Aesthetics. Aesthetics are what makes a movie’s; feel, tone and helps define it’s genre. I was surprised to find when researching aesthetics, a common definition of aesthetics was ” the philosophy of art”. This definition makes a lot of sense in the context of Blade Runner 2049. The whole film looks like a moving artistic masterpiece and it is packed to the brim with philosophy. There are many reasons to as why the aesthetics in this film unparalleled. One more thing I found while doing my research was that the aesthetics of this film reflect it’s philosophy. I feel that a lot of the film has a nihilistic outlook on the world and it’s people. I think of nihilism being synonymous with nothingness, the lack of meaning and life being a barren landscape of meaninglessness. This is exactly what is reflected in aesthetic of the film. There are huge scrolling landscapes, baron, void of life but still some of the most beautiful visuals put to screen. Around these characters that hold nihilistic views are these blank, emotionless, monotone sets. All of that though is a small part of just one reason Blade Runner 2049.
Every single frame of this movie is a work of art, worthy of been framed on a wall. I know that’s quite the statement, but I think it is more true about this movie than any other. 2049 had some pretty big boots to fill, as the first film’s aesthetics practically created a new sub genre. Amazing as the first film was, I still feel that this installment blows it out of the water. There is no way for the older film to keep up with 2049. Not only does 2049 have the ability of hindsight from it’s predecessors accomplishments, its updated film making techniques and a bigger budget already set it far ahead. It was able to utilize modern visual effects techniques, 3D modelling and advanced compositing. These VFX won an Oscar achievement in visual effects , they have easily been the best visual effects I’ve ever seen in a film. This example below shows off just a fraction of the VFX work put into a simple shot.
As you can probably tell this movie means a lot to me, in many ways. The story resonates with me along with the characters. More than that though it inspires me. It inspires me to create. Create not only a compelling story and characters but visual effects and aesthetics (even if they’re 100 times worse). Because of this inspiration I chose to take up the post-production course. I wasn’t able to mention another inspiration in my main text as I wanted to focus on Blade Runner 2049 and its VFX, but I do have a more recent one I want to link to. Mike Diva. A youtuber with a style i desperately want to emulate and is making content I would love to make a living doing. With that said time to close. Thank you Blade Runner 2049, and thank you aesthetics for the inspiration.
Jack Ure SAE 