November 9, 2017

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What you can learn from different camera-work styles

How the camera is used can be as important for a director as the story itself. In many cases, what you do with the camera is why people bought the movie ticket.

While there are hundreds of camera shots and positions to compare, I thought the best way for us to have a conversation was to compare contrasting camera styles through two directors who typically reflect those shots in their films.

Representing the moving camera is Michael Bay.

It would be really hard to find a director with a more active camera than MB. His films are well known for action and hyperactive camera shots and angles. His work will make the case for the moving camera and why this is the better use of a camera than one the sticks.

Representing the static camera is Wes Anderson.

Anderson has probably the most recognized film style of any director in the modern era. The biggest feature of most of his camera shots are completely symmetrical compositions and sets which require a static shot to display them. Anderson’s minimal camera movement hasn’t stopped him from becoming one of the most respected filmmakers in our time.

Before we dive in, I just want to say that this article does not mean to take anything away from these directors’ cinematographers, whose job it is to make sure the directors get the shots they want. I mainly want to focus the conversation on camera use in terms of style, and both directors’ styles have remained consistent in their films.

Let’s also keep in mind that, whichever style you prefer, you may have to work with directors who like either or both camera styles. You need to learn how to describe both with images. We will talk more about that in a bit…

The moving camera. Along for the ride.

The best way to describe what moving the camera does for your shots is to say it “takes the audience along for the ride.” The viewer is more than just observing the action– they are an active participant. They follow the same action of the characters as they duck, crouch, jump, run, and drive through the melee of what’s happening around them.

No director is better known for this than Michael Bay. He uses every opportunity to heighten the anticipation and emotion of his characters by moving the camera or framing his characters in extreme angles.

Take this shot from Bad Boys, for example:

A shot like this creates an epic scale. The characters exist in a huge world and they are deciding in that moment to meet the challenge, most likely coming to the end of Act 2 in the story.

Bay would refer to this shot as dynamic. He wants to create as many dynamic shots in his films as he can, because that creates excitement and spectacle.

In terms of cinema language, he creates depth and scale. His characters are center-shot while being surrounded by all sorts of objects– some large, some small, but all in view from a long telephoto lens, spinning around in slow motion. And what doesn’t look cool in slow motion?

Bay repeats this shot again following an object or a character being dropped from high altitude down to the ground. The object is center-frame, spinning while the camera moves in the opposite direction, the ground filled with buildings, vehicles, and people rotating with the camera as it speeds closer and closer on the way down.

Bay also likes to be ahead of the action, with the characters coming toward the camera. He uses the same telephoto lens with multiple things moving in the background, all in slow motion.

While these techniques are fun and exciting to watch, they can be their own worst enemy. They can be easily overdone and used when there are moments in the story that require a more subtle approach. This is one of Bay’s biggest criticisms. He doesn’t know when to let up.

Eventually, the viewer becomes numb to action and, if that’s all you offer, disinterest soon follows.

Another thing to consider when using the moving camera is the degree of technical difficulty and expense. Cameras are among the most expensive pieces of equipment on a film set, and moving them around isn’t easy or cheap.

A huge crane shot or long steady-cam shot could take many hours to plan out.

In describing these kinds of moving complex shots in a storyboard image, you’ll need many panels to correctly get your ideas across. You’ll also need rock-solid perspective. Nothing hurts an idea more than poor presentation or crappy perspective.

Perspective is a technical skill that’s actually easy to learn with the right tools. If you have to tackle a dynamic action scene with moving cameras, be sure you have the right perspective knowledge at your disposal to create winning panels.

You will also want to keep in mind how these shots, as storyboards, will affect the production costs. Just because you can imagine it and draw it, doesn’t mean it’s the right choice for the production.

 

“Just because you can imagine it and draw it, doesn’t mean it’s the right choice for the production”

Always pitch these ideas to the director or producer as you create them, so you don’t end up doing more work than you have to and earn a grumpy director as a result. Keep your client happy by being sure to show them your work often.

The static camera. A call to the past.

From the earliest days of film, a static camera has been the foundation of cinematography. People had to find ways to make what was happening in front of the camera interesting enough to keep viewer’s attention. Techniques improved and visual stories became more compelling.

Having a camera be completely motionless without at least panning or a dolly is almost non-existent in cinema today, but there are some directors who take full advantage of the camera’s minimal movement. One such director is Wes Anderson.

Anderson’s films are unique and charming. They carry a great deal of humor and comedic spirit, though they’re more than just “comedies.”

The artistic scaffolding of an Anderson film is symmetry.

Almost like a calling card, Anderson will compose a scene where the camera is perfectly still and all action is happening in front of it. The set and/or background is a collection of objects perfectly symmetrical with one another. Even the characters copy this symmetry at times. It’s like looking at a painting or a well-composed photo.

The camera does move in an Anderson movie, but he uses a minimalist approach and, as a result, we remember mostly the strong static compositions.

A static camera allows you to compose things in the frame, placing objects and characters in specific ways to control the image. Nothing moves within the frame unless you want it to.

You can focus on intimate details of an object or a character.

Creating strong compositions like this is a must for a story artist. There is the concept of “visual balance,” which Anderson is a master of. You need to compose an image with a balance of big objects versus small objects, and create a pleasing arrangement of shapes.

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It’s not just putting an object in the middle of the frame. You can also compose a “frame within a frame” to create strong visual interest.

This is a difficult skill to master as a visual storyteller, and it makes Anderson a great filmmaker to study.

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The lack of camera movement itself forces a story to slow down and take a breath, and gives space for exposition.

No one exploits this to a higher degree than Anderson.

He composes his shots with meticulous detail and everything within his shot has some aesthetic significance. This is all accented by scoring many of these scenes with selections of his musical tastes.

Many of Anderson’s critics cite him as “overdoing it” and as being “pretentious.”

They ask if all those details actually mean anything, or if it’s just a result of the director’s self-indulgence.

That’s the thing with controlling a high amount of detail in your shot– when it works, people think you’re a genius, and when it doesn’t, it feels self-indulgent.

Take these examples of his work:

While Anderson does also uses a great deal of tracking shots (a camera on a dolly following a character through a scene), many of the most important moments in his films happen in static shots.

The takeaway here for the story artist is to learn to create strong compositions with balance and visual interest. Your skills need to be so tight that, at any given moment, you can create strong dynamic shots with depth or equally strong static compositions that will hold the viewer’s interest.

The idea is to be able to create both camera styles as storyboards and have the range so that you can jump on any project. Show directors and clients you can handle any visual challenge and you will constantly be in demand as an artist.

Remember that all of this takes constant practice and studying the work of others. Keep those digital pencils sharp and always be learning.

 

“Keep those digital pencils sharp and always be learning.”

Let us know what you think about camera styles in the comments below.

Story never ends!

Jason



  • Fantastic stuff! Great blog discussing the two extremes of film work and the pros and cons of each. makes me want to watch these movies again!

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