Jon-Hebert Barto Posted September 6, 2006 Share Posted September 6, 2006 Oh, ya, I would like to avoid the politics of it. Its the film theory I'm interested in. Doc theory, to be sure, should be expanded, IMHO. I don't suscribe to one particular theory, I just love discussions that revovle around it. You know, Eisensteins montage theory vs. the Tarkovsky "time within time" theory. I love it all. When you talk to people about theory, you get down to just how they see the world, quicker than with political discourse, IMHO. Anyway, I guess we'll have to wait till a good thread starts about that... If I'm ever in England we could have a beer and discuss it. Cheers-Jonnie Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rory Hanrahan Posted September 6, 2006 Share Posted September 6, 2006 Films by the Maysles Bros. (Salesman, Grey Gardens) feature great cinematography that's not very flashy but serves the subject well. An old documentarian friend of mine first pointed out to me how Albert Maysles would be able to anticipate action before it occured and have the image set just before the event played out. Another interesting observation of his method reveals that Maysles, when zooming, would be able to have focus set before even completing the zoom, ensuring that the image was always sharp and never calling attention to the camerawork itself. It seems that skills like these are somewhat lost today as obnoxious rack focusing and shaky handheld have become more accepted, but I digress... I recommend "Gimme Shelter", the Maysles' doc about The Rolling Stones circa Altamont. Not only is it beautifully photographed, but the editing is amazing as well, garnering editor Charlotte Zwerin a directing credit on the film by the time it was all said and done. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Eric Steelberg ASC Posted September 6, 2006 Share Posted September 6, 2006 Eric, This is exactly what i was asking about. There are some fantastic images here. What did you shoot this film with? Excellent work. You should be proud. We shot everything. Super8, Super 16, regular 16, MiniDV, DVCPro, and 35mm. It's mostly 35 and DVCPro on the SDX-900. They started off wanting everything to be 35, but wuickly saw how cost prohibitive that would be on a doc. Since the doc was about a painter, we wanted the film to feel like a painting, a work of art. So we added a style to it. It was a very fun project, but extraordinarily hard. Made over the course of 3 years. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dominik Muench Posted September 6, 2006 Share Posted September 6, 2006 have to agree with Josh Bass, "Mr. Death" shot by robert richardson looks great. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Premium Member Tim J Durham Posted September 6, 2006 Premium Member Share Posted September 6, 2006 'Agitropic' is one of these new words formed from old ones that is floating about at the moment, its perhaps indecent of someone with my my spelling ability to try and use it. Its essentialy a word regarding a piece of work, be it a film, play that is made to 'agitate' or stir-up thought - polemical even. I remember the word being used a lot a few years ago when I worked at an arts-centre that was showing Tim Robbin's Embedded (Actually at the time somebody vandalised an outside wall, graffiting "Robbins is a traiter and all Brits are gay" lukily someone else had to scrub it off) I think the word you're looking for is 'agitprop'- a combination of agitation and propaganda. Michael Moore is often accused of producing agitprop, but strong opinions are the domain of documentarians. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Leo Anthony Vale Posted September 6, 2006 Share Posted September 6, 2006 I think the word you're looking for is 'agitprop'- a combination of agitation and propaganda. Michael Moore is often accused of producing agitprop, but strong opinions are the domain of documentarians. Definitely 'agitprop'. Quite frequently used to describe Soviet film and theatre of the 20s. Usually by the soviets themselves. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Joe Hemsani Posted September 18, 2006 Share Posted September 18, 2006 Werner Herzog´s ---- Lessons of Darkness every time I watch it, the photography moves me. It is beautiful and poetic I can´t even think how it was done !!! hope you watch it Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Matthew Buick Posted September 18, 2006 Share Posted September 18, 2006 'British Isles : A Natural History' was perhaps the most beautifully photographed documentary I have ever watched, 'Coast' was pretty nice too. :D Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Leo Anthony Vale Posted September 19, 2006 Share Posted September 19, 2006 I haven't seen this yet. http://tcmdb.com/title/title.jsp?stid=4860...p;menuName=MAIN But it sounds promising. The director of 'Woman in the Dunes'. The composer of 'Hara Kiri', 'Kwaidan', 'Doedes'ka-Den' and 'Ran'. "The cinematography of this documentary is beautiful, and shows us the buildings from afar, and up close in exquisite detail. Mercifully, the film is almost entirely free of taking-head commentary, and there is no narration to distract the viewer from the bizarre and beautiful subject matter. The interiors are as fantastic and surreal-looking as the exteriors. They must be seen to be believed. A haunting musical score by Takemitsu nicely compliments the eerie beauty of the buildings." ---from IMDB http://imdb.com/title/tt0086907/usercomments NO NARRATION Truly a gift from GOD. Oct 4 3AM tcm Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Oron Cohen Posted September 21, 2006 Share Posted September 21, 2006 "My architect"- by Nathaniel Kahn I see this film a couple of days ago and I loved the cinematography very much, I spouse it was shot on 16mm&dv. What I like about it the most is the balance of the cinematography, for me this is what makes good doco cinematography. I can't explain this with words so much I think everyone needs to see this amazing film, maybe this is the sign of a good film: you can't explain what good about it; you just need to see it? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bob Hayes Posted September 21, 2006 Share Posted September 21, 2006 Titicut Follies by Fredrick Wiseman Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Premium Member Tim J Durham Posted September 21, 2006 Premium Member Share Posted September 21, 2006 Some great films I've seen recently, not necessarily for the cinematography so much as emotional impact: "The Boy who Plays on the Buddhas of Bamiyan" by Phil Grabsky: http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0398801/ "Searching for the Wrong-Eyed Jesus" by Andrew Douglas: http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0389361/ "In This World" by Michael Winterbottom. Not really a doc but plays like one and shot like one: http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0310154/ "Pripyat" by Nikolaus Geyrhalter: http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0194278/ There was another called "Land Beneath the Clouds- a Murder in Yunnan" or something like that. It was a Nat. Geographic presentation I saw a few years ago and it was amazing. Now I can't find any trace of it. Anybody else see this? It would've aired in 1997 or 1998. I'd love to get a copy if I could find it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
oscar jimenez Posted September 21, 2006 Share Posted September 21, 2006 I will say as well, from Ron Fricke: Baraka, for me that's the finest Ive seen in years. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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