Saturday, May 6, 2017

No body move.... except you camera guy!

Camera movement does have its impacts in cinema. It can definitely have a punch if it is directed the right way, with the help of a keen eye of course. Great films that are well received are not just praised for the acting, story or editing but also for its cinematography. The elements that are used/ implemented to help show the scene are just as important. Camera movements are just such an example to talk about.
       Camera Movements can be a huge asset when deciding how to film that "one" scene. these scenes can include all types such as Panning, zoom, tracking, that such. In the video such examples as Marnie (1964), Reservoir Dogs (1992), and Children of Men (2006)  were stated, and wonderful examples at that.
     Lets begin with Marnie. Marnie is a Hitchcock film where a female employee is caught stealing from the bank but is black mailed to marry a man named Mark Ruttland. They go on the honeymoon cruise and all is decent but Mark begins to get suggestive sexually, Marnie isn't comfortable with men and it goes all ok for a couple of days till he has had enough and forces himself on her. How the scene is shot is what makes it so great. Marnie begins to lye down with no emotion and the camera follows her while doing so. It then cuts to marks yes slowly zooming in with the music intensifying, but then going back to Marnie showing the same distance as before showing no change. Then, a pan off to the window. That shot can give off a feel as if we weren't supposed to see it, as if it was too traumatic and wishing for it to end almost a what Marnie was most likely thinking at that moment. It leaves us in a moment of fear, resigning, coping, anger, violence but as stated in the video if the scene was shot differently we wouldn't feel those same emotions anymore.
   The next example is Reservoir Dogs. A 1992 Quentin Tarantino classic about random men being hired, trained and then sent out to rob a bank. All goes wrong meaning "shit hits the fan" and Micheal Madsen; which I admire for his work such movies as this and his voice acting in Dishonored, is one of the surviving members who is trying to find answers. There is a scene where Micheal's character is interrogating a "suspect"; its really just a guard from the bank, and during this scene he does something that takes direct inspiration from "Marnie". The scene consists of his character wielding a knife while the guard is bloody, gagged, and tied up to a chair. Micheal's character then proceeds to hum "Stuck in the middle with you" by Stealers Wheel and then has the audacity to cut the guys ear off. Here is the thing though, the camera veers off just as he is beginning to do so, the only thing we are left with is the guards muffled screams. All we are left with is almost exactly what we are left with in Marnie.
    Such great examples which these movies are leaves on to wonder if they too can make great things happen in a scene or if it is just for the "Greats". I am sure it is possible for everyone to fit that category but you never know.      

1 comment:

  1. Nice analysis of the article. You did a good job going over the examples provided in the video.

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