Being an individual creator of film, a film artist. An “auteur” cinema.

Within all the tasks that we are doing in class, the focus has been centralised on creating your own individual scene. When I think of our work as being individual I immediately think back to the work of the Cahiers du Cinema.  If film is seen as an art form then there must be an artist in the creation of the art (Thomson-Jones 2008, p.40). According to the Truffaut and the Cahiers critics, auteur film ‘bears the mark of an original and creative cineaste’ (Thomson-Jones p. 40). In this course I keep wondering how the scene can be my own- how do I leave my mark and style in what I produce? We are always cooperating with others in order to make a scene so what can determine the scene as belonging to me?

In the book, Aesthetics & Film, Thomson-Jones explains that the director can be

‘the sole author of a film because his role in supervising and coordinating the activities of others determines the aesthetic significance of the film’.

She further states that there can be multiple authors for a film depending on whether their role ‘determines the aesthetic significance of the film’. She explains that there are lots of different ‘artistic collaborators’ who work on a film.

Taking Thomson-Jones’ notion of the author into account, I believe that in creating my own scene I will be collaborating with others who help to produce the aesthetics of the scene.

My individual style and mark will be evident in the way that I direct and fundamentally evident in the artistic selections I make-whether they are ideas from my collaborators or myself.

References:

Thomson-Jones K 2008, Aesthetics & Film, 1st edn, MPG Books Ltd, England.