The document discusses the theory of auteurism in film. It begins by defining the auteur theory, which advances that a film reflects the director's personal creative vision. It then contrasts auteur theory with genre theory, noting that auteur theory focuses on individual stylistic features while genre theory focuses on generic similarities. The document provides several examples of auteurs and their signature directorial styles, such as Alfred Hitchcock's use of cross-tracking shots. It traces the origins of auteur theory to French film critics in the 1950s and discusses how it was later developed and applied in the US.

1. Auteur
The Story Tellers of Film
Mass Communication
Hum 3: Film Appreciation
Ateneo de Davao University

2. Auteur Theory
 “auteur” – author (French)
 Theory advances that film reflects the
director’s personal creative vision
 Director’s creative touch as distinct from
the collective and industrial process of
filmmaking
 Director outshines the studio interference

3. Genre and Auteur Theory
The auteur theory is different to the genre theory as auteur draws our attention towards what is
different between film, rather than what is similar.
Many media texts are meant to be consider as a product of individuals creativity and many are
simply ‘products’ for instants, Tim Burtons Nightmare before Christmas is an auteur as you
recognize his individual style of gothic tones where as Heat magazine writer is not an auteur as it
is a generic product.
Genre theory focuses on... Auteur theory focuses on...
Generic similarities. Individual stylistic features.
How texts are determined by
historical/ social/ political contexts.
How texts are determined by artists’
creativity.
How texts emerge as commercial
products from an industry.
How texts emerge as part of an artists
body of work.

4. Legal Implication
 Film as a work of art
 The auteur, the creator of the film, is the
original copyright holder (under the
European Union law).
 The director is the author or one of the
authors of a film (largely because of the
auteur theory).

5. European Origins
 European Cinema
 More individualized than Hollywood cinema
 Style of Filmmaking: Small crews and
independence
 More intimate and less dependent on master
narratives and stereotypes beloved by
Hollywood
 Post WWII: explosion of strong independent
filmic intelligence

6. Jean-Luc Godard
 “Your camera movements
are ugly because your
subjects are bad, your
casts act badly because
your dialogue is
worthless; in a word, you
don’t know how to create
cinema because you no
longer even know what it
is.”

7. • In America, a few years
later, Andrew Sarris,
developed auteur theory
through the writings of
‘The Village Voice’
• He used the theory as a
way to further analysis of
what defines serious work
through the study of
respected writers/directors.
Andrew Sarris

8. Introduced in the 1950’s by
French film directors like
Francois Truffaut who
advocated a focus on the
contribution directors made
on the style and form of film,
he quoted...
“A true film auteur is
someone who brings
something genuinely
personal to his subject
instead of producing a
tasteful, accurate but lifeless
rendering of the original
material”

9. The Birth of the Auteur
 Started as myth of “individual creator”
 Grew from political and economic issues
between U.S. and France after WWII
 Popularity of US films threatened the viability
of the country’s own cinema
 New Wave of filmmakers: Francois Truffaut,
Jean-Luc Godard, Jacques Rivette, Eric
Rohmer and Claude Chabrol

10. Auteur Theory: Origins
• The term ‘Auteur Theory’ originated
from Andrews Sarris’s essay ‘Notes on the
Auteur Theory’ in 1962. Auteur theory
draws on the work of cinema enthusiasts
who wrote ‘Cahiers du Cinema’ and argued
that a directors vision should be reflected in
their films.
• Absolute Auteurs:
- Alfred Hitchcock
- Akira Kurosawa
- Jean Renoir
• Alexandre Astruc’s concept of the
‘caméra-stylo’ (camera pen) promotes
directors to wield cameras as writers use
pens and to guard against the obstacles of
traditional storytelling.

