted that he goes on a quest to become a sailor.  Furthermore, our film will also try to capture the glint of hope and uplifting message presented in ‘Up’, showing how an elderly man rediscovers happiness.

The film was inspirational to me and provided me with the guidance to come up with ideas for our own production.

 Examples from ‘Up’ which were striking: 

• Colourful set design
• Bizarre imagery such as the balloons attached to the house, causing it to lift.
• The reoccurring motif of the balloons, which was a symbol for the man’s dreams. Notably, when the balloons lift up the house, it shows how this man’s dreams of being an explorer are being fulfilled. 

• Montage sequences, particularly the wordless one portraying Carl’s relationship with his wife.

• Camerawork reflective of emotion. 

How did this inform our piece?

As a group we were collectively influenced by this film. In particular, the 5 minute silent montage sequence at the beginning made us realise how an in depth story can be told in an emotional and effective way in a short space of time and without dialogue. Therefore, we thought it might be interesting to convey our own story in a similar way and centralise our main character Michael’s emotional journey through the choice in camera shots.

The use of colour in this film also led us to think about the colour of the costumes in our film. We felt that the elderly man Michael should wear blue, suggesting his current unhappy mental state, yet to be enlightened by the young boy, who would wear bright red, symbolising energy and adventure.

In particular, as the cinematographer, I felt the need to reflect the main characters feelings, in order to make the audience feel emotional.