Wes Anderson - Symmerty

The video above shows a compilation of shots from a wide range of Wes Anderson's films including "The Grand Budapest Hotel", "Moonrise Kingdom" and "Fantastic Mr. Fox", putting a lot of emphasis on the lines of symmetry which Anderson uses in his films. Anderson’s penchant for centering shots isn’t just an overindulgent quirk. It’s actually proof that symmetry can be a highly effective visual technique. Human brains naturally prefer things which are symmetrical as opposed to that which are not. As PolicyMic notes , humans tend to judge physical attractiveness based on facial symmetry. Its effect is so powerful that “even infants as young as 4 months old recognize and prefer symmetry.” Symmetry creates points of interest that are easy to see. In the words of renowned film scholar David Bordwell, the kind of central perspective used by Anderson “helps drive your eye to the main items” in an image. In short, Wes Anderson’s symmetrical style makes you look exactly where the director wants you to look. As the School of Digital Photography notes, a symmetrical shot needs two elements in order to be effective: “a strong composition and an eye catching point of interest.” Wes Anderson accomplishes that by using rich colors, fascinating characters, and quirky objects in his shots. To accomplish the same thing, create a focal point worth looking at, then use symmetry to guide a viewer’s eye towards it. Without symmetry, many of the images in Anderson’s films would appear oppressively busy or cluttered. But in his capable hands, the clutter becomes accessible visual stimuli, easily understood and powerfully affecting. This makes symmetry ideal for infographics and other information-heavy image projects. 

The video below shows an opening to a film with emphasis on the points at which the director has used the rule of thirds to draw the spectator's eye. Many people who use the rule of thirds believe that centered, straight-on composition diminishes visual interest, especially when doing portraits. Wes Anderson’s style proves this to be absolutely wrong. Bordwell argues that Anderson’s style can create a “‘painterly’ or strong pictorial approach” whose “stasis and passivity… carries the connotations of a posed photograph.” Or, given Anderson’s love of large group shots, even evokes “over-posed high school yearbook shots.”