11. French Filmmakers
 American directors were placed as model
filmmakers in France.
 The French discovered the “personal style” of the
American directors.
 Despite the anonymity and mass production of
Hollywood studio system: personal style
emerged.
 Continuity discovered across a group of films:
style of the director

13. Auteur Theory

14. Principles of Stylistic
Continuity
 Studied extensively by film critic Andrew
Sarris
 Based on the given: the director as the
controlling force in the structure of the film
(a) Technical competence
(b) Coherent personal style
(c) consistent view of the world/ a coherent set of
attitudes and ideas

15. Stylistic Continuity
• Truffaut expressed that directors should use the mise-en-
scène to imprint their vision on their work.
• Andre Bazin and Roger Leenhardt also expressed that
the director brings the film to life and uses it to express
their feelings on the subject matter.
• An auteur can also use lighting, setting, staging, and
editing to add to their vision.
• According to Andrew Sarris in his ‘Notes on the Auteur
Theory’, a director must accomplish technical competence
in their technique, personal style in terms of how the
movie looks and feels, and interior meaning.

16. John Ford
 Use of Monument
Vallet as landscape for
his imaginary West;
 Vision of Western
landscape, settlement,
domesticity, of Indians
as force of the land,
outlaws as
impediments to lonely
heroes.

17. Alfred Hitchcock
 Use of “cross
tracking”
 Variations of shot/
reverse shot in which
the character, walking
and looking at a
threatening object
 Use of high angle
shot: show character
in a vulnerable state

18. David Fincher
 Use of dark mise-en-
scene created across
the horizontal line of
the Panavision screen

19. Ingmar Bergman
 Intense close-ups of a
character in a
profound state of
existential despair
 The cinematic angst
of Soren Kierkegaard

20. Rainer Werner Fassbinder
 Framing of
characters in
doorways or behind
doors
 Images of men
driving the road from
city to city

21. Chris CunninghamChris Cunningham
Chris Cunningham is a British music video film director and
video
artist. Chris has worked on many projects and has produced;
music video’s, video art, short films, commercials, music
production, photography, and a novel.
Cunningham is known for his warped style and disturbing imagery, he has worked and
produced music videos for the likes of; Aphex Twins, Bjork, Placebo and Madonna. He
Won multiple awards, including break through video at the MTV awards for his video
‘All in love.’
As well as producing music video he has also produced commercials for; Gucci, Play
station and orange.
Chris Cunningham is a British music video film director and
video
artist. Chris has worked on many projects and has produced;
music video’s, video art, short films, commercials, music
production, photography, and a novel.
Cunningham is known for his warped style and disturbing imagery, he has worked and
produced music videos for the likes of; Aphex Twins, Bjork, Placebo and Madonna. He
Won multiple awards, including break through video at the MTV awards for his video
‘All in love.’
As well as producing music video he has also produced commercials for; Gucci, Play
station and orange.

22. After watching several music videos and also commercials that Chris
Cunningham has directed I believe that I can establish his distinctive
auteur signature style which is;
•Fast paced editing and sharp cuts are used in nearly all of his videos he
has produced, this disorientates the audience as it creates; confusion,
mystification and a non-linear narrative.
•It reflects the horror genre by using gothic imagery such as; black crows.
•Lots of canted camera angles are used and nearly all the camera work
seem to be
•hand held to create more dramatic, dizzying movement to illustrate the
aggression in the video’s maybe?
• All of his video’s I certainly believe are entropic, as he uses strange,
unrealistic objects, sequences and people. The CGI editing used to morph
people into horror characters creates entropy as this is not typical of a
mainstream music video such as; creepy children.

