Directions : Director Research - Steve McQueen

 Director Research - Steve McQueen

Fig.1 Portrait of Steve McQueen

Steve McQueen is a British Director and filmmaker probably most well known for Hunger (2008) 12 Years A Slave (2013), Widows (2018), and most recently, the TV mini-series, Small Axe (2020). He began as an artist and went into directing later on. Before putting his hand to directing, McQueen began as an artist

McQueen's films are often focused on realism. His work is often engrossing and deals with challenging topics (in particular, the truth). He often looks to drag the audience into the experience of the subject/s his work delves in to (McQueen, 2013). McQueen often uses detailed close-ups of the action, allowing the audience to get up-close-and-personal to the action and face the harsh reality of the often challenging subjects of Steve McQueen's films. For example, in the ending scene of the film Hunger (2008), McQueen subjects the audience to a close up of one of the main characters', Bobby Sands (played by Michael Fassbender), eyes as he is dying. It adds to the sense of empathy and allows the audience to experience the final stages of Bobby's life alongside him. Death plays a big part in everyone's lives and often isn't spoken about enough so through this, the audience is made to face up to it vicariously. 

Fig.2 Film Still of a close up of Michael Fassbender's Eye from Hunger (2008)

Through McQueen's use of close ups and focus on realism, I have learnt that it allows for the audience to hold a greater sense of empathy and ensures that the audience faces up to the reality of life.

McQueen is thoughtful when it comes to colour. A good example of his use of colour is the film, Shame. McQueen appears to have used a lot of blues throughout this film, particularly with regards to the exterior shots. This could be to symbolise the fact that he is an isolated sex addict struggling to navigate and deal with life. 

Fig. 3 Still of Michael Fassbender Outside from Shame (2012) 

Fig. 4 A Collection of Stills from Shame (2012)

It could be said that Michael Fassbender is a trademark of McQueen's as he often appears in his work. Fassbender has appeared in three of McQueen's films, Hunger (2008), Shame (2012), and 12 Years a Slave (2013).Long-takes could also be said to be a signature of McQueen's as they appear in the majority of his work. 

The majority of his work tends to contain one or more running scenes. Running scenes take place in Hunger (2008), Shame (2012), 12 Years a Slave (2013), Widows (2018), and the Small Axe series (2020). All of the characters involved in the running scenes are running away from something. In the episode of Education in the Small Axe (2020) series, Kingsley is seen running away from the classroom in the school that he is being forced to attend due to an unlawful segregation policy, denying his right to an equal education. Another example of a running scene is in the film Widows (2018), where we see the character Veronica, running away with the money from the heist and from the scene where she's just killed her husband, who has been having an affair. McQueen's use of running scenes could be representative of the fact that we are often running away from things in life whether it be for good or bad reasons. 

McQueen has used a mixture of digital and film in his work. When shooting the Education episode of Small Axe (2020) 16mm film was used to replicate the films and TV shows of the 70s (the time period in which Education is set). Whereas, the Lovers Rock episode of Small Axe was shot on an Arri Alexa. 

I admire McQueen's realism within his work and his use thoughtfulness, particularly when it comes to thinking about what to film on, whether that be digital or analog. 

Bibliography:

12 Years A Slave (2013) Directed by McQueen, S. [Netflix] At: https://www.netflix.com/watch/70284282?trackId=13752291&tctx=0%2C1%2C7370a791c1d1c50170f2c36bcb594f2b9ef47e13%3Ae75927713609074cdacbd3e413d68f8200b79fbe%2C7370a791c1d1c50170f2c36bcb594f2b9ef47e13%3Ae75927713609074cdacbd3e413d68f8200b79fbe%2C%2C (Accessed 10/02/2021)

Fig.1 Le Segretain, Pascal. (2011) Portrait of Steve McQueen. [Photograph] At: https://www.imdb.com/name/nm2588606/mediaviewer/rm369933312/ (Accessed 31/01/2021)

Fig.2 Bobbit, S. (2008) Film Still of a close up of Michael Fassbender's Eye. [Film Still] In: Hunger. London: Film 4. (Accessed 10/02/2021)

Fig.3 Bobbit, S. (2012) Still of Michael Fassbender Outside from Shame. [Film Still] In: Shame. London: Film 4. At: https://www.pinterest.co.uk/pin/44613852541498685/ (Accessed 10/02/2021)

Fig.4 Bobbit, S. (2012) A Collection of Stills from Shame. [Film Still] hame. London: Film 4. At: https://www.pinterest.co.uk/pin/138063544811789252/ (Accessed 10/02/2021)

Hunger (2008) Directed by McQueen, S. [Netflix] At: https://www.netflix.com/watch/70108808?source=35 (Accessed 10/02/2021)

Hunt, A. (2020) "The Manifesto was: let's trust our heritage, our talent and each other": Shabier Kirchner on shooting Small Axe At:https://www.bfi.org.uk/sight-and-sound/interviews/shabier-kirchner-cinematographer-small-axe-steve-mcqueen (Accessed 10/02/2021)

Palmer, L. (2013) 6 Filmmaking Tips From Steve McQueen. At: https://filmschoolrejects.com/6-filmmaking-tips-from-steve-mcqueen-feefb8320c29/ (Accessed 10/02/2021)

Small Axe: Alex Wheatle (2020) [Television Programme] BBC IPlayer 06/12/2020. At: https://www.bbc.co.uk/iplayer/episode/m000q6rf/small-axe-series-1-alex-wheatle (Accessed 10/02/2021)

Small Axe: Education (2020) [Television Programme] BBC IPlayer 13/12/2020. At: https://www.bbc.co.uk/iplayer/episode/m000qfb1/small-axe-series-1-education (Accessed 10/02/2021)

Small Axe: Lovers Rock (2020) [Television Programme] BBC IPlayer 22/11/2020. At: https://www.bbc.co.uk/iplayer/episode/m000prjp/small-axe-series-1-lovers-rock (Accessed 10/02/2021)

Small Axe: Mangrove (2020) [Television Programme] BBC IPlayer 15/11/2020. At: https://www.bbc.co.uk/iplayer/episode/p08vy19b/small-axe-series-1-mangrove (Accessed 10/02/2021)

Small Axe: Red, White and Blue (2020) [Television Programme] BBC IPlayer 29/11/2021. At: https://www.bbc.co.uk/iplayer/episode/m000pzmb/small-axe-series-1-red-white-and-blue (Accessed 10/02/2021)