1. Speed Racer.
Speed Racer is awesome, but you already knew that I'm sure. This movie, like the cartoon, is pretty awesome. So it makes sense that the camera work would be awesome, right? Of course. In this scene the camera jumps from close ups of Speed as he jams on the pedal like he's never coming back to reaction shots of his family, flashbacks, and of course the powerful Mach 5 in action. The close ups do a great job of seeing the emotional content of this scene. Speed wants to win, you can see it. The close ups also serve to show his reason for wanting victory, he is driven to succeed in all things, that's just the character. I love that this fact comes out so well in this scene, I don't think it would be as emotional without the close ups. Also, watching the action from an overhead view is awesome and reminds the audience that they aren't just watching Speed psychoanalyze himself with memories of his dead brother, nope, this shit is happening in the middle of the biggest and fastest race that mankind has ever seen. In short, I think this scene is made by the emotions presented in it which are in turn made by the jumping from close ups to overhead action shots of the Mach 5 zipping around the track. Go Speed Racer!
2. Segata Sanshiro.
Ah, Segata Sanshiro. I miss him. In his final commercial it appears that he is killed in space by a missile, I, however, am not entirely convinced that he is dead as I don't believe any man made weapon could hurt him. He's probably deep in some hidden mountains in Japan, training, training for the day that we will need him again to kick our asses and get us back inside to play video games. But I digress. I love the camera movement in this commercial. The close up of the laughing villain is a classic way to show the audience that the character onscreen is up to no good. Oh, and a close up of a big red button is always nice too. You can't be ok with your situation after seeing a close up of a big red button, you know that the button is no good from what your mother told you about big red buttons, and mother knows best. Seriously, what better way to show that a button is nefarious than to have an extreme close up of it being pushed right after a close up of a laughing creepy dude? That's good camera movement, take note. After the missile is launched the CEO dude in the office building sees it and I think the camera movement here really shines as it perfectly conveys his fear. That close up with the camera being pulled backwards makes a really jarring image which of course helps convey the total shock the character feels when seeing a giant missile fly towards his face. I would like to write an entire essay about this commercial and its effective camera movement but I won't, because denying yourself is a way to grow as a person and not at all because I just realized this is a very long paragraph. So to make things short; medium shot of everyone in the boardroom crying = showing the audience the mutual feelings of sadness they are all feeling over the loss of their beloved hero and protector, Segata Sanshiro clutching the bomb in outer space with Earth in view = conveying the message that Segata cares for all the world and that is why he sacrificed himself to save us, close up of Segata Sanshiro as he chants his name before exploding = letting the audience see the deep conviction and moral strength of the character, which is the core of the character, extreme long shot of Tokyo skyline with a superimposed image of Segata Sanshiro smiling happily over us = again reinforcing the notion that he loves us and that he died to protect us, giving us an emotional connection to the character and his actions. Sayonara, Segata Sanshiro.
3. The Cure - Friday I'm In Love.
What a great song, what a great band, what a great music video. This is one of the lighter and more bubblegum tunes from The Cure and I think the camera movements in this video compliment the sound quite nicely. We begin with a shot of the band running on stage, preparing to begin the shoot. I think this is a great way to set the tone of the video, it's fun and not to be taken too seriously. Then we get plenty of goof shots of the band all together, which is of course to remind us that this is a band and not a solo act, which would be the unfortunate result if they fixed the camera on Robert. There is a nasty trend in music videos now of holding the camera on the singer, which gives mixed messages to the audience. If you held on just the singer you would think you're watching a solo act, right? Anyways, after the band begins to play we get a few shots of stagehands running around, moving props, holding costumes, that sort of thing. I think that is to reinforce the emotional theme of the video which is pretty lighthearted and fun. Compare it to this other video from the same band.
This song has a much different emotional story than the previous one I listed and I think the video for this compliments that feeling quite nicely. We get a lot of shots of solitary band members playing their instruments in the dark, dissolves to the other members, and of course close ups of poor Robert singing in a single dim ray of light. What else is there to say about this? The images alone would probably convey the feeling that the director is going for here but when coupled with the song it is an awesome statement made with film. You should watch it. Hey, you know what? You should watch all of the music videos from The Cure. Not just because the band is great and their songs are amazing, but also because they had a lot of really cool videos that I think you could learn from, honestly! Look at this other one and all of the spooky stuff going on, it really blends well with the song to convey an emotional message. Look at those close up shots of the cobwebs, that really sets the tone straight out of the gate, huh? I need to get away from this keyboard now, so you just go ahead and watch the video and come up with your own conclusions regarding camera movement and emotional conveyance. Feel free to leave a comment, I am interested in what you all would think of this video, there is a lot to take from it, especially in terms of using camera movements with purpose and how effectively doing so can yield a wonderful product.
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