Catherine Harkwicke Style

B

bentramer81

Well-known member
I'm a fan of the style she uses in "Lords of Dogstown" and "Thirteen", my question, does she shoot most of her footage with auto-focus on, since the camera is moving all the time, it seems like it would kind of have to be. Funny thing is you don't see the camera trying to get in focus a lot, is this shot with a special camera that has hella good sensor or something?
 
lol @ dcarstens. ACs, what would we do without them?

Correct me if I'm wrong, but she's the director - not the DP/Camera Op.

Also, it's a good thing Twilight already had a loyal fan base before the movie came out...
(what was the motivation behind some of those camera movements/shot selections/editing choices??)
 
Elliot Davis is her DP. he's okay. plenty of other DPs out there doing better work in the style you referenced.
 
Dingos8mybaby said:
lol @ dcarstens. ACs, what would we do without them?

Correct me if I'm wrong, but she's the director - not the DP/Camera Op.

Also, it's a good thing Twilight already had a loyal fan base before the movie came out...
(what was the motivation behind some of those camera movements/shot selections/editing choices??)
Click to expand...

Yes Catherine is the director but she chooses her DP's and the style they'll shoot in. She does go against the grain, and I thought the same thing myself, but there is something to be said about a director that doesn't put out the same cookie cutter movies just like all the other directors. She is original even if it feels odd at times. She does miss badly at times: the scene where Bella is in the woods and tells Edward he's a vampire is just all over the place in a bad way. However, the thing in Twilight that hurts it so bad is the poor special effects, but then again I don't think the movie is about that. Her strength is being able to achieve an emo feel imo.
 
bentramer81 said:
Yes Catherine is the director but she chooses her DP's and the style they'll shoot in. She does go against the grain, and I thought the same thing myself, but there is something to be said about a director that doesn't put out the same cookie cutter movies just like all the other directors. She is original even if it feels odd at times. She does miss badly at times: the scene where Bella is in the woods and tells Edward he's a vampire is just all over the place in a bad way. However, the thing in Twilight that hurts it so bad is the poor special effects, but then again I don't think the movie is about that. Her strength is being able to achieve an emo feel imo.
Click to expand...

so far she's chosen one DP, the same DP, for all her films.
 
Zak Forsman said:
so far she's chosen one DP, the same DP, for all her films.
Click to expand...

My response was referring to the comment that suggested the way the film was shot was not influenced by the director, since she doesn't actually roll footage. She chooses the D.P's thus she is directly responsible.

I use the term D.P. too loosely, (I refer to the actual people behind the camera which isn't technically correct, since I only shoot small indie projects, it's the term I use) back to my point the "D.P." duties on Lords of Dogs Town for example was done by several (in my view) DP's even if only one was credited as the D.P. (see the making of the film on the dvd, there were at-least three different camera operators shooting large amounts of footage at varying times in production.
 
Damn i need to find a talented 1st auto focus.... cough* i mean AC.....

I got one kid that has promise as a focus puller, but he loses things..... sigh*..... no good....
 
bentramer81 said:
My response was referring to the comment that suggested the way the film was shot was not influenced by the director, since she doesn't actually roll footage. She chooses the D.P's thus she is directly responsible.

I use the term D.P. too loosely, (I refer to the actual people behind the camera which isn't technically correct, since I only shoot small indie projects, it's the term I use) back to my point the "D.P." duties on Lords of Dogs Town for example was done by several (in my view) DP's even if only one was credited as the D.P. (see the making of the film on the dvd, there were at-least three different camera operators shooting large amounts of footage at varying times in production.
Click to expand...

Operators do their job to the satisfaction of the Director of Photography. Part of the job is to emulate the style the DP sets forth on the project. It takes time, DP's cultivate a relationship with their operators so they get an instinctual sense of the DP's prefered framing. My framing often is very unbalanced, pushing image elemensts FAR to one side... though on some projects is very symetrical and deadpan... and on others its violent and shaky. It depends on the project, and the operators have to be able to deliver what i want.
 
Catherine Hardwicke is a diva of style. Completely understated and unconventional style - portentous it ain't.

Look at the director's interviews on Lords of Dog Town DVD. First interview looks kind of casual off the cuff type thing, throwaway almost. Then you realize that it's Catherine Hardwicke directing and Elliot Davis with the camera. Second clip same as the first. By the fifth or six clip you can see a set of rules emerge. Unconventional rules. But that doesn't matter - they are well thought-out and applied consistently.

Follow rules and you get boring. Ignore rules and you get mess. Develop your own rules and you get style.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top