Beyond the Frame

Film School Rejects ran an interesting article back in November called 6 Filmmaking Tips From Steven Soderbergh.  Landon Palmer extracted some interesting specifics but none more than this one:

Avoid Getting Branded

In a 2009 interview with SuicideGirls.com before the release of his minimalist The Girlfriend Experience, the director explained why he doesn’t take possessory (“a film by”) credits on his work: “The fact that I’m not an identifiable brand is very freeing because people get tired of brands and they switch brands. I’ve never had a desire to be out in front of anything, which is why I don’t take a possessory credit.”

Soderbergh’s name might be instantly recognizable, but it hardly suggests that an audience is going to get a particular type of film (in contrast to, say, the synonymous association between Scorsese’s name and the gangster film). One would think that a lack of a brand in filmmaking prevents a director from attaining a certain degree of clout (un-branded filmmakers are often perceived as “directors for hire”), but Soderbergh has turned his lack of brand to his advantage, and it’s allowed him to develop an incredibly versatile oeuvre. Avoiding branding closes off the possibility a limiting framework for expectations (see: M. Night Shyamalan’s career) and opens up possibilities for making many types of films during a single career.

~ü