The Blair Witch Project, Cloverfield, Enter the Void. All of these movies have one thing in common, the are all shot from a first person, of point of view, perspective. It's not used excessively in very many movies and it isn't usually the main selling point, but some have still attempted it, and sometimes with good results. Hardcore is looking to join the relatively short list as a movie completely shown in first person. It is a Russian action movie, which from the looks of the trailers, just seems to be the kind of movie where you tune out for some mindless fun. It's interesting to note that it started out as an IndieGoGo project that raised it's goal of $250,000 in one month. Sporting a minuscule cast with Sharlto Copley (District 9 and Chappie), the movie seems to aim for one goal, and one goal only: to have the most off the wall action that Russia has ever devised.
It will be interesting to see exactly how the movie comes out and whether or not the perspective adds to or detracts from the experience. A lot of times the issue with a first person perspective is that humans can naturally be shaky in their movements, and when sitting in a dark room staring at a bright screen for sometime, it could get very disorienting and even nauseating. Regardless, it should be an intersting watch, if only to see what a first person action movie would look like. Plus, every once in awhile you need something that you can just tune out for.
Because humour is so very hard to duplicate, I've found myself rewatching The Office at least 40 times. I wish I was exaggerating but, then again, with my life crumbling around me, what else is there to do than laugh at a group of people with exceedingly horribly yet funny lives. In case you don't know what this classic television show is, it's a sitcom/mockumentary according to its ever-changing wikipedia page but it follows the story of a small branch of a paper company, specifically where the sales are done. Which sounds boring as hell, but somehow it's funny? We just don't know.
Something about this show that I adore, besides it's 20 minute style which makes you feel like you are doing a shot of comedy, is its ability for comedic timing with the use of the camera as another member of the office. You honestly feel like you are in the scene with the rest of the employees and it creates a very visceral and specific kind of comedy that people have tried to recreate before and failed. Some manage to actually use it successfully and I fully recommend those shows as well. See Parks and Rec.
While the shows both sit in an office and the characters are fleshed out very realistically (yet not??), the shows tend to gather a 'love it or hate it' crowd. I assume it's because it can remind people of their own office life and people either take that as positive or negative.
Comedic timing is something that was so perfectly created in the original UK version and, personally, I think it was well recreated in the American version. After watching both more times than I wish to reveal, I've found that I almost thinking of them as two different animals even though the first few episodes have the exact same scripts, the same beats, and the same camera work. We just /don't/ know. As the series/seasons go on, the actors obviously become more in tune with how they should react with the cameras and each other and it, again in my opinion, gets better as it goes on. While that might not be true for the writing, I very much appreciate the use of the cameras for comedic effect. It's pretty rad.
"It must always be remembered that the primary aim of pictures is to provide entertainment. To entertain people, one must first capture their interest." - Alfred Hitchcock
The name, Alfred Hitchcock, has sort of become a cliche, which is ironic because his filmmaking broke so many cliches by changing visual storytelling, specifically for psychological thrillers. Hitchcock, born in 1899, progressed filmmaking and influenced future films.
One piece of advice he said was, "Make your audience suffer, but give them pleasure. The same pleasure they have when they wake up from a nightmare." For example, Rear Window shows the danger early but uses the entirety of the film to build suspense. It makes the audience uncomfortable as they imagine the characters getting caught or witnessing a murder. It's not until the end when Hitchcock manages a somewhat sweet ending by wrapping up all the characters. Miss Lonelyheart finds a man, the dancer's love comes home, and the couple who's dog died has a new one. Lisa, played by Grace Kelly, reads a travel magazine next to Jeff, played by Jimmy Stewart, who now has two broken legs instead of one. The audience goes through a tremendous amount of suffering and suspense in order to enjoy this somewhat happy ending.
Hitchcock implemented and created many different techniques to portray emotion and make the audience feel something. His stylistic close ups on facial expressions helps convey the characters' strong emotions. Hitchcock is also famous for his point of view shots he used to create suspense. Second-unit cameraman, Irmin Roberts, created the dolly zoom, or "Vertigo Effect," which is used in Vertigo. Watch the scene below:
Once sound was used in films, dialogue started being used really heavily. But Alfred Hitchcock defined cinema as a visual medium. He believed dialogue should only be used when the visuals can't communicate an idea. He says, "sometimes you find that a film is looked at solely for its content without any regard to the style or manner in which the story is told." He wanted to use the camera every chance he gets to reveal the story with visuals and objects.
In the past, cinema used to be a very small form of entertainment. It used to be that only people who have experience and access to video cameras, could be cinematographers. In addition, the only way to share those videos would be through the screens at movie theaters or on the televisions at home. As of now, that preconception of cinema is a thing of the past. Anyone and everyone can become a cinematographer thanks to the availability of high definition cameras followed by using the internet to share their videos with anyone, at anytime, anywhere in the world.
Take the GoPro camera for example. GoPro is an american corporation that manufactures high definition cameras that are durable enough to be used for extreme action cinematography. This camera alone has captured some of the most breathtaking videos anyone has ever seen.
Because the GoPro camera is so small, users can strap the camera onto themselves and put the viewer of video in their shoes. For example, this video puts you in the driver's seat of this BMX rider. When watching this you feel like you're riding this bike down this treacherous hill. This is called a Point Of View shot or (POV). GoPro was made for this kind of shot.
Breathtaking, huh?
Without the technology of the small GoPro camera, this stunt would be next to impossible to do with a larger camera (Think of trying to do this with an FS100 camera). Without the BMX rider being the videographer, we wouldn't have been able to get this thrilling footage. And without the help of Youtube, we as viewers would have never been able to experience something quite like this unless we did the riding ourselves. Do I have any takers to do this stunt to experience the real thing?............Didn't think so.
My main point of this post is if it weren't for the innovations in camera technology, our cinematic experiences would be very limited. If it weren't for the innovations in cinematography, we'd still be getting our cinematic experiences through the movie theaters or the televisions in our homes.Where else would you be able to experience riding that bike in the previous video if it weren't for the BMX rider who strapped a GoPro to his helmet to give us this great POV footage? I believe cinematography is changing from something that was once so small into something so universal.
