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-   -   Shaky cam movie thread (https://forum.dvdtalk.com/movie-talk/537292-shaky-cam-movie-thread.html)

Snowmaker 08-10-08 09:08 PM

Didn't that foot chase in Casino Royale use some?

toddly6666 08-11-08 08:48 AM

Sometimes the Shaky Cam is appropriate while other times, it destroys the enjoyment of the film:

The Blair Witch Project - good for this type of film
The Bourne Supremecy - absolutely ruined the film and totally headache-inducing
The Bourne Ultimatum - absolutely ruined the film and totally headache-inducing
Children of Men - good for this type of film
Cloverfield - good for this type of film
The Counterfeiters - I watched this yesterday and I didn't notice any shaky cam.
Deja Vu - it's a Tony Scott film, it's expected for the camera to be wild.
Domino - it's a Tony Scott film, it's expected for the camera to be wild.
The Kingdom - good for this type of film
Man on Fire - it's a Tony Scott film, it's expected for the camera to be wild.
United 93 - good for this type of film.

I would also like to add that choppy slo-motion is right up there with Shaky Cam as being another form of annoying, headache-inducing filming. (smooth slo-mo is awesome, but choppy slo-mo is so amateurish and bad):
I know that Wong Kar Wai films use the choppy slo-mo a lot.

Overpar 08-11-08 01:07 PM


Originally Posted by toddly6666
The Counterfeiters - I watched this yesterday and I didn't notice any shaky cam.

You're kidding, right? The whole film was shot handheld. It wasn't Bourne Ultimatum, but it was shaky, handheld.

toddly6666 08-11-08 01:20 PM

Overpar, well I guess it was done in an artistic way, instead of an annoying way, cuz I didn't notice it...

FiveO 08-11-08 04:46 PM

The last 15 minutes of GI Jane....the beach scenes. Although that was more of a quick zoom in and zoom out....it appeared very shaky...and annoying.

Overpar 08-18-08 02:23 PM

Added The Signal.

Draven 08-18-08 02:54 PM

God, you are missing out on some outstanding movies.

In The Bourne Ultimatum, a stuntman actually jumped with a camera following another stuntman...one of the coolest shots I've ever seen, and I'm a former photojournalist/videographer who never goes anywhere without my tripod.

I think this stuff works fine in a lot of movies.

hugo1000faces 08-18-08 04:44 PM

As I recall, NYPD Blue was a shaky cam pioneer on television. I remember it being specifically mentioned on shows like Entertainment Tonight. The shake seemed incredibly distracting to me when I first saw it. It felt strange to have the camera jerking around during, say, a calm discussion around a desk. It was supposed to generate tension but it looked more like something terrible was happening to the camera man.

Now I'm conditioned to only notice extreme shake. I agree that it can get unpleasant, however I think it can be a good thing when used properly.

Overpar 08-18-08 07:37 PM


Originally Posted by Draven (Post 8882584)
God, you are missing out on some outstanding movies.

In The Bourne Ultimatum, a stuntman actually jumped with a camera following another stuntman...one of the coolest shots I've ever seen, and I'm a former photojournalist/videographer who never goes anywhere without my tripod.

I think this stuff works fine in a lot of movies.

I saw the Bourne Ultimatum and it was great except for the shaky cam. I'm sure I'm missing out on some great stories, but not great movies. We each have our own opinions and perceptions. Thanks for the contribution.

Troy Stiffler 08-18-08 09:34 PM


Originally Posted by Tarantino (Post 8865880)
The only movie that I've seen where the camera work actually bothers me is Domino. Horrible, horrible camera work in that movie.

= J

My friend described it best when he called Man on Fire something like "cinematic crack". I've never smoked cracked. But I bet it's something like Domino's camerawork.

The thing with Domino and Man on Fire... In the end, I think they both worked.

orderandlaw 08-19-08 01:27 PM

Any film Paul Greengrass directs.

wm lopez 08-19-08 05:13 PM

I'm sure once 2010 comes that shaky cam and that tint,green,teal cinematography will be gone from movies.

Overpar 08-20-08 01:54 PM


Originally Posted by wm lopez (Post 8885091)
I'm sure once 2010 comes that shaky cam and that tint,green,teal cinematography will be gone from movies.

I hope so!

Added -

The Line (2007)
Poor Boy's Game

wm lopez 08-21-08 02:25 AM


Originally Posted by hugo1000faces (Post 8882807)
As I recall, NYPD Blue was a shaky cam pioneer on television. I remember it being specifically mentioned on shows like Entertainment Tonight. The shake seemed incredibly distracting to me when I first saw it. It felt strange to have the camera jerking around during, say, a calm discussion around a desk. It was supposed to generate tension but it looked more like something terrible was happening to the camera man.

Now I'm conditioned to only notice extreme shake. I agree that it can get unpleasant, however I think it can be a good thing when used properly.

After 2010 NYPD BLUE will be dated just like MIAMI VICE is with it's style.

runnersdialzero 08-21-08 04:28 PM

I usually don't mind the shaky cam or notice it for that matter.

But the one movie where it really bothered me was "Ocean's Twelve".

It was almost like Soderbergh was using it just because. It didn't add to the movie at all.

One of the few times I noticed it and was like, "Dude, what are you doing?"

Overpar 10-25-08 08:26 AM

Added Felon.

Overpar 11-16-08 05:51 PM

Added Bloodrayne 2.

Dr Mabuse 11-16-08 05:59 PM


Originally Posted by troystiffler (Post 8883345)
My friend described it best when he called Man on Fire something like "cinematic crack". I've never smoked cracked. But I bet it's something like Domino's camerawork.

The thing with Domino and Man on Fire... In the end, I think they both worked.

They both work very well.

Fantastic film making both of them.

Tony Scott, in each of those cases, was moving films forward in a meaningful way, not just change for the sake of change as can happen in artistic/creative enterprises.

Most people resist new things. It's always been that way.

Brack 11-16-08 06:20 PM

QoS is more of a quick-cut movie than a shaky cam movie, but maybe I'm so used to it now that I've become desensitized. Lucky me.

eiker_ir 11-16-08 07:40 PM

Ocean's Twelve

Yeti4623 12-05-08 03:34 PM

I know there are a lot fake trailers on youtube. Does anyone know of any fake trailers that spoof the shaky cam style?

Yeti4623 12-28-08 09:50 PM

An example of this done right, is The Mist. I barely even noticed, a lot of the movie is handheld. It's done in a way, where the camera man doesn't seem drunk.

RocShemp 12-29-08 12:57 AM

Though neither bothered me one bit (in fact I feel it adds to the experience in these two particular cases) the series Firefly and the motion picture followup Serenity both employ plenty of shaky cam.

RichC2 12-29-08 01:17 AM

Slumdog Millionaire has a mix of shakey cam and Tony Scott-style visual editing (which is not something I usually associate with Danny Boyle).

DJLinus 08-22-09 10:00 AM

Re: Shaky cam movie thread
 
Add District 9 to the list. Before I saw it, I read reviews and blurbs saying it was shot "documentary style" which is usually code for "epileptic cameraman off of his meds" and I was expecting the worst. But it turns out that the film actually uses a documentary conceit and, IMO, the camera was excessively shaky in only a handful of scenes.


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