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flogging the dead horse...


andrewbuchanan

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One of the most frequent offenders:

 

Over male character's shoulder at washroom sink as he splashes water on his face then tilt up as he stands and ponders his situation (usually dire) and his reflection in the mirror. May run his hands through his hair.

 

This one is all over television and in many features. My girlfriend is tired of me complaining about this shot cause it shows up at least once a week.

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How about "backlit smoke"? OOOHhhh, the scary light is coming from the door...and in the windows...hopefully the talent won't cough while they say their dialogue...anyone else notice that everyone is acting normally while THE BUILDING IS ON FIRE????

 

That, and shaky cam. okay, so you can't level track, and you aren't good with wheels. No Problemo. Adonde' est La Producero? Porque all las wedges este' still on las truck? est el styleo de director? NNNOOOOOOOO.....

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I'm not saying I think it's virtually impossible for a fridge shot to be logically motivated, but this is the first time I've ever heard of it making sense!

 

Every time I've ever seen it, it's for no reason at all, especially when you consider what you have to go through to get the shot: a fridge with a big hole chopped out of the back!

 

MP

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  • 4 weeks later...

I don't know if I'd call this a cliche' yet but it's getting there...

 

It's the much overused shot you see in all the cop & medical shows now, which I call the "hey, aren't we cool because we can take a Steadicam all through the building" shot.

You know, the one where two or three people are talking (usually quickly) while walking through rooms and down hallways while the camera does whirly-whirls all around them?

 

There's nothing wrong it doing that, but I've seen episodes where it seems like they're doing it 5+ times during a 30-60 minute show, and it seems like they're really reaching, trying to create excitement that is not in the script, and not in any action going on.

Walking around while talking is not exciting, I don't care how you shoot it.

 

MP

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Guest Roman
The opening shot from a helicopter zooming over the ocean toward the city is almost always a cringe.

 

 

None has mentioned the sunset shot!?! Maybe there are too many romantics here... however I've seen one Chabrol's movie (sorry, I can't recall the name of the movie, and it very well might have been Lelouch's...) where he put "this is 32.547 (or some other big number) sunset shot in the movie history" over the screen... :rolleyes:

 

 

I believe all is in the story. How do you justify the shot? Hitchcock says he would never, ever use "the fridge shot" because it makes no sense but Marty showed an example where such a shoot tell us the story in such a compelling way...

 

Speaking of Mr. Hitchcock I am storyboarding a scene with ?the Vertigo shot? looking at the similar shot I have problems to understand why it has been used. This is the famous Scorcese?s ?Vertigo shot? from ?Goodfellas? and I am sure there must have been many other, better approaches to it.

 

With ?my? shot I am trying to emphasize the object that was on the screen all the time but as the shot progresses the same object gains much more importance therefore is shown in such a manner?

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Sorry if this has been mentioned already: The car/truck/bus/etc. flung through the air by the explosion/monster/alien/tidalwave/etc.

 

For example, I noticed "flung" cars are liberally sprinkled, as it were, throughout the new War of the Worlds trailers.

 

As the special effects ante keeps getting raised higher and higher in the quest to show images in films which shock/amaze/keep us awake, etc., I find myself increasingly appreciating simple, almost meditative scenes.

 

Has anyone already tried the following: Instead of going through all the effort required to pull off the typical "spectacular" special effect, why not just get a sanctioning/certifying body (maybe a big accounting company?) to certify that a _huge_ pile of cash money stacked-up on the set is in fact an unGodly amount of real, genuine money -- and then proceed to set the cash ablaze while the cameras roll! Maybe that would impress some audiences? Maybe not ... :unsure:

 

All the best,

 

- Peter DeCrescenzo

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Guest aartaxx

Been watching a lot of recent Asian cinema and noticing the abundance of one take scenes shot from extremely wide angles across a room. The complaint may be better directed at the editors of these films or maybe the directors. Often in these extreme establishing master takes, I can't even tell which character is which and I'm reading subtitles and the whole thing just gets tiresome fast. I long for coverage and close ups in these films. To me, it's really cheating a performer to keep the camera so far away like that. All subtlety and nuance of performance is lost. Nothing but body language and voice inflection is left and sometimes that works but it's better on stage than on screen. True, it's important to show a character in their environment and sometimes the environment will play a key role but to never punch in at all is kinda silly to me. The advantage of cinema and the main thing seperating it from theater is the ability to get a close up of a face and feel the emotion and expression from the actor. I wonder if Christopher Doyle has to fight for those close ups that he manages to get. He's one DP that keeps a healthy balance of tight and wide in the films he shoots.

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I keep cringing when I see these "Lord of the Rings style" sweeping arial shots of huge armies or the like - especially when accompanied by what sounds like almost the same music. It just looks so copied now, and also very fake on occasion.

 

Matt

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