When one makes themselves a go-to man for both Quentin Tarantino and Martin Scorsese, it’s safe to say you’ll receive more attention than the average cinematographer. Robert Richardson is no average artist, anyway. The palette brought to their recent films — dreamy, bright, with a special emphasis on theatrical, top-down lighting — makes him as close to an auteur as anybody currently working in the field, and he’s established that reputation while respecting a visually minded director’s rhythms.
In short, it’s also safe to say a 25-minute interview where Richardson discusses The Hateful Eight is worth a listen. Provided herein are plenty of tidbits on the difficulties and joys of shooting Tarantino’s latest feature; perhaps more interesting, though, are the various tidbits about the how and why of his collaborators’ methods. (Take, for instance, the off-handed comment that he “would give the edge” to Tarantino, film-knowledge-wise,...
In short, it’s also safe to say a 25-minute interview where Richardson discusses The Hateful Eight is worth a listen. Provided herein are plenty of tidbits on the difficulties and joys of shooting Tarantino’s latest feature; perhaps more interesting, though, are the various tidbits about the how and why of his collaborators’ methods. (Take, for instance, the off-handed comment that he “would give the edge” to Tarantino, film-knowledge-wise,...
- 3/2/2016
- by Nick Newman
- The Film Stage
"Sicario" already has a lot going for it. A layered script by Taylor Sheridan, tremendous direction by Denis Villeneuve, and a trio of knockout turns by Emily Blunt, Josh Brolin, and Benicio Del Toro. But the secret ingredient in the mix that brings it all together is the work of cinematographer Roger Deakins. Framing every single shot with precision and artistry, he helps to wrap up the entire picture in a blanket of singular, throbbing intensity. It's another notch in the celebrated career belt of the cinematographer who is the rare talent in his trade that is nearly a household name (at least among cinephiles). Read More: Roger Deakins Says 'Blade Runner' Sequel Will "Stand Alone By Itself" So, if you've seen "Sicario" already, or want to be prepared, this nearly half-hour long Q&A (via Larry Wright) is a pretty good way to go. Deakins talks not just about the film,...
- 9/25/2015
- by Kevin Jagernauth
- The Playlist
Here’s a throwback for all the children of the late '70s and '80s. Created by Dave Stevens, Cliff Secord was a stunt pilot who discovered a mysterious jet pack, which gave him the ability to fly. Donning the equipment, Secord became The Rocketeer, a crime-fighter who took on, among other foes, the Nazis. Stevens’ airborne adventurer first appeared in comic book form in 1982. Then, in 1991, he flew onto the big screen in Disney’s “The Rocketeer," directed by Joe Johnston (“Captain America: The First Avenger,” “Jumanji,” “Honey I Shrunk the Kids”). Bill Campbell (now Billy Campbell, and perhaps most recognizable for his portrayal of Darren Richmond on “The Killing”) played the titular stuntman. As a lead-in to the film, which opened in late June 1991, Campbell hosted a half-hour documentary on the character and mankind’s ever-burning desire to fly unimpeded. (Major thanks to YouTube channel IntermissionSociety for publishing the vid,...
- 11/5/2014
- by Zach Hollwedel
- The Playlist
If you've ever seen a long, uninterrupted tracking shot following characters on a seemingly endless journey through various environments, it was probably created with the magic of a Steadicam. If you don't know what this invaluable tool of cinema is, the Steadicam is "essentially a balanced stabilizer that allows for smoother and more easily controlled handheld camera operation." It was invented by Garrett Brown in the 70s, and has since become the perfect tool for capturing some of the most mind-blowing, long take shots on film. Refocused Media has showcased the cinema tool's greatness in The Art of Steadicam. Watch below! Here's The Art of Steadicam, put together by Larry Wright over at Refocused Media: Wright explains, "I was inspired to make this homage to the art of steadicam cinematography when browsing the database of “top” clips over at steadishots.org, which are rated by the community. After locating what...
- 8/13/2014
- by Ethan Anderton
- firstshowing.net
Garrett Brown operating Steadicam on Stanley Kubrick’s The Shining Refocused Media compiled a video celebrating the great Steadicam tracking (or Steadicam on a crane) shots of classic movies. The supercut features almost 40 films (from Stanley Kubrick to Paul Thomas Anderson) and a couple tracking shots from television (yes, The West Wing). Larry Wright explains […]
The post Votd: The Art Of Steadicam appeared first on /Film.
