Making a movie is not only about about writing a script, casting the crew, and shooting it, it is no easy feat as it takes in a lot of effort and commitment of not only one person but many in shooting even a small sequence. And thus, directors, go places to give justice to work in their hand and give it as much authenticity and uniqueness they can give. This authenticity can come in different ways, be it the basic thing, a unique script or a more subtle one like the way the movie is shot, some movies are just more than their story or actors in which the directors opted unique ways to give their work of art the justice it deserved and this list (non exhaustive obviously) talks about some of them.
A “Trip” to Disney Land- ESCAPE FROM TOMORROW (2013)
Although not subjected to that much appreciation, this movie about a a family going to Disney land and a man from the family experiencing all the weird things he could is unique in it’s own way. As cameras for shooting a movie were not allowed inside Disney Land, director Randy Moore took a different and unconventional approach and shot the whole film with normal tourist cameras while roaming around the place. The crew acted like tourists and shot the sequences according to a strict time table which the actors rehearsed in their hotel rooms. The director went with the black and white tone of the film to compensate for the bad lighting while shooting. A lot of things were added post production which was kept completely a secret and the movie didn’t get much appreciation for it’s negative and dark portrayal of The Disney Land.
“The School Project”- TANGERINE (2015)
Speaking about The Disney Land, the man behind The Florida Project went full “Film School” in his previous project “Tangerine” as the whole movie was shot using only three iPhone 5s. Saving the discussion on why Apple has the video camera in the market for some other time I would like to highlight that all Sean Baker (also the cinematographer for the movie) majorly used for this movie were three things, First, The iPhones of course, Second, a professional video shooting app, and Third, a steadicam for obvious purposes. According to him, he went for this approach due to lack of budget but it surely hit home run as the movie went on winning many accolations from film Festivals. On top all this the unconventioanal approach during editing and going crazy on the saturation and giving the whole movie and orange tint(hence the name) just made it all better.
A “visual” journey through a man’s life- STEVE JOBS(2015)
There have been many attempts to portray Steve Jobs’s life on the screen (counting out the 2013 movie Jobs) and Steve Jobs is one which stands out in a different way. Although the movie’s brilliant screenplay takes us on a trip into the genius’s mind and lets us explore the emotional “slots” in it but what it does is make us feel the changes Steve Jobs went through. Danny Boyle, the Director, in order to show the man’s journey used different physical media to shoot the different times in his life. For example, the scenes from 1984 are shot in 16mm which gives the scene a grainy effect similar to the movies at that time. Similarly the 1988 scenes are shot in 35mm giving it a crispier and clearer look hence the portrayal of advancement both in technology and the man synonymous with it. At last, the scenes from the launch of the second mac were shot digitally for the same purpose. All this effort not only gives the movie a subtle touch but also appeals to “Hipsters” like me who just pretend to “get into the technicalities of everything”.
“Eerie story about a backward town”- GHOST TOWN ANTHOLOGY (2019)
Despite being exposed to all the better and much easier ways to shoot a film, Director Denis Côté went with a rather different way. In order to portray a town with a limited and decreasing population which is considered a “Ghost Town” by the government, Denis decided to shoot the whole movie in 16mm to give it the sense of being alien from the outer world and being backward and eerie. The grainy texture and the washed out colours in this horror flick give the viewers a subtle sense of anxiety during it’s runtime.
While there are many directors (Tarantino still relies on film for shooting his films)who still use the old ways to shoot a movie and don’t rely much on the modern techniques the industry is more inclined towards them which makes it easier for the filmmakers to shoot the movie and the introduction of CGI has made the other subtle techniques ( The ageing in the movie Boyhood) seem a little too far fetched. No doubt all of this has made movie making much better and easier but it has taken away the sense of uniqueness which filmmakers used to have for different ways in which they made movies. But now and then we get to see a homage to such media through filmmakers (Use of 35 mm to shoot The Lighthouse) who still have a special place for old ways in their hearts and we hope we get to see such works in the future as well.
Cine Files 