Cinematic locations

[kye]

I was watching a TV show last night and they had some cool spy vs spy stuff through the streets of Hong Kong, and it was shot well, had great colour science, the story was engaging, but it felt like a home movie.  I've watched several seasons of the show and other sequences didn't have the same feel.

I worked out that it's because I'd been to where they were filming.

I've increasingly noticed this trend - if I've been somewhere then it doesn't seem so exotic anymore, it doesn't have that 'other world / smooth / detached' feeling that something being 'cinematic' feels like to me.  Some of my favourite travel videos have transformed over the years from spectacular experiences to slightly awkward sequences of shots of places I've been.

Does anyone else find this?

[kaylee]

there's definitely something there

im thinking that memory of an actual place is probably going to stand in conflict with watching that place on film, kinda like knowing an actor?

this bleeds into real life in odd ways, example:

I have a client who i do stills for who has a catering company, he's constantly doing different events with different themes, etc, taking tons of pics.

as I've gotten used to working with him, the artistic layperson that he is, I've found that he doesn't actual perceive WHAT IS IN THE FRAME when he sends me pictures to edit, he's referring to his MEMORY OF THE EVENT in his notes, which is poor and different from reality bc he's a moron

anyway, I get it. I do.

ideally, i want to create a world in my films that is real unto itself, so if the first shot fades in and you go, "Hey, that's my friend Bob's house!", it's kinda hurting that all important suspension of disbelief u kno

[Cinegain]

I used to watch DigitalREV tv when they were going through Hong Kong. Then being there myself was so different, because you just don't get the temperature, humidity, smells, noises, etc. My expectations where totally different.

When I was in Tokyo, I expected a grander scale perhaps, because beforehand I might've seen too many little documentaries and videos about it, that when I got there it wasn't quite what I hyped it up to be perhaps (like the busiest crossing in the world).

Was in Mauritius last month. I had tropical paradise in mind, pearly white sand beaches, gorgeous nature, best ever weather. Reality? Sharp rock, coral, sea urchins (got stung too) didn't make it very inviting to get in the water and go for a swim. Snorkling... bad visibility, very few colors. Round tour. 5 mins of staring at a wonderful waterfall... in the very very far distance somewhere. 7 Sands... underwhelming, as were the giant land tortoises. Swimming with dolphins... about 25 boats chasing after a group of dolphins and then going 'JUMP NOW JUMP NOW!', then 'LOOK DOWN QUICKLY' because so many people jumping in then scared them down and away, before everybody was told to get back onboard for the next round. Poor things. Temple? Was like a bad Disney park that lacked authenticity. City? Nothing special. Weather? Windy, cloudy, rainy.

The other way around I was in New York for the first time... and I felt like I already knew it from all the tv series, movies and what not I've seen throughout my lifetime. Apart from a couple of new skyscrapers, the vibe must not have changed throughout the last few decades, all felt really familiar from the get go.

Next week I'm in Cape Town, I was there for the first time almost exactly a year ago and that positively suprised me! City, people, nature, food etc all just so much more epic than imagined, so I'm looking forward to be back again.

Can't really remember the last time I've seen footage first after I've already been to a place. I imagine however I would've been nostalgic about it like 'ooh, I have been there, brings back memories!', not sure I feel any different about what I'm seeing versus my experience having been there.

It's interesting how things can be depicted, how your expectations are set and how we get to experience them ourselves. But that's why I never take anyone's word for something and just have to find things out for myself. I like to go in with a blank canvas sorta say, but sometimes the canvas' already been tainted. That's also how you end up with like 100+ lenses, because like Pokémon 'Gotta catch 'em all!'. So maybe not the ideal mindset either. ?

[BTM_Pix]

Neil Armstrong and Buzz Aldrin used to mention this sort of feeling whenever they saw films set in the Nevada desert.

[kye]

9 hours ago, kaylee said:

as I've gotten used to working with him, the artistic layperson that he is, I've found that he doesn't actual perceive WHAT IS IN THE FRAME when he sends me pictures to edit, he's referring to his MEMORY OF THE EVENT in his notes, which is poor and different from reality bc he's a moron

That's really common, and why many photographers have someone else help them in selecting their best prints.  

Gary Winogrand was a famous street photographer and used to deliberately not develop the rolls of film he shot for something like a year, so that when he was looking at the images he wouldn't remember the situations associated with them but would only judge the image based on the image itself.  We're all guilty of preferencing a shot because it was hard to get, rather than the finished product being good  

[Video Hummus]

On 1/16/2020 at 6:35 AM, kye said:

deliberately not develop the rolls of film he shot for something like a year

I tell myself this is what I'm doing when I go shooting as well. All that video needs to marinate on my hard drives, right? ?

[kye]

16 minutes ago, Video Hummus said:

I tell myself this is what I'm doing when I go shooting as well. All that video needs to marinate on my hard drives, right? ?

Well, if that's the case, my footage is probably so marinated it'll be liquified!  If only I liked editing as much as I like shooting!!

[Mark Romero 2]

On 1/15/2020 at 4:15 PM, kye said:

I was watching a TV show last night and they had some cool spy vs spy stuff through the streets of Hong Kong, and it was shot well, had great colour science, the story was engaging, but it felt like a home movie.  I've watched several seasons of the show and other sequences didn't have the same feel.

What's the show?

Does it have English subtitles? Or do I need to brush up on my Cantonese first?

[kye]

4 hours ago, Mark Romero 2 said:

What's the show?

Does it have English subtitles? Or do I need to brush up on my Cantonese first?

Covert Affairs - Season 4 last few episodes.  Definitely in english..   Please don't judge me!

[edit: and, for absolutely no reason whatsoever, also let me recommend Master With Cracked Fingers as a rather different, but excellent, viewing experience!]