23. Aphex Twins- Come to DaddyAphex Twins- Come to Daddy
 In class we altogether analysed Chris Cunningham’s music video for the Aphex Twins, this
video is a great example of Cunningham’s auteur signatures.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5Az_7U0-cK0
This music video is a perfect example of
Cunningham's signature auteur;
-There is fast pace editing to reflect
and illustrate the action and also to
build tension and confuse and create
excitement for the audience.
- This video seems to be inspired by
the horror genre as there are several
elements to the video which reflect it such as; creepy children, the evil spirit, the gaunt creature
and also the settings are; grungy, derelict, gloomy because of the low light and shadows created.
 In class we altogether analysed Chris Cunningham’s music video for the Aphex Twins, this
video is a great example of Cunningham’s auteur signatures.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5Az_7U0-cK0
This music video is a perfect example of
Cunningham's signature auteur;
-There is fast pace editing to reflect
and illustrate the action and also to
build tension and confuse and create
excitement for the audience.
- This video seems to be inspired by
the horror genre as there are several
elements to the video which reflect it such as; creepy children, the evil spirit, the gaunt creature
and also the settings are; grungy, derelict, gloomy because of the low light and shadows created.

24. - Canted camera angles are used, the shot is rotated to its side, this creates confusion for the
audience but it also looks; creative and arty as Cunningham has used editing software to
create a TV image with bad signal which mesmerises the audience. As well as canted camera
angles Cunningham uses nearly all hand held camera work as this creates the illusion of;
chaos, thrill and excitement.
-This particular video by Cunningham is incredibly entropic as it contains main unsuspecting
imagery in a music video. What makes this video so entropic is it contains main shocking
elements which include; an old lady, evil spirit on the TV who then with special effects make up
comes out of the TV and transforms in a gaunt creature and finally children are represented as
demon which is scary but instead of just being scary child Cunningham has morphed everyone to
look like the Aphex Twins.
- Canted camera angles are used, the shot is rotated to its side, this creates confusion for the
audience but it also looks; creative and arty as Cunningham has used editing software to
create a TV image with bad signal which mesmerises the audience. As well as canted camera
angles Cunningham uses nearly all hand held camera work as this creates the illusion of;
chaos, thrill and excitement.
-This particular video by Cunningham is incredibly entropic as it contains main unsuspecting
imagery in a music video. What makes this video so entropic is it contains main shocking
elements which include; an old lady, evil spirit on the TV who then with special effects make up
comes out of the TV and transforms in a gaunt creature and finally children are represented as
demon which is scary but instead of just being scary child Cunningham has morphed everyone to
look like the Aphex Twins.

25. Madonna- Frozen by Chris Cunningham
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XS088Opj9o0&ob=av2e
As I am investigating auteur’s I have decided to look at ‘Frozen’ music video to see if
there are any similarities to Come to daddy which suggests that Chris Cunningham is
an auteur of music videos as he will have signature things which makes him
recognisable.
- The most distinctive auteur signature of Cunningham is the horror genre inspiration. Horror
is obvious a big influence on him as both Frozen and Come to daddy have horror tones to
them. This video particularly represents this by using; Madonna becoming ravens, dark
imagery is shown, the lighting is very dark but also calming in a sense. Finally the way
Madonna is dressed is rather gothic as you can see she is wearing black floating garments.
Madonna- Frozen by Chris Cunningham
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XS088Opj9o0&ob=av2e
As I am investigating auteur’s I have decided to look at ‘Frozen’ music video to see if
there are any similarities to Come to daddy which suggests that Chris Cunningham is
an auteur of music videos as he will have signature things which makes him
recognisable.
- The most distinctive auteur signature of Cunningham is the horror genre inspiration. Horror
is obvious a big influence on him as both Frozen and Come to daddy have horror tones to
them. This video particularly represents this by using; Madonna becoming ravens, dark
imagery is shown, the lighting is very dark but also calming in a sense. Finally the way
Madonna is dressed is rather gothic as you can see she is wearing black floating garments.