The post Votd: The Art Of Steadicam appeared first on /Film.
- 8/13/2014
- by Peter Sciretta
- Slash Film
We've featured plenty of visual effects breakdown videos for the likes of films such as Iron Man 3 and Thor: The Dark World from Marvel Studios, Weta's work on The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug, the extensive work on Pacific Rim, and even less noticeable special effects work on The Wolf of Wall Street. And if you've loved seeing how they make the donuts behind the scenes, then you're going to have much more than a peek behind the curtain. There's a huge playlist on YouTube discovered by Larry Wright of Refocused Media (via The Film Stage) of over 150 visual effects breakdowns enjoy. Watch! Here's the playlist featuring 190 various visual effects breakdowns (this should keep you busy!): There's tons of breakdowns for films like Gravity, Star Trek Into Darkness, Godzilla, John Carter, Tron Legacy, The Avengers and tons more. But there's also videos for films that you may not...
- 8/8/2014
- by Ethan Anderton
- firstshowing.net
We marked the 30th anniversary of “Indiana Jones & The Temple Of Doom” yesterday and updated you on progress of what may be his next film, so why not continue the Steven Spielberg love-fest? A ten-minute long tribute by Ethan Cooper to iconic populist filmmaker made the rounds yesterday online (via Larry Wright) and it’s one of the better ones we’ve seen, rivaling the tributes you usually see during awards shows. All of Spielberg’s big screen work is accounted for except for 2012’s “Lincoln,” which was released after this tribute was posted online. Check out the tribute below and maybe throw on “Indiana Jones & The Temple Of Doom” afterward to start your holiday weekend off right.
- 5/23/2014
- by Cain Rodriguez
- The Playlist
It's sad to think that two of the most well-known film critics are no longer with us. Last year we lost Roger Ebert (and he's given a loving tribute and profile in the Sundance selected documentary Life Itself), and awhile back Gene Siskel passed as well. But thankfully, thanks to the internet, we get to relive some of their greatest moments and passion for film. One such episode of their iconic series "Siskel & Ebert" was entirely dedicated to Steven Spielberg. But what's truly great about this episode is that it happened in 1984, when Spielberg was just preparing to release Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom. Watch it! Here's the "Siskel & Ebert" special on Steven Spielberg from Larry Wright (via The Playlist): To the credit of Gene Siskel and Roger Ebert, it's pretty remarkable that they noticed the greatness of Spielberg, who had only directed Duel, The Sugarland Express,...
- 4/11/2014
- by Ethan Anderton
- firstshowing.net
The films of director John Landis are particularly suited to repetition—in both rewatchability for comedies like “Trading Places” or “The Blues Brothers” or horror like “An American Werewolf in London," but also in double-dip DVDs and Blu-rays from Universal every few years as well. Luckily, Landis is one of those filmmakers who reveals a new, fascinating behind-the-scenes tale with each new release, and that is certainly the case surrounding the Blu-ray of “Animal House” a few years back. In that spirit, here's a wide-ranging, three hour discussion with Landis on the Kevin Pollak Talk Show on YouTube. Granted, it's from 2011, but hat tip to Larry Wright to putting in on our radar, because it's great stuff. It’s the type of conversation that includes the director’s memory of lunching with Alfred Hitchcock and hearing his reaction to Brian De Palma’s “Dressed To Kill”, and ends with another...
- 1/31/2014
- by Charlie Schmidlin
- The Playlist
Derek Meddings creating the miniature satellite bunker set for GoldenEye Above is a shot of the late Derek Meddings (miniature effects supervisor) using flour and cat litter to create the Severnaya satellite bunker miniature set from the 1995 James Bond film GoldenEye and below are several more shots from behind-the-scenes and the film's set courtesy of Larry Wright on Twitter, but that shot above and the storyboard below of the skydive sequence from the film's opening are the main reason I wanted to post the rest. amz asin="B009NUV0E8" size="small"Included is the storyboard mentioned, some behind the shot looks at the camera rigs used on Bond's Aston Martin and the Ferrari used during the chase sequence, a promotional shot of the late Desmond Llewelyn as Q with his assortment of gadgets, another of Roger Moore and Pierce Brosnan together on the Leavesden set, a shot of the...
