The Problems of Modern Cinematography

This shot from The Social Network is an example of why I hate modern cinematography. It uses what they call shallow-focus cinematography. Andrew Garfield is the only one in focus. Jesse Eisenberg, who is closer to the camera, looks fuzzier. All the people behind Andrew Garfield are a complete blur. I personally find this distracting. Our eyes may blur some objects a little when we're focused on something at a different distance, but it's not as extreme as shallow-focus cinematography makes it look. It's even worse when there's a shot where the camera shifts its focus. For example, this shot could potentially shift its focus in the middle of the scene so that Jesse Eisenberg's image is clear and Andrew Garfield is now fuzzy. Those types of focus shifts make me more consciously aware of the camera and take me out of the moment.

This shot from Citizen Kane is an example of deep-focus cinematography. Everything is in clear focus. You can even see young Kane playing in the snow outside. I think it's ironic that filmmakers consider Citizen Kane the greatest film of all time when they refuse to imitate the one aspect of it I think is actually great: the cinematography. Some people argue that deep-focus cinematography is more effective with black-and-white than color; those people obviously haven't seen a Stanley Kubrick film. In the older days of cinema, directors and cinematographers used lighting techniques to draw the audience's attention to the objects of focus. I think this feels more natural than making other objects onscreen look fuzzy. In order to do deep-focus shots successfully, filmmakers need to make a lot more decisions about lighting and setting up the shots. Modern filmmakers find it easier to shoot scenes with a narrower depth-of-field. In other words, modern filmmakers are lazy.

This clip from The Hunger Games gives another example of today's flawed camerawork. In addition to most shots having a shallow focus, they use handheld cameras so that everything is shaky. It's even worse when you're watching the movie on a bigger screen. This type of cinematography also makes me consciously aware of the camera, taking me out of the moment. In real life, things don't look this bumpy in our heads, even when we're in chaotic situations with lots of movement.  It makes the film look less professional and more like some YouTube video a little kid might make.

This clip from The Shining is how I think they SHOULD film movies these days. You'll notice that everything is in clear focus. They also use a Steadicam so that the camera movements are smooth and not shaky. I also like the way Stanley Kubrick uses symmetry in his shots. If more contemporary movies were filmed like this, the shots would look more natural and less distracting. Filmmakers need to realize this if they want to recapture the beauty of older cinema.