Director Two - Richard Curtis

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Richard Curtis
Image result for richard curtis
 Richard Curtis was born in New Zealand in 1956 and he is predominantly a writer, producer and director. He graduated from Oxford University with a first in English Language and Literature. He first stepped into the television and film industry when he began writing 'Black Adder' (1983) with Rowan Atkinson. Curtis is very famous for this however the first film that he describes as 'successful' that he wrote was 'Four Weddings and a Funeral' (1994).
He then went on to write some very famous romcoms such as 'Notting Hill' (1999), 'Bridget Jones Diary' (2001), 'Love Actually' (2003) and 'About Time' (2013). However the thing that interests me about Curtis is his directing. He has directed five films in total. His most famous being 'Love Actually', 'The Boat that Rocked' (2009) and most recently 'About Time'. All three are described as comedies with 'Love Actually' and 'About Time' also having romantic elements. 
What interested me about his work?

The element that I probably enjoy most about Curtis' directing work is the simplicity to it. It is clear that he likes to focus on the emotion of a scene and the mood being portrayed. The first way that he does this is through the use of focus. He keeps the main action or character in the frame (no matter where they are) in focus and the background will be soft in focus. This draws the audiences attention to exactly what is happening in the scene. Below is an example from 'About Time'.
Another technique that Curtis uses is having the camera handheld. There are elements of his films where there may be slight distress or destruction to the norm, such as when Karen finds out her husband is having an affair in Love Actually or when Tim finds out his Dad's secret in About Time. The camera is clearly hand held as it shakes slightly and this creates a sense of unease for the audience and is something I would like to use in my own work.



 https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Richard_Curtis
https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0193485/bio?ref_=nm_ov_bio_sm

https://screenplaysandscripts.com/script_files/L/Love%20Actually.pdf

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