Name: Paul Thomas Anderson
Age: 49
DOP: June 26th 1970, Studio City, California, USA.
Bio: Being brought up in California, and one of the only individuals owning a V.C.R in the street he was bought up. PTA was one of the only film directors to shoot on a V.C.R and edited onto a V.C.R. Being bought up by a creative family, Anderson's father was known to a lot of celebrities, for example Robert Ridgely, in the near future Ridgely himself would appear in one of Anderson's films, and the film would be Boogie Nights from 1997. At a young age Paul Thomas Anderson got into filmmaking, he was very much inspired by the genre in mock - documentary, for example Dirk Diggler Story (1988) and Rob Reiner's This Is Spinal Tap from 1984. In the early 1990's PTA made a short film called Cigarettes & Coffee in 1993, afterwards started working as a production assistant, and which was for multiple commercials and music videos. PTA officially made his first feature film, which was Hard Eight (1996), and after his first feature Anderson would be working on more projects with actors such as Philip Baker Hall, John C. Reilly and mostly with Philip Seymour Hoffman.
What I Find Interesting About His Work: Paul Tomas Anderson is one of the very many few who only writes and directs his films by himself. He never has a team of writers with him during the production process and gets the opportunities and freedom to have full control of all of his films. PTA is very good at communicating his characters points of views to the audiences, he seems to execute unforgettable scenes and based on his creation of the characters decisions. For example in the drama, comedy film "Punch Drunk Love" Anderson creates one priority and important character through the entire film, and from PTA's directing and writing on the film you can explore and understand the main characters emotions and feelings. PTA's has created lots of "period" films, he creates them because their are specific times that do not get re visited as often in films. When he uses music in his projects, they seem out of time and even not appropriate for the time period Anderson films are set in. However with Anderson working with most of his latest projects with music composer Johnny Greenwood, PTA wants the music to feel intense and uncomfortable for the audiences to experience, and when characters are going through a certain anxiety, anger and depression emotion. PTA has a interest in using different religions in his films, the light side, the dark side, for certain main characters to find a meaning in their lives and the consequences it can effect them and the group type of the religion. When it comes to the technical aspects, PTA started with his camera work quite fast paced and energetic, and with his recent films he seems to shoot his films with more of a visual and unforgettable shot. He makes sure his characters, their arcs and the plot about them is to be honest about themselves.
The Techinques I Have Learnt From Paul Thomas Anderson: I have found Anderson's techinques more on a personal and freedom level. I have always seemed entertained from his films the plots, the characters, the emotions and the right time period PTA creates every aspect on a technical and storytelling way. I overall think and have learnt that Anderson's techinques are about the freedom, the independence he gets to create from his scripts to his directing, and are very different to other film directors who have made quite a lot of time period films before. I believe he gets to explore and make changes based on his films, for a refreshing and unique way in his films presentations.
PROJECTS
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Hard Eight (1996)
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| Boogie Nights (1997) |
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| Magnolia (1999) |
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| Punch - Drunk Love (2002) |
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| There Will Be Blood (2007) |
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| The Master (2012) |
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| Inherent Vice (2014) |
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| Phantom Thread (2017) |
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| Anima (2019) |
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