About 20 years ago, Hollywood became enamored with the idea that the camera used in a movie or TV show no longer had to be held steady. They believed it created a more realistic feel to the film, adding tension as a result.
It started out with one or two TV cop shows and gradually spread out to sitcoms like Arrested Development and then eventually to the big screen. My wife and I hated it. Since that time, thankfully, the effect has become less and less used, but every once in awhile we'll watch an old movie and re-discover just how bad that effect was.
Case in point: The Bourne Supremacy. Yesterday, we re-watched it for the first time in about 10 years. The camera never stopped shaking, panning and zooming. And to make it worse, nearly everything was filmed as a close-up. Even worse? Nearly every sequence was a chase or a fight scene.
I don't want to get anyone seasick, but if you want to see Shaky the Cameraman in all his glory, that is the one movie you simply must see. I just caution you to take breaks every 20 minutes or so. It's like a never ending home movie before cameras had image stabilizers.
The plot? I don't know, I was too dizzy to pay attention to the story.
Shaky made a lot of money for a while. Never really understood the "realism" in it. It's not like my head constantly bobs back and forth and side to side when I stand next to two other people and listen to them while they talk. Well, maybe that's how Shaky sees things...
ReplyDeleteThe technique is still used, but it's refined and used at the right time. Marvel movies have developed a whole new way to show action, a kind of high definition strobe effect, and I'm hoping that technique puts shaky into virtual retirement.
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