Orson Welles' Touch of Evil kicks off with a spectacular crane shot lasting over three minutes. It was probably the inspiration for Robert Altman's opening shot in The Player. Watch and learn.
Wow! what a great shot. Was the move done with a Titan crane? Perhaps it was the debut of the crane. this is a very impressive move for the times.
I need to stop working and stay home and watch movies. Someone told me today about a shot in "Gerry" http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0302674/ That is very impressive, add that to the list with "The Darjeeling Limited" and I'm tied up for an afternoon.
Hi CB. "The Color Purple" has beautiful work (I don't know offhand who the Dolly Grip was). as well as "Empire of the Sun". The one that sticks out is Hitchcock's "Rope" which was shot in a continuous progression of long takes where the cuts are hidden in architectural features such as dollies wiping into posts etc. It was supposedly the first feature to offer a dolly grip credit because Hitcock felt that the dolly grip was so integral to the story. Also "Gone With the Wind". The crane shot over the wounded was so far ahead of it's time that I couldn't believe it when I saw it.
Somewhat off-topic: In an episode of "SCTV" John Candy playing the director Johnny LaRue who keeps getting his crane shots cut due to costs or time or other problems. He freaks out, dies and goes to Crane Shot Heaven for the episode's credits.
The art of Dolly Gripping is like no other job in the world. It falls to us to work out the mechanics of a particular shot, as well as offer a smooth, aesthetically pleasing move which makes the shot work and delivers emotion to the scene. It's the ultimate blend of engineering and art. This website is a place for professionals in motion picture camera platform movement to meet and swap tips, stories, and gripe a little about the difficulties we often face, but rarely get to talk about among ourselves. It's also a place for aspiring Dolly Grips to learn a little something from the old pros. So, welcome. Look around and join our little community. The site is run by myself, D, and Azurgrip, two guys who have each spent the last 20 years moving cameras around film sets. But it also benefits from the readership and participation of hundreds of Dolly and Key Grips from around the world, men and women who have helped deliver some of the most memorable and beautiful moving shots on film. So if you have any questions, please ask. You can ask questions or make comments on our message forum, which is below, just above the photos, or email us at dollygrippery at gmail dot com. We, or one of the experienced grips who frequent this site will answer.
If you're looking for something in particular, please check out the "Links" section. Everything from equipment in India, to glamour shots of grips can be found there.
What you won't find here: How to make a dolly out of plywood, info on the Wa11y Dolly, anything about how to move a boat.
5 comments:
Wow! what a great shot. Was the move done with a Titan crane? Perhaps it was the debut of the crane. this is a very impressive move for the times.
I need to stop working and stay home and watch movies. Someone told me today about a shot in "Gerry" http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0302674/ That is very impressive, add that to the list with "The Darjeeling Limited" and I'm tied up for an afternoon.
Can anyone else add to my list of A+ dolly work.
CB
Hi CB. "The Color Purple" has beautiful work (I don't know offhand who the Dolly Grip was). as well as "Empire of the Sun". The one that sticks out is Hitchcock's "Rope" which was shot in a continuous progression of long takes where the cuts are hidden in architectural features such as dollies wiping into posts etc. It was supposedly the first feature to offer a dolly grip credit because Hitcock felt that the dolly grip was so integral to the story. Also "Gone With the Wind". The crane shot over the wounded was so far ahead of it's time that I couldn't believe it when I saw it.
D, you are full of great dolly grip history, I have added all of those to my list.
Thank you
Somewhat off-topic: In an episode of "SCTV" John Candy playing the director Johnny LaRue who keeps getting his crane shots cut due to costs or time or other problems. He freaks out, dies and goes to Crane Shot Heaven for the episode's credits.
I've got to look that one up.
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