Quiet City

Gautam Valluri · April 9, 2009

Has anyone noticed the cinematography in Quiet City? I believe it was shot on a rented Panasonic HVX200. I love the twilight shots of the Airplane take-offs during the opening credits and the scene where both the lead actors have a race in the park- with the camera shooting straight into the sun from a very low angle.

I think it was done very tastefully. Any comments?

Jean Dodge · April 16, 2009

I haven't seen QUIET CITY yet, but the discussion going on in various circles regarding "mumblecore" is an interesting one just now. Many of the so called movement's originators feel the moment has already past, just as mainstream critics like David Denby and AO Scott finally bothered to take notice.

I think there is a distinction to be made between "mumblecore," or as it was almost known as, "slackavettes," and regular DIY indie no budget feature film making, so let's be aware of what we're really discussing. I appreciate the way that these film makers are somewhat "re-inventing the wheel" for themselves and their friends, on the one hand and then on the other I get annoyed that they sometimes seem willfully ignorant of what came before. It's an argument that can be played both ways.

(I like the fact that some of these film makers DON'T NEED or want David Denby's opinion and haven't waited around for Harvy Weinstein to ride up on a white horse to sweep them away to sundance and a three picture studio deal. But of course, now that this is actually HAPPENING, with Greta Gerwig hob-nobbing with Ben Stiller, and Scott Rudin paying others to write screeenplays etc what are we to think? But these are director/producer related questions outside the scope of this forum, aren't they? It's just that with a one-man-band, it's sometimes hard to critique the rhythm section alone, eh?)

Over on the DIY front, The DVX generation of cameramen and women are about to be handed a better set of tools, with the Red and the Canon D5 mk2 type cameras on the verge of coming into full bloom aas affordable HD tools that can be processed on a laptop. Then we'll see a plethora of pretty images and faux perfume commercials made for next to nothing. I'm excited to see it, but sorting the wheat from the chaff is going to get a lot harder. Woe to the festival programmers! Still photographers making the switch to moving images are taking the lead in some regards at the moment. But perhaps this discussion needs its own thread...

What are the lessons, if any for the professional cinematographer to glean from a movement such as mumblecore? Not to pick a fight, but some would say the shots you cite are simply proof that "even a blind pig finds an acorn once in a while?'

Just trying to liven up the discussion here -I don't have a strong opinion either way in truth.

(There are only two kinds of films - good ones and bad ones.)

Edited April 16, 2009 by Jean Dodge