One lazy afternoon a few years ago I decided to compile a list of favourite films, starting with several innocuous childhood films, through to angst-ridden teen flicks and the more recent tales of adult relationships and bigger questions of life. Looking at the list I noticed those works with the greatest emotional impact were for the most part filmed using a hand-held camera ; Jean Luc Godard’s Breathless, Alejandro Inarittu’s 21 Grams, The Dardenne Brother’s The Child, Gus Van Sant’s Elephant, Lars Von Trier’s Breaking the Waves. Indeed the list proved rather extensive, so I won’t repeat all here in this introduction.
Given it was a ‘favourites list’ all the films there entertained me, and had my full attention. However those films shot using a hand-held camera proved to have me more emotionally involved, and further connected to the characters and their journey; the tears flowed, the heart strings pulled, the feelings lingered.
Without much involved analysis my recent films have also been shot using a hand-held camera, with varying degrees of success. Shooting this way seemed to grant more freedom to the actors, and the cinematographer was liberated and able move with them. I started to question why the hand-held camera was so affective. Needless to say other essentials need also be in place, such as a strong script, talented cast, crafted art direction, emotive music and so forth. If one has all of these design and performance elements in place, it seemed the use of the hand-held camera allowed them to better flourish.
When I spoke to my filmmaker peers about the influence of the hand-held approach the answer was invariably with regards to the freedom and liberty it offers the cast and crew on set. But I believe there is more to it, and that on a more subliminal level the hand-held camera offers the viewer a subjective experience; as a fourth wall experience, the voyeur in among the scene. The esteemed filmmaker Alejandro Gonzalez Inarittu sums this up perfectly in My First Movie where he states “I think that handheld is as close as you can get to how we see things. I experience life with my eyes, which are constantly moving in a free way.”
Further to this, frequent use of the hand-held camera in documentary and reportage has that we may associate this device with the capturing of the real. When a drama film employs the use of the hand-held camera we may be more inclined to accept the authenticity of the moment, hence a stronger connection to the emotional truth.
Okay, time for more in depth exploration me thinks :)
Okay, time for more in depth exploration me thinks :)
