How Satyajit Ray Directs a Film | The Director's Chair
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 Published On Aug 22, 2022

The Satyajit Ray directing style explained by the legend himself, including his influences, his approach to lighting and music, and how he assumes total control over his projects.

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Chapters:
00:00 Intro — How Satyajit Ray Became a Filmmaker
01:30 Early Life & Career
02:19 Global Influences
04:42 Economical Filmmaking
06:57 Natural Light
08:55 Story-Driven Music
13:43 Artistic Control
16:46 Final Takeaways

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SATYAJIT RAY DIRECTING STYLE

Satyajit Ray is one of the “founding fathers” of cinema — and his influence on the filmmaking world cannot be overstated. Not only did he single-handedly put Indian cinema on the map, but he was also the perfect auteur. With writing, producing, directing, editing, and scoring credits on most of his films, it’s completely fair to say that Satyajit Ray movies are his own. In this video, we assembled a variety of interview clips from throughout his career to let the man himself explain his process.
In short, the Satyajit Ray directing style is centered around simplicity and the humanist vision of a filmmaker with both Western and Indian sensibilities. Ray was always intrigued by the arts. He grew up in a house full of music, and he began drawing at an early age. It was only later that he discovered cinema, which allowed him to pursue all of these artistic passions in a single medium.

Ray’s first film, Pather Panchali, is a portrait of youth so authentic and grounded, that it might easily be mistaken for a documentary. He would go on to round out his renowned Apu Trilogy with the films Aparajito and Apur Sansar. From there, he would go on to make over 30 feature films over the course of four decades. His influence is global, with fellow auteurs like Wes Anderson and Martin Scorsese claiming him as their muse.
In the video, Ray discusses his own influences like Jean Renoir and Vittorio de Sica. He explains how the lack of funding for his projects trained him to be an economical filmmaker. Ray also had a penchant for working with non-actors as well as trained thespians, learning how to adapt his direction of actors along the way. Another low-budget filmmaking technique that aided Ray’s naturalistic style is how he used available light. Whether the light was bounced in from the Sun or motivated by a single candle, this natural lighting gives his work added authenticity.

After he worked with composers like Ravi Shankar in his early films, Satyajit Ray began scoring his own films. His early passion for music had evolved into yet another branch of his creative process. He explains that he prefers to do all of these jobs himself and that he takes full responsibility for the success or failure of his films.
Overall, the Satyajit Ray directing style is the perfect example of independent filmmaking. By studying Satyajit Ray movies, their simple yet powerful storytelling techniques become clear.


#FilmTheory #VideoEssay #Filmmaking

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♬ SONGS USED:

"Charu Theme" - Satyajit Ray
"Improvisations On The Theme Music From Pather Panchali" - Ravi Shankar
"Apur Sansar (The World Of Apu)" - Ravi Shankar
"Improvisations On The Theme Music From Pather Panchali" - Ravi Shankar
"Pather Panchali" - Ravi Shankar
"Improvisations On The Theme Music From Pather Panchali" - Ravi Shankar
"Mahanagar (The Big City)" - Satyajit Ray
"Jalsaghar (The Music Room)" - Ustad Vilayat Khan
"Devi (The Goddess)" - Ustad Ali Akbar Khan
"Teen Kanya (Two Daughters)" - Satyajit Ray
"Fule Fule Dhole Dhole" - Rabindranath Tagore
"Mahanagar (The Big City)" - Satyajit Ray
"Apur Sansar (The World Of Apu)" - Ravi Shankar
"Aparajito (The Unvanquished)" - Ravi Shankar
"Apur Sansar (The World Of Apu)" - Ravi Shankar

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