Scorberg
"The Lovely Bones"
This is from the upcoming film The Lovely Bones, directed by Peter Jackson and shot by long time Jackson collaborator Andrew Lesnie. Andrew Lesnie is one the best cinematographers out there now, and is the go to cinematographer for large, expansive, green screen incorporated films. I love these four shots here. The one in the top left, with Stanley Tucci in his car is a beautiful shot. The problem that I can't stand with looking at still screencaptures for films is that it completely destroys the purpose of the moving image. For example, with the still shot here of Tucci in the car, you can see the beauty of the lighting, but the real beauty of the shot comes from the camera focusing from the background, on the character of Lindsay, to Tucci, sitting in the car. The framing is beautiful and the focus is pulled off perfectly; you can see it in the trailer. The shot in the upper right, of Saoirse Ronan and Tucci, is lit beautifully; Lesnie frequently uses beams of light defined by mist, like he has done in The Lord of the RIngs films, especially The Fellowship of the Ring. The shot in the lower left hand corner, of Saoirse again, is classical Lesnie with the beam of lights and mist again. I'm assuming that everyone knows the plot of this film, so I'll say that this sequence here is part of the transition to Heaven Saoirse's character Susie goes through after her death, so it was vital to give these scenes a characteristic of their own (the upper right scene is also part of the transition she goes through to Heaven). It's cool too, because with both these shots, especially the one in the lower left, you can really get a sense of creepiness, darkness and an overall unfamiliarity. The shot in the lower right, of Mark Wahlberg, demonstrates great practical lighting with the lamps on the work desk and the lamp in the background, through the doorway; this shot actually looks to be lit only with these two lights.
This film will be very different for Lesnie, but it will be greatly different for Peter Jackson. Jackson has always been a director who uses CG in his films, or some kind of special effects sequences and these sequences have always had unique shots that are expansive and capture so much. The thing that's different about The Lovely Bones is that it has these types of sequences, which are in Heaven, but this film also has sequences that don't require CG, which are the sequences on Earth. The Earthly sequences are with Susie's family, Tucci's character and the police investigation into the case. These sequences are shot in a way that is so uncharacteristic of Jackson. I'm not talking about the lighting, rather the camera movement and shot capturings. There is a ton of steadicam work, tons and tons of it, as well as handheld work, which is very different for Jackson as well. If you watch the trailer, just compare the Heavenly shots with the shots of the Earthly sequences; you can see a huge difference. If anything, the Earthly shots are more visually interesting and diverse than the grandeur, wide Heavenly shots.
One shot seems like a return to Jackson's crazy, visual style of his earlier films, like Heavenly Creatures: it is of Stanley Tucci rushing through his house, trying to apprehend Susie's sister Lindsey after she has broken into his home. The camera is right in his face, even to the point where it seems Tucci is actually somehow rigged to it and holding it. There are also numerous shots in the Earthly sequences that are static, medium zoomed in, and over the shoulder of an actor (I'll put these shots below). One example is when Lindsey is confronting the detective when she tells him "Why won't you listen to him (her father)?"; the camera is looking over Wahlberg's shoulder. Another such shot is when Lindsey is talking with Tucci, and he says "You're the Salmon girl"; the camera is over Lindsey's shoulder. The steadicam work in the Earthly sequences are also unique. One example is the shot in the lower right hand corner here, of Wahlberg. The angle choice, as well as the lens used, gives there shots a very beautiful look. Another such example is when Wahlberg smashes a glass bottle in the trailer--it's a steadicam, with a certain lens (I'll add this shot below). These types of shots are, if this makes any sense, short feeling, small, and condensed. There are also beautiful handheld shots, which are zoomed in, and erratic, which are two great words that give handheld shots there emotional drive, and it's interesting to see Jackson using these shots. There are also beautiful dolly shots into actors (I'll put two below also). One is of Wahlberg, that's a very zoomed in shot and another is when the detective is confronting Wahlberg, and the camera dollies from behind Wahlberg, to his right and up to the detective. The Earthly shots in this film give a sense of claustrophobia, franticness, and chaos. The Heavenly shots give a sense of freedom, expansiveness and are beautiful. This visual diversity, characterizing two plot lines in the film, demonstrates the genius that Peter Jackson used when creating this film's atmosphere; an atmosphere that Andrew Lesnie has beautifully captured as well. I've been waiting for this film for 2 1/2 years, ever since Jackson signed on and I made a promise that I am going to see this film when it comes out at midnight, even if that means going on Christmas Day. I still think that Jackson is going to be a frontrunner for director and he could even win it; this film will definitely be up for everything, including Lesnie scoring another nod for cinematography. I can't wait for this beautiful film.
