MovieChat Forums > Chronicle (2012) Discussion > Not bad, but could have been better if i...

Not bad, but could have been better if it wasn't found footage

posted 11 years ago by alphantrion
24 replies | jump to latest

I don't know maybe its just me but I thought this movie would have been tons better if it wasn't found footage. We never really understand throughout the movie why Dane DeHaan's character constantly films everything, I mean did he want some hard evidence to convict his dad of alcoholism or was it some sort of an interactive journal kind of thing. I don't like the vagueness of this aspect. Perhaps its just I am old school and still find it hard getting used to the "found footage" genre.

"I'll be back"

[–] nocakeforyou 11 years ago

While it definitely fell apart towards the end through inconsistency of how they were being filmed, I think it added another layer to the story and included the characters in the storytelling itself in a way that made certain scenes more intense.

[–] MyDarkStar 11 years ago

I agree it would have been better as a regular filmed movie. By the end of the movie it practically is anyway. Yes, there were some scenes which were probably better as found footage, but I think there were much more scenes which could have been improved as regularly filmed scenes.

[–] GuyOnTheLeft 10 years ago

I thought they actually did abandon the found footage conceit at some point? Or am I remembering wrong?

--------
Daily single-tweet movie reviews: https://twitter.com/SlackerInc

[–] transmentalist 10 years ago

I thought they actually did abandon the found footage conceit at some point? Or am I remembering wrong?

They didn't, but it's easy to mis-remember because they DO abandon the conceit for practical purposes when they start rapidly cutting among various camera angles

The found footage gimmick is technically preserved, because every camera angle we see as an audience is an actual camera in the movie (lots of them camera phones that Andrew levitates around himself).

So, strictly speaking, they remain true to the conceit ... but not really

[–] GuyOnTheLeft 10 years ago

I get that he can levitate cameras so you get "crane shots" and such that wouldn't normally be in a "found footage" film. But I could have sworn that at the rave they had scenes that were done like a conventional movie.

--------
My top 250: http://www.flickchart.com/Charts.aspx?user=SlackerInc&perpage=250

[–] coldbloodedavenger 10 years ago

If you watch again you'll notice that there's actually a camera in every shot. They actually thought it through pretty well.

[–] transmentalist 10 years ago

If you watch again you'll notice that there's actually a camera in every shot. They actually thought it through pretty well.

They thought it through EXTREMELY well, in my opinion, but that's exactly the problem.

They worked HOW to accomplish a found-footage movie without limiting their camera angles, but wound up producing (what looks to me like) a conventional movie on cheap film stock.

In other words, they spent so much time working on how they COULD make it work but not enough time deciding whether they SHOULD make it work.

Still enjoyed the movie though.

[–] Heigen1 10 years ago

Yeah, almost every found footage film would be better if they were normal films or just be part found footage.

[–] transmentalist 10 years ago

Yeah, almost every found footage film would be better if they were normal films or just be part found footage.

Yup, I tried hard to think of an exception or counter-argument, but can't really.

We know, for example, that "Blair Witch" was driven in large part by an attempt to make as cheap a movie as possible. Its sequel, weak as it was, was better able to use "found footage" with conventional filming as a framing device.

"Cloverfield," though, I have mixed feelings about. There, the found footage device told us something about the characters themselves, their motivations and concerns. The "taped over" portions worked as flashbacks that remained true to the gimmick.

I suppose the same could be said of "Blair Witch." The characters were filmmakers, after all.

But now that you point it out, "Chronicle" started out justified (Andrew wants his story told) but loses track of that justification completely in the final act.

[–] vickey1981 10 years ago

Agree!Andrew and the video girls aspect though their cameras,this concept is interesting but sametimes camera works made me bother and wished Andrew had more screen time.Action scenes would be way better if they filmed real movie cameras.It would have been bigger scale movie and audience would like it.

[–] aceventura2013 10 years ago

I disagree. I think the filming was awesome. And it brought som realness to the super aspect of the movie wich is different from all the other superhero movies. This one and Unbreakable is very good superhero movies.

[–] monstermayhem32 10 years ago

Personally found the documentary style a bit distracting,

[–] 10 years ago

[deleted]

[–] 10 years ago

[deleted]

[–] DamianGein 10 years ago

I disagree, I think the found footage format added something extra to the movie.

Esta es mi firma

[–] americanadian25 10 years ago

Yeah I mostly agree. I kept thinking through most of the movie that "This is pretty cool, but it might be better if it was filmed like a standard movie." Oh well, still an entertaining flick.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0QvZrY71UCc

[–] moviemasochism 10 years ago

The found footage is one of the devices that makes this movie not generic. The title of the movie is even a reference to the found footage. But apart from those things, using this technique has been an effective way (in my opinion) to integrate a level of ignorance into a film. The conventional way of filming makes the story more 3rd person from the perspective of the storyteller. So although the storyteller doesn't reveal every detail, you still assume he or she knows every detail about the world presented.

With found footage, we only see what the person holding the camera in-story sees. So whatever rock or meteor they discovered that gave them their powers is as much a mystery to us as it is to the characters. Basically, it's a way to move through the movie with the main characters. In Chronicle, it changes the focus from the three boys having powers to how Andrew deals with the world.

[–] Mr_Recchia 10 years ago

There's something you're not understanding, is that the found footage nature is a fundamental game changing aspect of the film. It's not a choice way to coat the film and make it's surface veneer appear different. You can't say it be alright if you took away the found footage aspect and changed nothing, because the entire script would have to be re-worked into something different. And it'd be for the worse. A generic comic book style story that might as well have been a remake of some specific comic book property. The heft of the film's quality is seeing comic book style motifs and scenes through a real world lens and the novelty of the sub-genre crossover. Saying taking away that element would improve the quality is a wholly inaccurate statement.

Officially Canadian for 26 years. Never heard "aboot."

[–] 10 years ago

[deleted]

[–] janne-j-puurunen 9 years ago

This.