Daniel Tan Posted July 25, 2004 Share Posted July 25, 2004 Hey everyone, I am looking for good materials to look at when it comes to handheld camera works. I might be taken on the task of shooting handheld for my next project. Anybody has good reference movies to that? Any help is appreicated. Regards, Daniel Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Premium Member Wendell_Greene Posted July 25, 2004 Premium Member Share Posted July 25, 2004 A few: Raoul Cotard - "Breathless" "Band à part " Rodrigo Prieto - "Amores Perros" and "8 Mile" Jean de Segonzac - "Laws of Gravity" and "Homicide" Elliot Davis - "Thirteen", "Get on the Bus" and "I Am Sam" Matty Libatique - "Tigerland" and "Pi" Bill Butler - "Jaws" Janusz Kaminski - "Saving Private Ryan" Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ype Poortinga Posted July 26, 2004 Share Posted July 26, 2004 Rodrigo Prieto - "Amores Perros" and "8 Mile" 8 mile contains a lot of steadicam shots, I think dat pietro's newer film, 21 gramms is a beter reference for handheld shooting Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bob Hayes Posted July 26, 2004 Share Posted July 26, 2004 ?Traffic? is another wonderful handheld film. Also ?The Shield? is a great handheld show. I especially like the way they intercut two cameras. They use an actor?s blocking of an angle to force the cut to another camera. Very real. Bob Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Premium Member Michael Nash Posted July 26, 2004 Premium Member Share Posted July 26, 2004 All good references. It's worth pointing out that all of these films/shows use handheld in a slightly different way, either to represent a certain POV or lend an energy to the camera movement. In I Am Sam Elliot Davis chose handheld to represent the POV of the mentally handicapped main character. In Thirteen I think it was more expressive of the chaotic and freewheeling lifestyle of the young girls. Other TV shows like Homicide and The Shield seem to use handheld to lend a more cinema verite feel to the action, making you feel like you are there with the characters. Chinatown used a bit of handheld at key moments, often in a single extended take, so that you felt like you were shadowing Jake Gittes. I think a lot of the power of handheld is knowing how subtle or how forceful to make the movement. Simply cutting from a tripod or dolly to a steady handheld shot is enough to signal to the viewer that something has changed. You don't always have to overdo it. Whenever a director asks me to go handheld I ask if they want smooth handheld or to go crazy with it, making sure I understand how that shot will be cut with the other angles. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Premium Member Brad Grimmett Posted July 26, 2004 Premium Member Share Posted July 26, 2004 You don't always have to overdo it. Whenever a director asks me to go handheld I ask if they want smooth handheld or to go crazy with it, making sure I understand how that shot will be cut with the other angles. I operated on a feature at the beginning of the year that was about 90% handheld. It was a mockumentary about kung fu movies. We did three different kinds of handheld: good, bad, and mediocre. We did these different styles depending on who was suppossed to be shooting. It was a lot of fun to operate this way, but it was also important that we maintained consistency. The funniest part was how tough it was for myself and the other operator to do bad handheld when it was called for. Hopefully there is some behind the scenes footage of us doing it. We were standing on one leg and doing all sorts of other things to compromise the shot. It was very hard to just "do" bad handheld convincingly just by trying, we had to make ourselves uncomfortable in order to get the results the director wanted. Sorry to get off topic. Getting back on topic....Narc had a lot of good handheld. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Premium Member Wendell_Greene Posted July 27, 2004 Premium Member Share Posted July 27, 2004 Add "Never Die Alone" to the list, shot by Matty Libatique ASC and directed by Ernest Dickerson, ASC. Yes, the handheld work of Prieto is more evident in "21 Grams". And while they used Steadi-cam in "8 Mile", all the rap battle scenes at "Club Shelter" were shot handheld. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dorian Quell Posted July 27, 2004 Share Posted July 27, 2004 Steal This Movie had alot of great handheld to represent the chaotic times of the 70's in the anti-war rallies. great movie. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dan Salzmann Posted July 27, 2004 Share Posted July 27, 2004 "Fallen Angels" - Wong Kar Wai Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Premium Member David Mullen ASC Posted July 27, 2004 Premium Member Share Posted July 27, 2004 I've always liked the selective use of handheld in Kubrick's and Ridley Scott's films, like the landing sequence in "Alien" where everything short-circuits, clearly modelled after the missile blowing up near the bomber scene in "Dr. Strangelove", also causing short circuits, etc. Scott also does some nice subtle handheld work in "Blade Runner." Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Daniel Tan Posted July 27, 2004 Author Share Posted July 27, 2004 Hey, Thanks everybody for their inputs. It is time for me to gather the materials that you guys mentioned and starts to do some homework. Regards, Daniel Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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