Film VS Photography

[Chance1234]

As we have had film vs everything else, anyone got any thoughts on this

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[eddie]

yep, I got a few

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[eddie]

There is a French film called La Jete (I think thats the name) made up of a series of photgraphs, one after the other and a narrator.
I think still imagery is really powerful when used in a movie - a lot has been said about the cliche of ending a film on a still, (such as Full Monty) or introducing characters with stills (such a Tarantino and Scorcesee ...sp??). and I think it is really effective.
As far as low budgets are concerned I thought at one point that my current film might be more effective if I simply chose, say 50 of the absolute best images and ran them like a slide show, interspersed with a few 'normal' moving movie moments. I still havent given up on that idea. Trouble is on a low budget you end up with lots of crap that you simply MUST use because you cant afford to go out and reshoot. But a well chosen still image can be quite provocative, (and cheap!) and juxtaposing this with other moving image could be really effective.

There is something very different about having time to study a still picture, to having the movements provided for you. Its very calming, and more thought provoking I think. I think the audience become more internalised because they apply their own thoughts on the picture rather than what usually happens, the film tells them what to think. I hope you can see what I mean.

Well anyway, those are a few thoughts.

Have you got any?

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[eddie]

oh yes, another thought:

Have you seen the full length guiness advert about the bloke who swims out to the buoy and back again whilst they pour his pint?
Thats full of stops and starts and with the music it really picks up the pace of whats going on.
For some reason when the action freezes breifly you focus on it, and it seems to highlight the motion afterwards when the action comes back.

so there you go.


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[steven_craig]

hey, i think photography is amazin used in films, as i got interested in film making by using a pentax K1000, it has been invaluable in teaching me the basics of using taking a photo with out using the Auto functions, it also teaches you the basics of cinematography as a film is just a series of still images...

i think many directors started out in still photography like Kubrick...

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Dead girl's dont say no!

[twister!]

La Jetee is a fantastic film . Much power is created from a series of beatuifully lit still images and it's only 20mins long too. Eddie, did you notice the one moment of movement (about 1 second) when the girl wakes in the morning and opens her eyes? A very 'moving' moment ha ha.

PS Trivia note - Terry Gilliam's 12 Monkeys is based on La Jetee.

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[eddie]

Hi Twister

Yes I did, I was going to mention it, but my fingers tied in knots over the keyboard.
Its a very magical moment, and stands out from the rest of the film I think because its 'normal film making' rather than a series of snapshots, that you have become used to. And only a split second long.

It really opened my eyes (pun intended) to the rhythm of a film, since there is no reason to cut away from one scene to the next, other than timing - since nothing moves.
One photo might flash up on the screen, another might be held for ages.
Damn clever.

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