The Long Take: "The Office"

I'm such a sucker for the long take.

I find it thrilling to see several parts of a film production working together, seamlessly, to produce a single, long, uninterrupted piece of film. Not only to the actors have to be on their game (and not rely on cuts to 'cover' their performance), but every single other discipline on set has to be carefully choreographed and synchronized to make the shot work. These long takes are extremely time consuming to prep, and subsequent resets also eat up a lot of production time, so all departments really have to be on their game when shooting these uninterrupted cuts.

This long take from "The Office" (episode 'Dunder-Mifflin Infinity, Part Two') illustrates some amazing choreography between actors, special effects, cinematography and camera work. Not only is the clip funny, but it's actually suspenseful and exciting, too, especially because of the faux-documentary style of the show.



We'll have more coverage of long takes in film and television in the future. Hopefully.

As a side note: as much as I despise NBC Universal's business practices recently, I must admit that Hulu is pretty darn sweet.

"Raiders of the Lost Ark:" Simply Cool Shots

Wrapping up our series, paying tribute to the photography of Douglas Slocombe for "Raiders of the Lost Ark." (Be sure to see Part 1, "Raiders:" Shadows and Silhouettes, Part 2, "Raiders:" Eyes, and Part 3, "Raiders:" Foregrounds and Backgrounds.)

Here is a sampling of just plain cool in-camera shots (no visual effects) from "Raiders."

"Raiders of the Lost Ark:" Foregrounds and Backgrounds

Continuing our series, paying tribute to the photography of Douglas Slocombe for "Raiders of the Lost Ark." (Be sure to see Part 1, "Raiders:" Shadows and Silhouettes, and Part 2, "Raiders:" Eyes.)

Here is a sampling of images from "Raiders," where Spielberg and Slocombe frame objects of varying depths in the frame. In these shots, the filmmakers are telling a story from multiple depths, as well as filling the screen from left to right.











Coming up next time: simply cool shots from "Raiders."

 

"Raiders of the Lost Ark:" Eyes

Continuing our series, paying tribute to the photography of Douglas Slocombe for "Raiders of the Lost Ark." (Be sure to see Part 1, "Raiders:" Shadows and Silhouettes.) Here are a sample of images from "Raiders" where Slocombe and Spielberg focus on characters' eyes.








Coming up next time: foregrounds and backgrounds in "Raiders."

"Raiders of the Lost Ark:" Shadows and Silhouettes

Douglas Slocombe B.S.C., A.S.C. (in glasses), on the set of "Raiders of the Lost Ark"

In anticipation of the latest Indiana Jones film (which comes to theaters on May 22), let's take a look back at the work of extraordinary cinematographer Douglas Slocombe, who shot the first three Indiana Jones films.

By the time of "Raiders of the Lost Ark," (1981) Slocombe was a veteran cinematographer, with a rich and varied filmmography in both the United States and in England, and both in black and white and color. He was nominated for three Academy Awards (including "Raiders"), and for ten British Academy Awards (winning three, for "The Servant" in black and white, and for "The Great Gatsby" and "Julia" in color).

His photography gave "Raiders" a classic feel, visually paying homage to the matinee thrillers of the 1930's, while also raising the level of quality and aesthetics of 1980's blockbuster filmmaking. The collaboration between director Steven Spielberg and Slocombe is the reason why "Raiders" remains, to this day, one of the best looking action movies of all time.

Director Steven Spielberg and Douglas Slocombe, on location for "Raiders of the Lost Ark."

In this, the first of several posts paying tribute to the cinematography of "Raiders," we look at Slocombe's use of shadows and silhouettes. Enjoy.

UPDATE, 2/20/2016: Here's a peek behind the curtain, showing exactly how the production photographed the shadow of Sallah and Indy carrying the ark. That's a cutout of the ark, to cast the perfect profile shadow on the wall. Look how awkwardly John Rhys-Davies is forced to hold the "ark". Movie magic at its best.

Coming up next: Slocombe's photography of eyes in "Raiders."