Camera Movement

[Tyler F]

Hey Roger,

I read that you used the aerocrane + powerpod a ton in your work and wonder what your thought process came to how you might design camera movement in your scenes.

I love the movement done in True Grit when establishing a scene such as the large town or during some of the sequences when characters are on horses.

Is this instinctual and are you discussing this with a director on the day or are have you decided this in pre-production? But more importantly what the deciding factor in movement vs. the camera being still?

Topic

[Roger Deakins]

On a Coen Brother’s film most of those basic decisions are made during pre production. I think the ability to move the camera, as we do with the combination of a remote head and a jib arm, influences what we might choose to do. On the other hand, No Country for Old Men, was shot with less camera movement than many of their films. The style of the camera is guided by the story and the way the director wishes to interpret it. True Grit was more of a ‘fairy tale’ than No Country, which was set in a more harsh reality.

[Author]

Replies