Influences on Kanowna the short film

The more I delve into it and the more I am asked by Key crew members.  I am finding my influences can be identified in specific films.  The assassination of Jesse James, by the coward Robert Ford is becoming a big influence for Dev and myself.  The composition, use of shallow depth of field, lingering lyrical shots, steady pacing and superb acting, is influencing our choices on Kanowna.

That said, Terrence Malick is also a strong influence on me.  I love the way he uses nature and once again, the lyrical nature of his shots are fantastic.  Finally I think Kurosawa also finds a place in this post.  We will search for the wideshot and fight the contemporary western cinema's desire to cut to a close-up everytime, to emphasis a story point and ram it down an audience's throat.  The power of the wideshot is often ignored and in this film, where the land is part of the story, it cannot be ignored.

I am also keen to use time-lapse for the landscape exteriors, signifying the passing of time and how the land never changes, or care what is happening in the realm of humans.  The land stays the same.