Formalism

One or more aspects of formalism could inspire my work through stylistic choices and symbolical meaning taken from Russian formalism, German expressionism and  French new wave. 

"Formalism" by Katherine Thompson-Jones states that "the defining characteristic of any formalist approach is its theoretical and critical emphasis on film form" and also states its denial of the aesthetic aspect of the form as it encourages "extrinsic" criticism, thus assessing the work on its surface qualities like its social, political or psychological  themes rather than on its own terms, as art. While this does help the film maker create a film with more substance, I believe that the aesthetic qualities are just as important as it can make the film have a larger impact on society at the time of its release. An example of this would be the birth of certain sub genres in horror to play with the social anxieties of the time like the public broadcasting of the violence and atrocities of the Vietnam War and Hollywood's response with the rise of slasher films, or even to question the conventions of its own genres like the portrayal of races or lack of in westerns as shown through Tarantino's "Django Unchained".

I also agree that a film is not distinguished by it using technical features but that the features are used in a certain way for a certain purpose. This gives the scene a deeper meaning. I could act on this by experimenting with soviet montage in my work to create more visual cuts and sequences while also emphasising what is being shown. I'd most likely use a metric montage in my film as I quite like how it is used to suppress time by following a specific number of frames. This style of montage has been used in films such as Edger Wright's Cornetto Trilogy (Shaun of the Dead, Hot Fuzz, World's end), all films that I feel utilise it well and excel through cinematic and visual comedy.