26. - The camera angles are not completely unusual, unlike Come to daddy which is very
obvious that hand held canted camera work had been used in this video but there seem
that steady camera work maybe on a tripod has been used to create either very; high,
low, long close up shots.
- The editing is illustrated by the beats and rhythm of the song, so when the song sped
up so did the video which creates, tension and excitement.
- Like Come to daddy this music video is very entropic and this could be a auteur
signature from Cunningham. What makes Frozen entropic is the setting is unusual for a
music video as Madonna seems to be in a disserted desert which is not glamorous which
Madonna is famous for being. The special effects when Madonna turns into ravens and a
dog are mesmerising and is once again a signature auteur of Cunningham.
- The camera angles are not completely unusual, unlike Come to daddy which is very
obvious that hand held canted camera work had been used in this video but there seem
that steady camera work maybe on a tripod has been used to create either very; high,
low, long close up shots.
- The editing is illustrated by the beats and rhythm of the song, so when the song sped
up so did the video which creates, tension and excitement.
- Like Come to daddy this music video is very entropic and this could be a auteur
signature from Cunningham. What makes Frozen entropic is the setting is unusual for a
music video as Madonna seems to be in a disserted desert which is not glamorous which
Madonna is famous for being. The special effects when Madonna turns into ravens and a
dog are mesmerising and is once again a signature auteur of Cunningham.

27. Samuel BayerSamuel Bayer
Samuel Bayer is a well respected American director of music
videos but also over the past 15 years he has also produced
commercials for Nike, directed films such as 2010’s Nightmare on
Elm street and short video’s . Bayers has worked alongside some
of the best, legendry music artists and has produced memorable
music videos. His clients include;
•Nirvana,
•Ozzy Osbourne
•Iron Maiden
•Sheryl Crow
•The Rolling Stones
•Marilyn Mason
• Aero Smith
•Blink 182
•Greenday
He has won several awards over his career and swept the floor at
MTV’s music awards in 2007 with Greenday’s record ‘Boulevard
of broken dreams which he collected 7 moon awards for,
including; best rock music video.

28. After watching several music videos and also commercials that Samuel Bayer has
directed I believe that I can establish his distinctive auteur signature style which is;
 The editing pace is in sync with the beat of the music, so when the music is slow less cuts and
longer shots are used but when the beat becomes increased so do the shots and cuts. This
mimicking editing illustrates the music which creates more emotions such as; excitement,
tension and connection.
 Reflects the gothic horror genre as dark imagery and the look of the videos are quite
depressing.
 Live performances from the artist and focus on them with close up shots.
 The shots are always moving, either panning, tracking or slight zooming in or out. By doing
this it creates energy as if each shot was stationary it would be bland and boring. Even though
the shots are always moving he uses a tripod and either manually with the camera zoom in or
out or in the editing suite he does this with advanced technology.
 His videos are certainly entropic as he mixes up stereotypes and uses usual imagery but what is
redundant is the locations he chooses to film them in e.g. school hall.
After watching several music videos and also commercials that Samuel Bayer has
directed I believe that I can establish his distinctive auteur signature style which is;
 The editing pace is in sync with the beat of the music, so when the music is slow less cuts and
longer shots are used but when the beat becomes increased so do the shots and cuts. This
mimicking editing illustrates the music which creates more emotions such as; excitement,
tension and connection.
 Reflects the gothic horror genre as dark imagery and the look of the videos are quite
depressing.
 Live performances from the artist and focus on them with close up shots.
 The shots are always moving, either panning, tracking or slight zooming in or out. By doing
this it creates energy as if each shot was stationary it would be bland and boring. Even though
the shots are always moving he uses a tripod and either manually with the camera zoom in or
out or in the editing suite he does this with advanced technology.
 His videos are certainly entropic as he mixes up stereotypes and uses usual imagery but what is
redundant is the locations he chooses to film them in e.g. school hall.

