Visual References

Perhaps because I learned still photography before ever picking up a video camera, I approach videography from a pretty formal standpoint. I don't like it when a movie is shot totally handheld, because it usually feels a little lazy to me. I hate unnecessary camera movement (I'm looking at you, Inglourious Basterds 360 shots). I love long takes, careful compositions, and character-driven shots. Here are a few examples of shots that inspire me.

Wide Shots

I love shots that emphasize a character's place in his/her environment. There Will Be Blood used these shots a lot- the barren, unforgiving landscape dominates the mood of the film.





My guess is that TWBB is going to come up a lot this semester, and with good reason. It's an amazing-looking movie, and I think its influence will be discussed a lot amongst filmmakers my age. I should also mention that I really love the ultra-wide aspect ratio. It opens up the space for characters to move and "breathe" and gives cinematographers a lot of room to play with.

There's a shot from Fargo I want to use, but I can't seem to find it anywhere. William H. Macy's character is walking through a snowy parking lot, surrounded by only the white snow and the tall black streetlights, photographed from a very high angle. It's stunning.

Character-driven shots

There's a special place in my heart for shots that slow down and focus on a single character for a moment. Sometimes, something extreme has happened or is about to happen; other times, the director is giving us a moment to try and get inside the character's head. Mad Men uses these shots all the time.




Here's another shot from Fargo. In related news, Roger Deakins is the man.




Here's the close-up taken to ridiculous new levels. In some ways, this sequence (from The Good, The Bad, and The Ugly) isn't even about character- it's about style for style's sake. That can be pretty lame, but it's awesome here. Sergio Leone mixes ultra-wide shots with extreme close-ups and lets the sequence run long. It lasts forever, but the bold move pays off. It's hilarious, fun, and- as the conclusion of a two-and-a-half-hour-long movie, so tense it's excruciating. Dig that Morricone score!



Tracking Shots

The movement of a good tracking shot breathes life into a film. As we move with the characters, we are brought deeper into their world. The final shot of The 400 Blows is a masterpiece, but it loses its power when taken out of context. (You should watch The 400 Blows, though.) Here's an infamous example from The Shining. Kubrick frames this shot from an extremely low angle, forcing the audience to see things from a child's perspective. The hotel looks impossibly huge from down here, and you feel totally helpless. Check it out:



There's another tracking shot I wanted to use from Do the Right Thing, but I can't find it on youtube.

I'm jazzed for this semester, and I'm ready to start shooting.

10 FAVORITE THINGS

Hello, class! It's time for us to get to know each other. So let's list some of our favorite things. I'll go first, okay?

These aren't necessarily my 10 favorite things ever; they're just the first 10 things that come to mind. In no particular order:

1. This year in music.

The amount of good music that's been released in the past 8 months is staggering. The Roots, The Black Keys, Broken Bells, Arcade Fire, Sleigh Bells, gorillaz, The National, Spoon, The New Pornographers... 2010 is on fire. If you don't think we're in a cultural golden age, then I don't know what to tell you.

2. avclub.com

A spin-off of the Onion (one of my other favorite things), this is probably my favorite website right now. I love the articles on forgotten b-movies, the sharp criticism of pop culture, and the deep love of films and music both good and bad. For better or worse, these people are my people.

3. Biking as a default mode of transportation

Most experts agree that biking is awesome. I just got my Peugeot about a month ago after borrowing my dad's old street bike, and I love it. It's not the easiest way to get around, but I don't buy gas very often and I'm in much better shape than I was when I got to Tuscaloosa.

4. Mad Men

Mad Men is what's up. As far as I know, no show on television can touch it as far as production values go, and the acting is always top-notch. I thought about being an advertising major, but decided I didn't want my job to be selling people things they don't need. (Sorry, APR majors.) I love this show.

5. American Graffiti

Most people know it as "that movie George Lucas made before Star Wars"- okay, that's a lie, most people don't really know it at all- but American Graffiti might just be the best movie about teenagers ever made. I'm a sucker for character studies, and this one follows a group of high-schoolers the day before graduation in 1962. With a rock and roll soundtrack that almost literally never stops, I find it pretty irresistible.

6. Chuck Klosterman

Klosterman writes essays explaining why football is the most liberal sport, why rock and roll conventions are anything but rock and roll, and how Kurt Cobain is like David Koresh. That probably all sounds like nonsense, but he's got a keen wit and sees things that most people would never notice. I've burned through two of his books this month.

7. My new house

I've lived in one apartment after another since leaving my parents' house in 2007. 3 of my best friends and I finally got a house this year, and I'm loving it. It's spacious, ridiculously cheap, and is often filled with friends squatting for the weekend. It's awesome.

8. Twitter

I used to think Twitter was for narcissists who thought the world revolved around them. I swore it off forever, but a friend convinced me to rethink my position. Now I love Twitter. Sheakespeare said that brevity is the soul of wit, and I couldn't agree more.

9. Being in classes again

I spent last semester working as a co-op for the Center for Public Television. It was awesome experience, and I enjoyed it, but I am jazzed to be back in classes again. Working real hours like a real grown-up is something I'm trying to delay, right? At least until the spring, when I'm working for them again.

10. Parliament-Funkadelic

Dear reader, I will not attempt to explain in this humble blog the spectacle and mind-blowing awesomeness of Parliament-Funkadelic. Put frankly, you either get it or you don't. So put a glide your stride, a dip in your hip, and come on down to the Mothership.

-Hamilton