Day 949: Cinematography, Editing, Costumes, and Makeup

Cinematography and Film Editing

Honestly, I don’t think I need to explain what these categories are in-depth.  However, I think it’s hard to spot REALLY good cinematography and editing, unless you are looking for it, mainly because you’re not supposed to notice it.

Good cinematography and editing is performed with a subtle hand… and doesn’t distract the audience from the action of the movie.

On the other hand, it is much easier to identify movies with poor cinematography and editing.

Did you see ‘The Expendables’ this year?  OMG!  What horrible editing!  And the following scene is one of the worst scenes ever! (Thank you youtube!)

(Warning, Adult Language)

Notice how the shot is always jumping around?  Not only does the scene jump from person to person whenever they speak a line, but it also jumps around to capture unnecessary reaction shots. 

Furthermore, I can tell you exactly why both the cinematography and editing is so poor.  Bruce Willis and Arnold did not shoot their scenes at the same time.  Go back and watch it again… they are never shown together.  Which is why the scene feels so choppy and forced.  That’s why the shoots are all so tight… and why the camera is forced to jump around.

So, whose fault is it?

The editors?  Well… the editing team behind ‘The Expendables’ weren’t the most experienced duo in the world… this was their first big project.  However, even though they many some poor editing choices, I wouldn’t give them all the blame.

So, who?  The Cinematographer? 

Well… ‘The Expendables’ had the same cinematographer as ‘Top Gun’ and other notable action films, so he definitely had a lot of experience… but shooting a scene without your full cast is difficult to pull off.  He simply didn’t have a lot to work with… so in turn he didn’t give the editors much to work with.

So… again… who is to blame?

I blame writer/director Stallone.   Go back and watch the scene… Arnold’s character serves no real purpose to the story (except for having the novelty of Arnold chewing on a cigar). 

This scene would have had a much stronger impact is they had shoot it with just Stallone and Willis.  The scene could have been more subtle and intimate… and as a result, more effective.  Which would have made the cinematography and editing less noticeable.

Well, that’s enough about ‘The Expendables’, let’s take a look at what ‘awardsnazi’ has to say about these categories:

Cinematography:

Film Editing:

(http://www.youtube.com/user/awardsnazi#p/a/u/1/AvEXNl0J9Rk)

Costumes

Wow.  The best part of awardnazi’s video is his description of ‘The Tempest’, one of the few Oscar nominated films I haven’t seen.  “I would be shocked if this movie wins because the simple fact is this movie is awful.  Reviled by critics and audiences alike.”  (Double take), WOW. 

I haven’t heard a review that horrible since I asked myself what I thought about “Eat, Pray, Love”.

MakeUp

I have to agree with awardsnazi on this one.  Although ‘The Wolfman’ is probably the worst movie I’ve seen this year (and that says a lot since I’ve also seen ‘Tekken’), I can’t help but root for Rick Baker.