29. Smells like teen spirit- Nirvana
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hTWKbfoikeg&ob=av3e
When talking about auteur it means if that the director has signature techniques used in his
work. To investigate if Samuel Bayers is an auteur I have decided to look and analyse two of
his music video’s; Smells like teen spirit and Disposable teens. Smells like teen spirit was his
first ever music video he directed, it will be interesting if this music video has a similar style
to his more contemporary videos.
- The editing of this video is illustrative to the music as the cuts are in sync with the beat of the music.
The beginning of the song is very slow paced and drab so the editing reflects this, long takes are used to
emphasise the depressing tone to the music. When the chorus kicks in the editing becomes increased,
more shots are used which creates a; fun, energetic vibe which is illustrated by the extras moshing. No
shot is stationery through out this video each are either; panning tracking or zooming in or out. Slight
canted camera angles are used when the music becomes more aggressive this creates abstract shots
which are dissertating.
Smells like teen spirit- Nirvana
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hTWKbfoikeg&ob=av3e
When talking about auteur it means if that the director has signature techniques used in his
work. To investigate if Samuel Bayers is an auteur I have decided to look and analyse two of
his music video’s; Smells like teen spirit and Disposable teens. Smells like teen spirit was his
first ever music video he directed, it will be interesting if this music video has a similar style
to his more contemporary videos.
- The editing of this video is illustrative to the music as the cuts are in sync with the beat of the music.
The beginning of the song is very slow paced and drab so the editing reflects this, long takes are used to
emphasise the depressing tone to the music. When the chorus kicks in the editing becomes increased,
more shots are used which creates a; fun, energetic vibe which is illustrated by the extras moshing. No
shot is stationery through out this video each are either; panning tracking or zooming in or out. Slight
canted camera angles are used when the music becomes more aggressive this creates abstract shots
which are dissertating.

30. - The mise en scene in this music video is reflective of the horror/ gothic genre as it is dark, murky and
grungy. The lighting has a orange tint to it and is spotlighted on Kurt Cobain who is the lead singer, this
makes the artist stand out from the merged crowd. Smoke is used which obscures frames at times, both the
lighting and smoke combined create confusing effects in the frames e.g. the close up of Cobain (bottom
right).
- This music video is entropic as certain stereotypes have been broken in this video. In the screen prints
below I have focused on the cheerleaders. The set up of this video is at a school which Nirvana are
performing at so cheerleaders are present to energises the crowd. In this case the cheerleaders are not your
stereotypical American sweet heat, instead they are; ‘ugly,’ aggressive, tattooed and muscular. The extras
who are destroying the instruments was entropic for the time the video was produced
(1991) and has influenced other rock bands to do the something similar.
- The redundancy aspect of
this music video is the
location in which it is set
in. nirvana are performing
at a school which is slightly
boring but how the mise
en scene is created makes
it seem that it is set at a
concert, the basket ball
hoop in the background
tells me that it is set in a
school hall.
- The mise en scene in this music video is reflective of the horror/ gothic genre as it is dark, murky and
grungy. The lighting has a orange tint to it and is spotlighted on Kurt Cobain who is the lead singer, this
makes the artist stand out from the merged crowd. Smoke is used which obscures frames at times, both the
lighting and smoke combined create confusing effects in the frames e.g. the close up of Cobain (bottom
right).
- This music video is entropic as certain stereotypes have been broken in this video. In the screen prints
below I have focused on the cheerleaders. The set up of this video is at a school which Nirvana are
performing at so cheerleaders are present to energises the crowd. In this case the cheerleaders are not your
stereotypical American sweet heat, instead they are; ‘ugly,’ aggressive, tattooed and muscular. The extras
who are destroying the instruments was entropic for the time the video was produced
(1991) and has influenced other rock bands to do the something similar.
- The redundancy aspect of
this music video is the
location in which it is set
in. nirvana are performing
at a school which is slightly
boring but how the mise
en scene is created makes
it seem that it is set at a
concert, the basket ball
hoop in the background
tells me that it is set in a
school hall.

