MovieChat Forums > 24: Legacy (2017) Discussion > Excessive non-POV shaky cam, did it ruin...

Excessive non-POV shaky cam, did it ruin last night's ep for you?

posted 8 years ago by DMB_Lover
6 replies | jump to latest

I'm not talking about when someone is running around and the camera gets a little frenetic even though they still WAY overdo this, but scenes where there isn't much action going on. Here's a few in the opening 25 mins I remember before I stopped watching.

1) Miranda Otto / Rebecca Ingram - talking on the phone to Carter, camera is moving back and forth like a 5 year old is holding it. Why? Whose point of view are you showing? There's no-one where that camera is. It's not a documentary. Why is the camera still wobbling around?

2) The other surviving member when he first calls Carter, the camera following him along the street just before he dumps the phone in the garbage, shaking left and right. Is someone currently following him directly out in the middle of the road? Of course not, is this a documentary? Nope. So why isn't this a dolly shot?

I watched the premiere of 24 Day One a long time ago on a 27" Samsung CRT, but these days so many of us have 55" and larger HDTVs and the non-POV shaky cam is so much more apparent. It doesn't add suspense, it isn't arty, it's just stupid. If it were only used in scenes where there is action like running, car chase, etc., it would be less intrusive but when it occurs in every single second it becomes so invasive and ubiquitous that what could possibly be a good show won't even be given a chance.

Homeland is getting almost as bad too. Not sure who thinks this is a good idea, whether it's Cassar or the producers or Fox...but I'm very grateful it hasn't caught on in other shows. I'd hate to see Vikings, Game of Thrones, Walking Dead, Shameless, Orange/New Black, etc., be filmed like this and if 24's early amazing five days were shot like this then I won't be rewatching them should Fox eventually reissue them on Blu-ray.

Very glad older shows like Sopranos and X-Files, Breaking Bad, etc., with good repeat value don't suffer from this ADHD approach to filming.

EDIT - and just out of curiosity, if you agree or disagree please post what size screen you're watching on. I'm currently viewing on a Panasonic 60" TC-P60VT60 plasma.

[–] sschwind92868 8 years ago

wtf u on about. mayabe cut out whatever crap streaming service you used. it was fine.

[–] DMB_Lover 8 years ago

It's clear from your response that you have no idea what shaky cam is.

Whether you watch via streaming, Blu-ray, DVD, Laserdisc, it isn't going to miraculously change what the camera captured any more than watching Sopranos on Blu-ray is going to suddenly have a different actor playing Tony Soprano than it did when you watched it on DVD.

Grab your monitor or phone or whatever you're reading this post on, now shake it around while you're reading it. Got it? That's what shaky cam is.

I gave two examples, go watch them and maybe you'll understand a little better.

For the record, I pay for satellite TV and watched this on Fox who broadcast natively at 720p60 with Dolby Digital 5.1. There's nothing wrong with my set-up.

Here's what Christopher McQuarrie has to say about it, he directed the last Mission Impossible movie:

"Well, the first thing I try to communicate to my crew is that there will be no shaky-cam and no rack zooms, because those techniques are only used to hide the fact that there is no energy. When you eliminate those gimmicks you’re confronted with the reality of the shot you have in front of you, and nine times out of 10 you say to yourself: “This just isn’t working.” Then you have to find ways of infusing the shot with energy and excitement, and ask yourself what you can do to sustain the shot so that you’re not relying on staccato editing—because I know what you’re talking about when you say you feel suffocated. It has to do with two things: you don’t know where you are, and you’re not being given the time to make that determination."

http://www.filmcomment.com/blog/interview-christopher-mcquarrie/

[–] larosat 8 years ago

I'd have to check again but after literally watching the worst editing in movie history: Resident Evil The Final Insult; any scene longer than 3 seconds and the camera not on a Richter scale of 8, then I'll be good for a while.

[–] DMB_Lover 8 years ago

lol - it's pretty intrusive but likely not as bad as RE.

One scene last night made me laugh, it was a four-way split screen and each screen was bobbing up and down. I rewound it and said to my spouse as each square came up, "look bobbing, bouncing, bobbling and...wait for it...more bobbing!"

[–] jquick99 8 years ago

How about the latest Bourne movie. All shaky and quick/short shots.

[–] DMB_Lover 8 years ago

Yep, latest Bourne wasn't quite as bad as The Bourne Supremacy (#2) but was still brutal...to be expected from Paul Greengrass though. Guy needs some serious medication.