Robert Zemeckis - Directing Specialists Subject

My Question:

What makes a writer/ director like Zemeckis span a career of 40+ years reaching ever changing audiences, is it because he is an innovator of special effects or is it his talent for identifying perfect collaborations?

Primary research from studying Zemeckis's films

From the beginning Robert Zemeckis would begin his films in the same way. With a complex tracking shot that establishes important information for the viewer. In the 1978 film, ‘I Wanna Hold Your Hand’ the shot introduces the time period and setting of the climax. In ‘Forrest Gump’ the white feather falling down, which is a metaphor for the theme of the movie and in ‘Back to the Future’ the opening shot is very complex going through clocks, news reports and more, this shot pretty much sets up the entire film. From the start Zemeckis was obsessed with efficient, intricate storytelling. His early career is arguably most successful films. It’s often defined by his collaboration with writer Bob Gale. Throughout his films Zemeckis incorporates many closeup shots throughout his films, this allows the audience to understand the emotion of the charters and feel more in tuned with what the characters are going through.

Characters within Zemeckis's films

In Robert Zemeckis’s films he creates a unique structure to align the interests of the protagonist with our own. We often begin with the protagonist, and end with a hero. This often starts with the characters journey, Robert Zemeckis films follow a very specific journey, it starts with an important incident. Zemeckis movies follow a big event to force our characters to move into an uncomfortable situation. One thing that acts as a support throughout Zemeckis films is pain and romance. The end of his films often end in a bittersweet moment, where the hero gains something that they didn’t have before. The heroes get what they need through their pain and their love throughout their journey to heroism.

Secondary research about the films and the behind the scenes

Robert Zemeckis was born on May 14th, 1952 in Chicago his interest in film began in high school and he eventually went to film school where he won a student Academy Award and gained the attention from famous directors Steven Spielberg when he saw one of Zemeckis student films. He gave Zemeckis an opportunity to help write a screenplay ‘1941’, which Speilberg later directed.  In just a few years after he was directing his own films.



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