31. Disposable teens-Marilyn Mason
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GKkiCFOE-Ic&ob=av3e
As I am investigating auteur’s I have decided to look at ‘Disposable teens’ music video to
see if there are any similarities to Smells like teen spirit which suggests that Samuel
Bayer is an auteur of music videos as he will have signature things which makes him
recognisable.
- The first similarity to Smells like teen spirit is the pace of editing, I mentioned that I found that
Bayers tended to pace the edits to the beat of the music this is true for both music videos I have
watched. Disposable is a mental rock song which tends to have several beats merged in the dong
but Bayers focuses on singular beats e.g. A drum note. The edits in Disposable are not as fast a
Smells like teen spirit but I would argue that there are more shots in this video as there is more
characters being portrayed e.g. The Pope, A human piranha ect...
Disposable teens-Marilyn Mason
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GKkiCFOE-Ic&ob=av3e
As I am investigating auteur’s I have decided to look at ‘Disposable teens’ music video to
see if there are any similarities to Smells like teen spirit which suggests that Samuel
Bayer is an auteur of music videos as he will have signature things which makes him
recognisable.
- The first similarity to Smells like teen spirit is the pace of editing, I mentioned that I found that
Bayers tended to pace the edits to the beat of the music this is true for both music videos I have
watched. Disposable is a mental rock song which tends to have several beats merged in the dong
but Bayers focuses on singular beats e.g. A drum note. The edits in Disposable are not as fast a
Smells like teen spirit but I would argue that there are more shots in this video as there is more
characters being portrayed e.g. The Pope, A human piranha ect...

32. -The gothic/ horror genre is
definitely reflected in this
music video both by the mise
en scene and the artist
himself. This include;
spotlight and strobe lighting,
misty smoke, religious
imagery, blood, animal
dissection and the colour black.
-In both videos there are
liveperformances from the
artist which is redundant but
in this video Marilyn Mason
takes on different characters
in each performance which
makes itmore entropic than
Kurt Cobain’s performance. In both videos they perform in front of what seems to be fans but by the end of
the videos they become a riot which in Disposable is exaggerated as body/ police guards are geared up with
protectors and batons.
- The shots in this video have subtle movement but not as much as Smells like teen spirit, the camera once
again either; pans, tracks, zooms in or out. The camera movement seems to kick in the chorus section as this
is the most dramatic tone to the song as it is moshery, this is reflected in slight hand held camera work.
-The gothic/ horror genre is
definitely reflected in this
music video both by the mise
en scene and the artist
himself. This include;
spotlight and strobe lighting,
misty smoke, religious
imagery, blood, animal
dissection and the colour black.
-In both videos there are
liveperformances from the
artist which is redundant but
in this video Marilyn Mason
takes on different characters
in each performance which
makes itmore entropic than
Kurt Cobain’s performance. In both videos they perform in front of what seems to be fans but by the end of
the videos they become a riot which in Disposable is exaggerated as body/ police guards are geared up with
protectors and batons.
- The shots in this video have subtle movement but not as much as Smells like teen spirit, the camera once
again either; pans, tracks, zooms in or out. The camera movement seems to kick in the chorus section as this
is the most dramatic tone to the song as it is moshery, this is reflected in slight hand held camera work.

33. Auteurism
 Central point: identification of the director’s
stylistic traits, view of people in the world, ideas
about politics, history, social order, psychology,
sexuality and power
 The director’s structure of basic thematic and
stylistic traits
 A kind of abstract pattern of ways of seeing and
understanding the world cinematically

34. Jean Renoir
 “A director really makes
just one film in the course
of his career.”
 Auteur Theory: made
film studies possible as an
academic discipline.
 French discovered auteur
within the Hollywood
production.
 It is a redemption of the
anonymity of the
Hollywood.

35. Critique of Auteur Theory
• Starting in the 1960s film critics began to
criticise the auteur theory’s focus on the
authorial role of the director.
• One reason for this is the collaborative
aspect of film making.
• Aljean Harmetz argued that the auteur
theory
“collapses against the reality of the
studio system”.
• The New Critics argued that speculation
about an author’s intention was secondary to
the words on the page as the basis of the
experience of reading literature.