"The Lovely Bones"
This is from the upcoming film The Lovely Bones, directed by Peter Jackson and shot by long time Jackson collaborator Andrew Lesnie. Andrew Lesnie is one the best cinematographers out there now, and is the go to cinematographer for large, expansive, green screen incorporated films. I love these four shots here. The one in the top left, with Stanley Tucci in his car is a beautiful shot. The problem that I can't stand with looking at still screencaptures for films is that it completely destroys the purpose of the moving image. For example, with the still shot here of Tucci in the car, you can see the beauty of the lighting, but the real beauty of the shot comes from the camera focusing from the background, on the character of Lindsay, to Tucci, sitting in the car. The framing is beautiful and the focus is pulled off perfectly; you can see it in the trailer. The shot in the upper right, of Saoirse Ronan and Tucci, is lit beautifully; Lesnie frequently uses beams of light defined by mist, like he has done in The Lord of the RIngs films, especially The Fellowship of the Ring. The shot in the lower left hand corner, of Saoirse again, is classical Lesnie with the beam of lights and mist again. I'm assuming that everyone knows the plot of this film, so I'll say that this sequence here is part of the transition to Heaven Saoirse's character Susie goes through after her death, so it was vital to give these scenes a characteristic of their own (the upper right scene is also part of the transition she goes through to Heaven). It's cool too, because with both these shots, especially the one in the lower left, you can really get a sense of creepiness, darkness and an overall unfamiliarity. The shot in the lower right, of Mark Wahlberg, demonstrates great practical lighting with the lamps on the work desk and the lamp in the background, through the doorway; this shot actually looks to be lit only with these two lights.
This film will be very different for Lesnie, but it will be greatly different for Peter Jackson. Jackson has always been a director who uses CG in his films, or some kind of special effects sequences and these sequences have always had unique shots that are expansive and capture so much. The thing that's different about The Lovely Bones is that it has these types of sequences, which are in Heaven, but this film also has sequences that don't require CG, which are the sequences on Earth. The Earthly sequences are with Susie's family, Tucci's character and the police investigation into the case. These sequences are shot in a way that is so uncharacteristic of Jackson. I'm not talking about the lighting, rather the camera movement and shot capturings. There is a ton of steadicam work, tons and tons of it, as well as handheld work, which is very different for Jackson as well. If you watch the trailer, just compare the Heavenly shots with the shots of the Earthly sequences; you can see a huge difference. If anything, the Earthly shots are more visually interesting and diverse than the grandeur, wide Heavenly shots.
One shot seems like a return to Jackson's crazy, visual style of his earlier films, like Heavenly Creatures: it is of Stanley Tucci rushing through his house, trying to apprehend Susie's sister Lindsey after she has broken into his home. The camera is right in his face, even to the point where it seems Tucci is actually somehow rigged to it and holding it. There are also numerous shots in the Earthly sequences that are static, medium zoomed in, and over the shoulder of an actor (I'll put these shots below). One example is when Lindsey is confronting the detective when she tells him "Why won't you listen to him (her father)?"; the camera is looking over Wahlberg's shoulder. Another such shot is when Lindsey is talking with Tucci, and he says "You're the Salmon girl"; the camera is over Lindsey's shoulder. The steadicam work in the Earthly sequences are also unique. One example is the shot in the lower right hand corner here, of Wahlberg. The angle choice, as well as the lens used, gives there shots a very beautiful look. Another such example is when Wahlberg smashes a glass bottle in the trailer--it's a steadicam, with a certain lens (I'll add this shot below). These types of shots are, if this makes any sense, short feeling, small, and condensed. There are also beautiful handheld shots, which are zoomed in, and erratic, which are two great words that give handheld shots there emotional drive, and it's interesting to see Jackson using these shots. There are also beautiful dolly shots into actors (I'll put two below also). One is of Wahlberg, that's a very zoomed in shot and another is when the detective is confronting Wahlberg, and the camera dollies from behind Wahlberg, to his right and up to the detective. The Earthly shots in this film give a sense of claustrophobia, franticness, and chaos. The Heavenly shots give a sense of freedom, expansiveness and are beautiful. This visual diversity, characterizing two plot lines in the film, demonstrates the genius that Peter Jackson used when creating this film's atmosphere; an atmosphere that Andrew Lesnie has beautifully captured as well. I've been waiting for this film for 2 1/2 years, ever since Jackson signed on and I made a promise that I am going to see this film when it comes out at midnight, even if that means going on Christmas Day. I still think that Jackson is going to be a frontrunner for director and he could even win it; this film will definitely be up for everything, including Lesnie scoring another nod for cinematography. I can't wait for this beautiful film.