i have shared the work of jacob t. swinney before. but i honestly cannot get enough. he is a constant source of inspiration for me.

today i'm sharing a video he did on spike jonze and what he calls "the aesthetics of whimsy." it is a gorgeous lesson in film and chock-full of visual inspiration.

from swinnney: "Despite the fact that the look of his films often takes a back seat to bizarre stories and quirky characters, Spike Jonze has crafted a uniquely whimsical visual style over the course of his four feature films. Making the most out of simple elements such as lens flares, floating camera movement, centered framing, and wide-angle close-ups, Jonze creates an atmosphere that appears to be lifted straight from the pages of a fairytale storybook. His camera is fascinated with the mundane; intently exploring fabrics and materials, finding beauty and significance in the obscure and unnoticed. Dust particles floating in a beam of sunlight become hypnotic. The delicate plaster of marionettes feels as lifelike as human flesh. The matted fur wrapped around a child strikes us with an overwhelming sense of marvel and nostalgia.

In his first two films, Being John Malkovich (1999) and Adaptation (2002), Jonze used a much more subdued sense of whimsy to express the playfully dark atmospheres. His two most recent works, Where the Wild Things Are (2009) and Her (2013), are saturated with the whimsy aesthetic, mirroring the wonderment and childlike fascinations associated with the films. Jonze utilizes the aesthetic in order to stitch together worlds suitable for his equally whimsical characters."

i've shared the work of jacob t. swinney over here before. i try not to share too much from the same person but i just can't contain myself. i want to share nearly everything he does. his work is a constant source of inspiration for me.

today i'm sharing a video from a series he did that digs into the aesthetic and style of different film makers and artists. this one is about sofia coppola and it's a truly stunning study. it's all about the dreamscapes she uses throughout many of her films.

from him: "What defines the Sofia Coppola aesthetic? Is it the sublime use of soft and natural lighting? Is it the subtle pastels of the color pallet? Maybe the handheld camera that dizzily floats around the characters? All of these visual characteristics work together harmoniously to create Coppola's distinct dreamlike atmosphere. However, the aesthetic reaches far beyond the idea of a visual trademark--Coppola's atmosphere seems to mirror the inner workings of her characters. As Charlotte ponders a fully-realized life in Lost in Translation, the camera stutters around her in a circular motion. She is washed away, her clothing blending into the matching surroundings. In The Bling Ring, the silhouetted bandits streak across the glittery horizon as they chase their gaudy and tainted desires. In Marie Antoinette, the fanciful nature shots portray a longing for freedom and self-fulfillment."

and my favorite line: "Coppola crafts these dreamscapes to show us not only who her characters are, but who they want to be."

more here.