Interesting Steadicam shots little known in the history of cinema

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When filmmakers, film students, and movie buffs talk about famous and memorable steadicam shots, a narrow list of shots always comes up, such as the Copacabana shot in “Goodfellas,” the chase sequence in “Carlito’s Way,” or the flat title “Raging Bull” wrestling match. But now the Steadicam has been used on film for over 30 years and directors have gotten better at incorporating it as a tool to tell stories in a more subtle and artistic way. Here we take a look at 10 less talked about steadicam shots that are nonetheless highly interesting for the artistic choices behind them, their dynamic framing, or the way they make a difference in telling the story.

The Doors (1991)

This is an interesting shot, as the steadicam is used here in a more artistic way than usual. Here we follow Jim Morrison at the party organized by Andy Warhol. There are all kinds of people, slow music, drugs, colored lights, movie projections on the wall. Think of a typical Fellini shot but with the protagonist drugged. The camera also, through dutch angles and variable frame rates, appears to be the POV shot of a person experiencing disorientation after taking drugs and helps the audience feel the emotion of the scene very effectively.

Lost Highway (1997)

The opening shot of David Lynch’s “Lost Highway” has one of the most interesting steadicam shots in film history in terms of the use of steadicam as an artistic choice. It’s basically just a POV shot of a car on a highway at night. Not wanting to have a directly mounted camera or a rolling shot, which would have been too boring, and not wanting to have a handheld camera, which would have been too shaky, the director opted to use a still camera which gave a clear shift from left to right. . that has a creepy feel to it, a good anticipation of the almost surreal story to come.

Donnie Darko (2001)

The shot of the Hallway in Donnie Darko is a great example of how a still camera can make a simple scene visually interesting and memorable. Do you remember the shot of Copacabana in Goodfellas? It was supposed to be a “guy and girl walking into a bar,” but, thanks to the use of steadicam, it ended up being one of the most memorable shots in movie history. Well, this shot may not be in the same league, but it’s very effective in the way that it turns a simple shot of a “boy walking into the hallway at school” into a shot that’s both visually great and subtly presents various characters given actions that reveal things about them in a matter of seconds. Also keep in mind that this is a technically difficult shot to pull off due to the frame rate changes that speed up and slow down the action as the characters are introduced. The speed changes, along with the quick pans, make this shot not only artistically effective but also technically impressive.

A Beautiful Mind (2001)

This shot, by operator Kyle Rudolph, shows how the still camera can be effective when used in a dynamic shot that varies pacing and composition. Here we are trying to improve the feeling of paranoia that the protagonist feels. He has a compulsive/paranoid mind and here he is having a nervous breakdown in a public place. We start with an intense POV shot of a character yelling at the camera, then with a quick pan we see the character, who is freaking out. Then two shots, one solo again, and then a pan back to the first character. Another person comes to the rescue of the protagonist, trying to make him reason, but he does not want to listen and in a beautiful slow shot, with the camera in front of him, the protagonist leaves the scene walking slowly and letting all the people present in the scene see who witnessed the fault.

Amelia (2001)

Jean-Pierre Jeunet’s films are known for their dynamic shots and one of the ways he achieves this is through the use of steadicam. This particular shot is not continuous, but it is visually striking because of the way he uses low-mode steadicam shots along with crane and dolly shots. All combined, it gives a very original and unique flow to the shot. We start at a train station with a low mode Steadicam shot of Amelie and a man running after another man. Cut to a similar shot from outside and towards a crane for a beautiful wide shot of the chase. Cut to a low shot of the dolly and then to a low shot again of the man they’re chasing getting into his car and the man following him on a motorcycle. We then end with Amélie finding a bag and a large crane in the foreground. Technically impressive because of the synchronization required with the crew and talent and visually unique.

