„That’s Just What I’m Drawn to Aesthetically”. This Movie by Zack Snyder, Thanks to His Predilection, Became Groundbreaking and Set New Standards
One Zack Snyder film has had some influence on how Hollywood films now. It was considered groundbreaking in its day.
Zack Snyder is currently most associated with his work on the DCEU, as well as the Rebel Moon films, which were recently released on Netflix. However, it is neither the DC Comics adaptations nor his own space opera that are his breakthrough works.
His movie 300, which is an adaptation of Frank Miller's graphic novel of the same name, falls into this category instead. This production is distinguished by its distinctive style compared to other historical works, which Snyder achieved by shooting the whole thing indoors in a film studio on a green screen. In this way he wanted to bring the look of his show closer to the style of the comic book on which it was based.
In 2005, when 300 was being made, it was not yet as common in the film industry to shoot entirely on green screen to fine-tune any scenery in post-production as it is today. However, Snyder decided to opt for this method because he wanted to achieve a particular aesthetic, as he told the Los Angeles Times.
That’s just what I’m drawn to aesthetically. I like the relentlessness and over-the-top nature of the graphic novel. So the pace and design, that hysterical weirdness, come from that.
Snyder was certainly inspired by another film adaptation of Miller's work, Sin City, which had just debuted in 2005 and was also shot entirely on green screen. 300 was another such work, which represented Snyder's preferred aesthetic that distinguishes his production.
In order to make his film resemble the source material as much as possible, Snyder opted for a contrasting look with not much color saturation, in which red stood out against a pale gold background. And the slow motion, now the director's trademark, helped draw more attention to the action sequences and emphasize the brutality, as it can be captured on individual comic book frames that freeze a moment in time.
Nowadays, shooting films entirely on green screen is not at all surprising, many Marvel productions are made this way to a greater or lesser extent, but 20 years ago it was not the norm, and in addition, such extensive use of special effects was rather the domain of sci-fi movies. So it can be said that Snyder, with his film 300, which at one time made a lot of noise, helped revolutionize the approach to filmmaking in Hollywood. The production at the time was praised for its groundbreaking approach to the use of special effects and green screen, and certainly set new standards with it. After 300, no other film by the director managed to influence the film industry to such an extent.
