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They have a behind-the-scenes already available? Where did you see this?

 

On aint it cool news IIRC. It was a few months ago, but I saw a setup with a modern Arri 35mm with Quinton behind the camera and Rodriguez looking through the viewfinder. Surprized me as I did not expect both directors to be operating at once.

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On aint it cool news IIRC. It was a few months ago, but I saw a setup with a modern Arri 35mm with Quinton behind the camera and Rodriguez looking through the viewfinder. Surprized me as I did not expect both directors to be operating at once.

Rodriguez was probably only posing for publicity stills...

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Rodriguez was probably only posing for publicity stills...

 

why?

it makes sense, he was the dp on Tarantino's part of the film, and that was shot with film cameras (I have some pictures taken on set where you can clearly see Panavision cameras at work, but i can't attach them because they're too big)

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why?

it makes sense, he was the dp on Tarantino's part of the film, and that was shot with film cameras (I have some pictures taken on set where you can clearly see Panavision cameras at work, but i can't attach them because they're too big)

Rodriguez is known to be a bit of a credit hugger. He likes to have his picture taken wearing the steadicam and then get somebody else in to do most of the operating.

 

Too bad Tarantino couldn't get a proper Dop for his part of the film. Interestingly enough on those perenial Panavision Genesis adds in the AC, Jimmy Lindsey is credited as Dop.

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Rodriguez is known to be a bit of a credit hugger. He likes to have his picture taken wearing the steadicam and then get somebody else in to do most of the operating.

 

He usually takes at least 5: Director, DP, Camera Operator, Editor, Composer and Visual effects supervisor. Apparently, for Sin City II, he is planning cookery lessons so he can get the Catering credits too......

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He usually takes at least 5: Director, DP, Camera Operator, Editor, Composer and Visual effects supervisor. Apparently, for Sin City II, he is planning cookery lessons so he can get the Catering credits too......

 

 

Oops, looks like I forgot Producer, Writer, Special Effects, Sound Mixer and Soundtrack Supervisor....

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He likes to have his picture taken wearing the steadicam and then get somebody else in to do most of the operating.

 

Max,

 

is that something you know because you have actually seen it or did you read it somewhere in the net? i find it quite silly: that means that there is an uncredited steadycam operator out there who has been ripped off from Rodriguez in so many movies...come on, man!

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I didn't mean to imply that he never operates steadicam, but he uses steadicam operators as well. Which makes sense if you think about it. Steadicam is such a specialized skill that you cannot pick up just like that. It takes a lot of practice and it is ridiculous to think that someone like Rodriguez who is also a Director (and Writer and Producer and Dop and Editor and Composer and Sound Mixer and the list goes on) masters it as well as a dedicated operator. There are some shots that the weekend steadicam operator just cannot do.

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I didn't mean to imply that he never operates steadicam, but he uses steadicam operators as well. Which makes sense if you think about it. Steadicam is such a specialized skill that you cannot pick up just like that. It takes a lot of practice and it is ridiculous to think that someone like Rodriguez who is also a Director (and Writer and Producer and Dop and Editor and Composer and Sound Mixer and the list goes on) masters it as well as a dedicated operator. There are some shots that the weekend steadicam operator just cannot do.

 

Do you know if there was a steadicam operator on his earlier films El Mariachi and Desperado? Or even if steadicams were utilized at all?

 

I agree, mastering steadicam takes a lot of time and practice to overcome. I have thought about RR's use of steadicam in his more recent films often, and I think that often his shots are being steadicamed by himself, but are not very long (~2 seconds or less). That may be one way to describe his style. That also may be one of the reasons his films have a rough-cut look with shots that do not feel complete, with less to choose from in the cutting room, but that is probably just a trademark of his films.

Edited by Matt Goldberg
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In El Mariachi there was no steady cam because it only had a 7000 dollar budget. Rodriguez used a wheel chair dolly for some shots and he handheld the camera for others. SInce he used a very wide lens the motion appeared relatively smooth. In desperado however he had a 7 million dollar budget. INstead of hiring a steady cam operator rodriguez took a two day course and did it himself. then he editted around the bumps and shakes in his steadycam shots.

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In Desperado however he had a 7 million dollar budget. Instead of hiring a steady cam operator rodriguez took a two day course and did it himself. then he edited around the bumps and shakes in his steadycam shots.

 

This illustrates the disdain that he seems to hold for properly qualified, experienced crew. What Director on their first Hollywood film, with a relatively decent budget and name actors, would decide that 1. Operating steadicam was a valuable use of their time, and 2. That they were in any way qualified to do so.

 

How many other steadicam ops get work on features after a two day course?

 

Rodriguez seems to be obsessed with self-aggrandisement.

 

Stanley Kubrick was something of a control freak as well, but he never tried to take credit for other people's work.

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I have friends that work with him before and they say the follow:

" Rodriguez has the talent, but he a bit of a thief.... for most of his tones the ideas and the music itself was written by someone else, and then he gets the music, does some stupid rearrangment and makes it his own"

Know on my opinion he is a good technical person and has a great energy on the medium.... but honestly I didn't see anythig of him that I go ooooooooo whoaaa, never, never, the only thing close was sincity... the rest I wasn't that impress most of his film after the mariachi they have no substantial story or they do and then he ruins them like from dusk till dawn, great promise until the vampire fiasco.

I undersand the filmmakers that embrances sillyness, me I don't respect that, actually I hated.

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a guy I talked to who saw them on location in Mexico said that Rodriguez was indeed operating A-Cam and Steadicam all the time.

That must be a new thing. I know other operators that have worked for him on whole films and never gotten credit even though they did every shot in the movie except for the first steadicam shot.

A friend of mine counted his credits on one of his last movies and I think the final tally was 30! Ridiculous.

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Stanley Kubrick was something of a control freak as well, but he never tried to take credit for other people's work.

And he operated the camera as well, like Michael Mann, Ridley and Tony Scott, Luc Besson and countless other directors who don't feel like they need to give themselves credit for it. Really, if you're the director everyone works for you but you get most of the glory anyway, so there really is no need to grab extra credits.

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I didn't mean to imply that he never operates steadicam, but he uses steadicam operators as well.

 

Max, I didn't mean to imply that either! I was just saying that Rodriguez sounds like the kind of guy that would jump at any chance to use a steadicam if he can, but I believe he's smart enough to realize when has to step back. I respect him as a filmmaker, I like most of his stuff, I don't fully agree with him on his whole "film is dead" thing, but if he wants to operate a steadicam and knows how to do it, well, I have no problem with it.

 

One more thing about my previous comment: my friend was not working on "MExico", he happened to be around the set for a 3 or 4 days (he was travelling around the country), so I can't confirm Rodriguez operated the steadicam on ALL the shots.

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