During a film, one is shown many things through the camera. This can range from the development of the characters, to their emotions, to how they interact with other characters. You name it. The camera is quite possibly the most important thing in a film, that isn’t directly in the film. If the camera quality and the person behind the camera are bad, then the rest of the film is bad.
Think of watching a James Bond film on a grainy camera. It would completely take away from the overall quality of the film. Now, think about if a film such as The Blair Witch Project were shot on a crystal clear camera. That would completely ruin how the film was supposed to be a found footage film. However, what I want to talk about is not which camera should be used, but rather the inner parts of working a camera. I want to talk about camera angles.
When we view a film, the overall quality of the film is only as good as the angling of the camera. This is no surprising factor, however ,due to the recent decline in film quality over the recent couple of years. Apparently, some people working a camera just don’t get it. Let’s look at a little turd of a film called Battlefield Earth, as an example. The film is based off of the novel by L. Ron Hubbard. If that name sounds familiar to you, then that’s because he did a lot of pulp fiction back in the 30’s and 40’s, and he’s also the leader of Scientology. Off to a great start already. With the camera angling in Battlefield Earth, the whole film is tilted except for maybe four shots. What this does reminds me of a recent version of Macbeth I saw, when the actor who played Macbeth spat every other line, and it took the audience out of the play. Why the camera was tilted in such a way, I don’t know. Maybe the operator was drunk during filming. I really don’t know. The film is as baffling as Scientology itself.
Then, there are directors that think they’re being creative, when in reality, they’re just being stupid with the camera. Let’s look at the infamous M. Night Shyamalan and his film Unbreakable as a prime example. While the film is good for the most part, the way the camera is utilized is just odd, at times. The way the camera is used makes some shots feel like they are lasting much longer then they should. Not to mention, the camera pans to parts of the room that it shouldn’t. There are a few scenes where the camera will pan to a part of the room, and then cut to a different scene. In reality, the camera should hold the scene for a moment, and then cut to a new one.
Some directors have really creative skills when it comes to camera angles. Let’s look at how Stanley Kubrick uses a camera. When Kubrick uses a camera, he’s usually doing a long, dark, and foreboding shot, which creates a sense of fear in the audience. That’s not to say that he can’t do some comedy as well. One of his most famous films is Dr. Strangelove. One of the most famous shots in cinema is when the sergeant has to manually release the bomb and ends up riding the bomb like a bull until it hits its target. This shot could have easily been cut out, and the film would have still been a funny cold war comedy. However, since Kubrick added the angle of the sergeant riding the bomb, it added a better sense of comedy to the film than if the shot had been taken out. In doing so, the film was able to better reflect the Red Scare at the time. Additionally, it took the edge off of the audience who were fearful of total annihilation. This makes sense since the film is loosely based on Peter George’s novel Red Alert.
Then, there is the way that Stephen Spielberg uses the camera in some of his most iconic films. For example, the film E.T. has an angle of the kids flying off the ground in front of a blockade of police cars. Spielberg did this, not only to show off some special effects, but also to show the power of E.T. He showed how, if he needed to, E.T. could easily move the cars using the force/whatever power he may possess. Then, there’s another iconic Spielberg movie (based on another novel) called Jaws. He purposely showed the shark attack from the shark’s perspective to create a sense of fear in the audience, just by how much is unknown about the shark.
Perhaps if more directors would learn how to use a camera better, then there would be better visuals to entice the viewer in what is happening.
