Breaking the 4th wall and striking the camera -- when?

Randall_Oelerich

Randall_Oelerich

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I was watching The Saint last night on retro tv, the series from the 60s with Roger Moore. At the start of the show there is a hook, then he strikes the camera, breaks the 4th wall as he talks to the viewer. We also see this a lot in Malcolm in the Middle.

When is this appropriate or even advantageous to write into a script scenes with the protag striking the camera and speaking directing to the viewer?
 
I don't know, I kinda remember a minor moment in The Saint film (it was awful) where the protag broke the 4th wall and winked at the camera or something. It just served to make a bad movie inexplicably worse. A similar thing happens in Elektra, I believe.

But then there's Funny Games, a film that seems to give up following the protagonists half-way through the film to follow the antagonists. The antagonists break the 4th wall on one or two occasions and even break movie world rules at times like gods. I thought those acts heightened everything that film was about and introduced a few new themes of their own.
 
And some movies like Ferris Bueller's Day Off constantly break it. If it's a part of the story, I think it works well. The Deadpool comics were known for it as well. Most of the time I don't like it, though. Usually because it's one random spot inthe movie that takes us away from everything.

Kubrick is one of the few that's pulled it off (IMO) constantly in a lot of movies without it feeling weird.
 
if your doing it to explain something in the plot to the audience, don't.
if your letting the audience in on the joke, it's pretty weak. it's weaker than a voice over.
 
Randall_Oelerich said:
I was watching The Saint last night on retro tv, the series from the 60s with Roger Moore. At the start of the show there is a hook, then he strikes the camera, breaks the 4th wall as he talks to the viewer. We also see this a lot in Malcolm in the Middle.

When is this appropriate or even advantageous to write into a script scenes with the protag striking the camera and speaking directing to the viewer?
Click to expand...

In a couple of short films I've done at Burning Man several years ago, I quite accidentally got hit by the performer in front of me...

As it was, it 'felt' right to leave it in... sort of on the order of these films that are pseudo/mocku-mentories.

To me, an actor talking to, acknowledging in some way, the existence of the audience, that is 'breaking the fourth wall. A camera being jolted out of place by some action, say for a car crash, or in my case, an unscriptted (like there was any script...) knocking of the camera man or camera... may add to the 'realism' of the moment.

Definitely for something like "District 9"(2009), being a 'pseudo-documentary' style... that would work guaranteed... in fact, such a film with no 'live camera' would probably not work...
 
I experimented a lot with this technique, entire short films, every shot. I guess it fascinated me to have the actors deliberately spike the lens.
When it is used that much it becomes a POV version of the over-the-shoulder.
 
J Davis said:
I experimented a lot with this technique, entire short films, every shot. I guess it fascinated me to have the actors deliberately spike the lens.
When it is used that much it becomes a POV version of the over-the-shoulder.
Click to expand...

Did you come away with a shiner that you could brag about for weeks???

Or did you mount the camera on tripod and stand at a safe distance...
 
Just to clarify, in case I confused anybody, by 'striking the camera' I meant the actor looking straight into the camera lens (not physically hitting the camera). 'Strike the camera' being an acting/directing term.
 
It's similar to voiceover in that you're directly talking to the audience. And just like voiceover, it can ruin or enhance a film. (Or TV - I'm seeing it used a lot more these days on TV, and used well, on things like 'Modern Family'.)

In general, I'd say that if you are going to use it a lot, than introduce the concept early to the audience to get them used to it. If you're only going to use it once or twice, then it will unavoidably be jarring to the audience, so make sure it jars them in the right way.
 
strike also has its meaning on set. Its called out before lights are turned on, usually to protect the actors eyes
 
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