Tuesday, February 24, 2015
Check Out How One Of Birdman's Ridiculously Long Shots Was Made
Co.Design | business + design: Director Alejandro González Iñárritu's Birdman deserves the high praise it has received from critics, and not just for its brilliant writing; hyper-meta deconstruction of fame and self-perception; and excellent acting by its stars. Famously, Birdman was filmed to look like one continuous shot.
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Birdman was my favorite movie of the year, so it is really energizing and exciting to see the mechanics behind the screen. The cinematography is, perhaps, my favorite aspect of the entire film -- and I think its creativity will spawn hundreds of new movies with similar styles in the coming years who attempt to emulate and toy with the concept of long shots. It's not surprising that the camera man was basically drenched in sweat by the end of the day, because I can't imagine having to run around all day with a heavy hand-held camera, attempting desperately not to shake, wasn't a heck of a lot of work! It's a credit to the entire cast and crew that they even finished this movie; there had to be such ensemble work between everyone, including the camera people, to make the shot run as smoothly as it did. The actors couldn't only worry about themselves and their fellow scene partners, as they had to memorize an entire floorplan movement around the building without breaking character. In fact, it would be wonderful to see what the layout of the theatre building for Birdman looked like. The production designer must have spent hours upon hours trying to figure out the most expedient way for people to move around that was both technically understandable and intriguing to watch.
There aren’t too many films out there that do as meticulous shooting as what Birdman accomplished. To have an uninterrupted scene take place without a break, you just don’t see it anymore. Why worry about trying to make such a long take, when you can shoot it from different angles, and then cut it as you want. I’ve yet to see Birdman but with the amount of nominations it received, it seems to be creeping up on my list of films yet to watch. Props to the cameraman on this one, being able to navigate the spaces that took them underground without having a slip-up. Shucks, I wonder how long he’s been working his job. It also helps that you’ve got a group of actors that are consistent in their work that are able to take their work to the next level. Now if we were to get a figure as to how many takes it took to get it done, it would help show a better extreme as to the take.
Birdman was by far one of my favorite films this year. The cinematography was spectacular and I couldn’t help but rant and rave about it to my friends as soon as I left the theater. It was so deserving of best picture this year, mostly because of the innovations in the filmmaking itself. I don’t think a feature film has ever been done before where the entire movie is almost one complete fluid shot. Watching the film it’s obvious that this feat is utilized effectively as the continuous shots add to the psychological nature of the film and the craziness that revolves around the production of a Broadway play. Knowing that so much of the film was shot continuously only adds to my respect for the movie, as the actors had to be so on top of their game that they could all deliver their performance in one take without ruining the shot. Movies usually take tons of takes so having the actors all being intuitive and fully invested must have been key. Even more impressive is the crew, who had to seamlessly transition from room to room without losing sound, without interfering with the shot, and without tiring out before completion. In the video, Michael Keaton describes the cameraman continuing to work, all the while drowning in sweat, a true testament to how innovative and impressive Birdman really is.
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