Camera Style - Handheld POV

Shaky camera, hand-held camera or free camera is a cinematographic technique where stable-image techniques are purposely dispensed with. The camera is held in the hand, or given the appearance of being hand-held, and in many cases shots are limited to what one photographer could have accomplished with one camera. Shaky cam is often employed to give a film sequence a sense of havoc, electronic news-gathering, or documentary film feel. It suggests unprepared, unrehearsed filming of reality, and can provide a sense of dynamics, reality, instability or nervousness.

The shaky/handheld camera technique can be used in a variety of styles, for example, the standard recording camera equipment to give it a documentary feel, or news broadcasts, cctv footage, mobile phone footage and more. All which can be used in conjuction with one another to give a dramtic and realistic feel to the film. It is a different and unique way of filming, and makes it stand out in the media industry, which is why we have chosen this technique for our practical coursework.

Known as the "found-footage" genre, it is becoming more and more popular.

"It's not just the dusty old horror genre(that uses found-footage) but, rather, the new life-as-entertainment culture that has given an injection of creative juice to a genre invented at the end of the last century. And that is why i think, more than ever, that the genre is here to stay."

- Inside Movies http://insidemovies.ew.com/2012/03/03/the-found-footage-movie-is-here-to-stay/

 

The Blair Witch Project

The Blair Witch Project is now 13 years old — it came out in the summer of 1999 — but up until now, virtually every found-footage movie released in its wake has been a horror film. It is a story about three film students who go missing after traveling into the woods of Maryland to make a documentary about the local Blair Witch legend, leaving only their footage behind.

  The viewers are told the three were never seen or heard from again, although their video and sound equipment (along with most of the footage they shot) was discovered a year later by the police department and that this "recovered footage" is the film the viewer is watching.

The film received enormously positive reception from critics and went on to gross over US $248 million worldwide, making it one of the most successful independent movies of all time.

Project X

Project X is about 3 high school seniors who throw a birthday party in order to make a name for themselves. As the night progresses, things spiral out of control as word of the party spreads, and it becomes unforgettable. The film is presented as a home video from the perspective of the main characters friend, an attendee at the party, who is documenting(filming) the days events.

 










Even though it was slated for its use of language, drugs and party antics, it is an effective way of filming this sort of film because it makes the audience feel like they are really there, it gets them involved because they are seeing it through someones eyes, and you're being talked to by the characters, rather than just being an on-looker. (Click here for the trailer)



Chronicle

The shy and lonely outcast teenager Andrew is bullied and has no friends at high-school. He also has to live with his abusive and alcoholic father Richard Detmer and his terminally ill mother Karen. He decides to buy a camera to film his everyday life. Whilst attending a party, he gain superpowers after making an incredible discovery underground with his cousin and his cousin's friend from school. Soon, though, they find their lives spinning out of control and their bond tested as they embrace their darker sides. The trailer (below) shows a brief caption of their journey, and how it is documented through the found-footage camera technique.

 

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Overall, I would say the found-footage genre is one of my favourites. It allows the consumers to be more involved with the characters and gives the film a real sense of realism. The breaking of boundries, or the "fourth wall" makes the viewers feel like they are part of the film, and are seeing it as if they were there in the action, connecting with the personas, not just being an on-looker from a distance. This genre is becoming more and more popular with the younger generation, and I think it will continue to develop and become more popular in the future.  The handheld POV certainly increases the verisimilitude, and interaction with characters, which is why we may choose this as a technique in our coursework.

Update - We have decided to use this technique minorly in our production. We will use it as a 'webcam perspective' for our protagonists final online message. We have chosen to do this because it will work better with our narrative. Using it only once will make it stand out more in our sequence and make it seem more emotional and connect better with our audience.

The effect that we wanted was similar to one in a night vision camera in Paranormal Activity - we liked the effect of the flickering lines through the image with a date and time.

We found this effect online on a site called Renda Studios. CLICK HERE FOR THE EFFECT. It is an animated video overlay, which allows you to give the impression that the footage was captured with a hand held personal video camera. There are numerous animated icons such as the time code, battery and REC button. This effect was used over the main characters goodbye message (which she recorded herself talking to the camera).

 

Here is the original clip:

 

 

Here is the edited clip with the effect:

 

 

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