- 11/22/2013
- by Brad Brevet
- Rope of Silicon
The Steadicam — it can make things so easy, and so beautiful. It can be simply efficient, allowing you to bang out a smooth walk-and-talk without track. Or it can be a show piece, a shot whose virtuosity grabs the audiences’s attention, even if they are unaware of the level of skill and artistry involved. Writes Larry Wright at his Refocused Media blog about the long single takes most associated with the Steadicam: More often than not, these sequences are accomplished using a Steadicam, which is essentially a balanced stabilizer that allows for smoother and more easily controlled handheld camera …...
- 3/6/2013
- by Scott Macaulay
- Filmmaker Magazine-Director Interviews
Effective shot composition is a key component of filmmaking, sometimes resulting in the only interesting aspect of a bad film, and elevating a good film into a great one. Good cinematography, however, unfortunately goes unnoticed a lot of times, no matter how well it enhances a movie. Larry Wright of Refocused Media, however, has turned the spotlight back on camera work, with a video entitled The Art of Steadicam, which celebrates long takes from a variety of movies and tv shows, from Boogie Nights to The Shining to Good Night and Good Luck to Atonement and many, many more. The video can be seen below, and a full list of the movies used can be found here.
****...
****...
- 3/6/2013
- by Deepayan Sengupta
- SoundOnSight
You.re damn straight any video daring to call itself .The Art of Steadicam. should open with Martin Scorsese.s oft-copied, two-minute Goodfellas shot that weaves through the guts of the Copacabana Nightclub as it follows lead gangster Ray Liotta as he tries to impress the beautiful Lorraine Bracco. All the rest is mere icing on the cake. This clip, shared by FilmSchoolRejects, uses scenes from David Fincher.s Fight Club, Quentin Tarantino.s Kill Bill and Joe Wright.s Atonement to show how the smooth glide of a Steadicam makes scenes look .infinitely cooler.. Hard to argue. See for yourself: Larry Wright and Refocused Media produced this clip, which skillfully demonstrates that the floating rig of the Steadicam shouldn.t just be limited to film production. These scenes from the hit television show E.R. were signature shots of the medical drama, having the camera gracefully spin around a ...
- 3/5/2013
- cinemablend.com
Walking and talking, dancing, stalking someone before exacting your revenge, running up some steps at the end of a jog, stumbling drunken down a hallway, closing down a bar for a club you can’t talk about, wandering around a harmless outdoor maze, watching an iconic figure give a speech. All of these things can be made infinitely cooler by using a Steadicam. Introduced to production by Garrett Brown in 1975, the rig earned some serious credibility by 1976 and was then refined by the needs of Stanley Kubrick for a little flick called The Shining (who needs a shot that runs along the floor?). It’s been used heavily ever since, and now Larry Wright and Refocused Media have made a very slick edit showing as much proof that you could ever need that Steadicam shots are the way to go if you need something to look incredibly badass. Pull up some popcorn and enjoy.
- 3/5/2013
- by Scott Beggs
- FilmSchoolRejects.com
Traditionally — such a tradition has been built over the 6 week lifespan of this column — Scenes We Love takes a moment each week to focus on a single scene from a film that jumps right out at us, grabs our attention and simply won’t let go. This week brings us something a little different, courtesy of an email I received by a gentleman named Larry Wright from a site called Refocused Media. He’s created a 31 minute cut of Alfonso Cuaron’s Children of Men using only the scenes that are 45-seconds or longer. Why would someone partake in such a maddening project? Well, I guess you’ll have to read on and find out. Here’s Larry’s explanation for this undertaking: “It was recently revealed that Alfonso Cuaron’s upcoming film, Gravity, will not only have a 17+ minute opening long take, but also an Asl (average shot length) of 45 seconds. Having...
- 4/30/2012
- by Neil Miller
- FilmSchoolRejects.com
IMDb.com, Inc. takes no responsibility for the content or accuracy of the above news articles, Tweets, or blog posts. This content is published for the entertainment of our users only. The news articles, Tweets, and blog posts do not represent IMDb's opinions nor can we guarantee that the reporting therein is completely factual. Please visit the source responsible for the item in question to report any concerns you may have regarding content or accuracy.