What Lies Beneath (2000)

Like the shot of “The Doors”, this one is more interesting for the artistic decision behind it and for the way it tells a story than for the skill of the operator. It’s a slow, steady shot in front of a character (Michelle Pfeiffer) as she walks out of the bathroom into the hallway, then into the living room, and back into the bathroom. To cut the story short, the character thinks her house by the lake in Vermont is haunted. But everyone thinks it’s all in her mind. Strange things start to happen and this is one of them. This particular shot is a subtle construction and reveal of the ghost’s presence. And making it a constant, continuous shot made life for the crew that much harder, as the bathroom where we started the shot basically got a complete makeover in about a minute. When it begins, the character leaves a candle next to the empty bathtub and leaves the bathroom with some objects in his hands. She leaves them and walks slowly into the living room. She there she notices that she mist comes out of the bathroom and re-enters through another door. Now the bathroom is foggy and there is water to the brim in the bathtub. The special effects create a reflection of the ghost in the cloudy mirror, and when Michelle yells “What do you want!”, the ghost writes “You know” on the mirror itself.

Did it have to be a continuous steadicam shot? No, but this artistic choice created a very subtle and suspenseful build up to the appearance of the ghost. We never take our eyes off the character and when he sees the foggy bathroom and the ghost, it’s definitely a step up from any previous ghost reveal in movie history.

A Very Long Engagement (2004)

This shot is very brief, but the use of steadicam significantly increases the intensity of the drama. We don’t need to know much about the film to appreciate the shot. All we need to know is that we are in the First World War, in the trenches, and a group of French soldiers are preparing for battle. As the captain yells at the soldiers to ready their bayonets, they all set the rifle blade as the camera pans down the trench. The genius of this shot is that with the use of steadicam, the director, in a 30-second shot, gives an impressive visual representation of the hell of the First World War, a war that many remember because of the use of trenches and the extensive use of the bayonet. , which was a rifle with a blade attached to it for use in close combat. Do you want a strong visual and dramatic World War I experience in less than 30 seconds? What shot this steadicam.

Vanilla Sky (2001)

Well, if it wasn’t for the execution, this steadicam shot had to be included just for the fact that we can see Times Square completely empty during the day. This probably meant that the shot had to be completed quickly and there was little room for error. Shot by legendary steadicam operator Larry McConkey, we begin with a shot of Tom Cruise arriving in Times Square in his modern Porsche. The place is empty on this side of the square. The camera slowly zooms in closer and closer to Tom Cruise and then circles around him to reveal the other side of the place, also completely empty. Tom Cruise leaves his car and runs down the street, faster and faster as a tow truck shot reveals the entire place.

Terminator 2: Judgment Day (1991)

Okay, this may be from a blockbuster movie, but it’s a Steadicam shot that doesn’t get talked about much. While technically very simple, as it’s just the Terminator’s point of view as he walks into a bar, its context makes using a still camera a perfect choice for the shot. The Terminator walks into a bar naked and scans objects and people that he finds on his way. The steadicam POV shots are infrared images with computer data as the machine analyzes its surroundings, and we follow the Terminator until he says one of the coolest lines in movie history: “I need your clothes, your boots, and your bike.”

In the Valley of Ella (2007)

If you could sum up this steadicam shot in two words, they would be “dynamic framing.” This shot is deceptively simple but very original in how it anticipates the action and how the operator frames the main character he is following based on what the action is at any given moment. Starting with a crane step as the character arrives in a car, she stops and a policewoman points a flashlight at her who is framed on the left with the character on the right. The camera then circles her as she walks toward the house. She walks around a metal post, outside, while the operator walks inside her giving her a subtly dynamic look. The camera then pans to an arrested man in the back of a police car, then back to the character passing a couple of men carrying a stretcher. Again, this gives her a dynamic look as the camera anticipates her action. The character walks past them, the camera stops, then the men pass the stretcher across the frame, and as they pass, the camera keeps going back to the character. The character enters the house and we cut to the interior shot. A short shot but with interesting framing options and a great dynamic feel.

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