86th Academy Awards: 2014

All non-Nolan related film, tv, and streaming discussions.
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I doubt Hoytema would win for Interstellar even if it ends up being the best shot film of the year. The Academy is not much of a fan of Christopher Nolan, and Wally's win for Inception is probably about as far as their love will go for the time being. They might give him a consolation "Best Director" win in about 15 years, though.

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ChristNolan wrote:The Dark Knight Rises and The Master had better cinematography than Skyfall.
I like when people present their opinion like it's an indisputable fact.

I think sometimes people confuse pretty pictures/composition for cinematography, and in the case of both Nolan and PTA, I can guarantee you that framing is more often than not established by the two of them and not Pfister/Malamaire. Skyfall's lighting was some of the best I've ever seen, and The Dark Knight Rises and The Master are undoubtedly well-shot, but The Dark Knight Rises is far from Wally's best work in my opinion (yet still fantastic) and The Master (while striking) is mainly notable for it's use of 65mm and it's framing.

I'm not discounting either movie, in fact I was quick to cry foul on both of those movies being excluded from the nominations, but Skyfall is a film who's lighting directly helps to enhance the narrative and themes of obscurity, enemies of the state now existing in the shadows, and worn/weariness from old age.

I love all three films, but I personally prefer Skyfall and think Deakins is the best in the business right now.

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Wally's control of shadow in Rises is nothing short of jaw dropping, but the final 45 minutes of Rises is mostly pretty great color timing. The actual 'cinematography' doesn't touch the city-shots in The Dark Knight or Inception.

Anyway, how can we hypothesize who will or won't win for films we've seen nearly no footage for?


-Vader

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It was really just talking about which projects were looking forward to, of course we have no idea but rather just the potential in each.

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o SHAKESPEARE o wrote:
ChristNolan wrote:The Dark Knight Rises and The Master had better cinematography than Skyfall.
I like when people present their opinions like it's an indisputable fact.

I think sometimes people confuse pretty pictures/composition for cinematography
It's all opinion. Who cares how its presented.

They do, but I am not one of them. I am well aware of what all goes into the term and the craft. Cinematography should be the visual reflection and presentation of the story, themes, and characters. Like you said, not just "pretty pictures". The visuals should tell you as much about the film as the dialogue and plot itself does. Which is what TDKR does best (I also consider it to be Nolan's most Kubrickian film yet). Example:

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This shot, or scene in particular is masterfully lit in that it highlights the key characterizations of Bane. It's a harken back to the silent film era horror monsters with its dark blacks, and a piercing white focus onto the character. It creates this "grim reaper" visual as you will notice that his head looks like a skull with his black pitted eyes. He is the incarnation of death and destruction; Bane.

That is just one of many many examples I can bring forth, but I don't want this post to be suuuper long.

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ChristNolan wrote: The Dark Knight Rises had better cinematography than Skyfall.
lmao!

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Law wrote:
ChristNolan wrote: The Dark Knight Rises had better cinematography than Skyfall.
lmao!
10/10 great response would read again.

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o SHAKESPEARE o wrote:
ChristNolan wrote:The Dark Knight Rises and The Master had better cinematography than Skyfall.
I like when people present their opinion like it's an indisputable fact.

I think sometimes people confuse pretty pictures/composition for cinematography, and in the case of both Nolan and PTA, I can guarantee you that framing is more often than not established by the two of them and not Pfister/Malamaire. Skyfall's lighting was some of the best I've ever seen, and The Dark Knight Rises and The Master are undoubtedly well-shot, but The Dark Knight Rises is far from Wally's best work in my opinion (yet still fantastic) and The Master (while striking) is mainly notable for it's use of 65mm and it's framing.

I'm not discounting either movie, in fact I was quick to cry foul on both of those movies being excluded from the nominations, but Skyfall is a film who's lighting directly helps to enhance the narrative and themes of obscurity, enemies of the state now existing in the shadows, and worn/weariness from old age.

I love all three films, but I personally prefer Skyfall and think Deakins is the best in the business right now.

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I like you.

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Vader182 wrote:Wally's control of shadow in Rises is nothing short of jaw dropping...
Oh, absolutely! Please don't think I'm discounting Rises' cinematography, Wally is brilliant. I just feel as if Skyfall is Deakins at the top of his game, and Wally somewhere between great and good. But so much of the movie relies on natural daylight without any bounce, rigs, or diffusion - just the camera. For example, this:
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In fact, I think the real stand-out in Rises was Nolan's aerial cinematographer. The movement and exposure in this shot is fantastic.
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But I'm glad you mentioned color timing, because that's another strong suit of Nolan's films. You're absolutely right, the colorist deserves some recognition.

@ChristNolan, I'm glad you picked that scene because it's the best example of what Vader was talking about (Wally's control of shadows) and it's a good example of the lighting enhancing the narrative, but not necessarily for the reason you gave. Sure, it helps Bane look more menacing, but I've always felt that the sewer fight is notable for the way the harsh, almost stadium-like lighting comes directly from above. By placing the light directly above, it frames their fight as a cage match of sorts. There's a sense of audience (enhanced by the inserts of Bane's henchmen) and also there's a narrative implication that Batman is going up against this heavyweight champion and the spotlight is on them - everything comes down to this.

Again, it's a really fantastic scene, and there are certainly others, but in my opinion, Skyfall impresses to the same degree through nearly every part of the movie, scene after scene after scene (with variety to boot), from the opening silhouette shot all the way to the brilliant fiery conclusion at the Skyfall mansion.

Ultimately, it comes down to opinion, which is why I took issue with you just blatantly declaring your opinion as truth without any evidence.

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There are a great many Holy Shit moments from Deakins in Skyfall, but my favourite is the low angle of Bardem, his hair blown by the chopper and illuminated by its light. Truly nightmarish.

That being said, Mendes clearly has a strong influence on how these films look. There's a pretty strong visual through-line for all three of his DoPs.

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