The more I watch countless music videos, movies, tv shows, there are things which stand out as themes that I love. Past your simple in-jokes and nice sepia tones, I've found cinematographical (sp?) techniques which always draw me in- The un-cut tracking long-shot is unquestionably my favourite of these in the world of film. Though I'm not entirely certain of the name, this involves an extended shot, usually following just one character, over the course of a few minutes with absolutely no cutting away, no extra angles, no funny business. Just a clean, long shot, and a lot of good timing and, presumably, luck on the part of the director.
Most recently I've found it on YouTube with Walk off the Earth's Gianni and Sarah Blackwood with a rendition of Love Sponge. The slow-motion sections add an extra something-something too.
Of course, your standard point-and-shoot youtuber vlog will be in this same format, but when we up the quality of post the editing also takes a step up, as we filter out the dull bits and just get the funny (for reference, see My Drunk Kitchen, Jenna Marbles and other hilarious Americans). The fact that professional productions opt for the long-shot is telling of an artistic vision and confidence outside the norm.
One of the best ways of doing this I've seen is present in Coldplay's video for Yellow, which features only a (particularly young-looking) Chris Martin making his way down a beach as the sun slowly rises behind him.
A sunrise in real-time, or, slightly slower than real time. Do people simply look better when walking in slow-motion?
The music industry is not the only one to have created wonderful cinematographical pieces. Though YouTube won't allow me to link you to it, the first scene of the movie Serenity sees us go from outside a spaceship to the bridge, all along the characteristically homely deck and into the engine room, panning all around the interior of the ship, until we climb right up to the face of River Tam, the resident crazy. And, in one episode of the first series of Scrubs, all those years ago, the opening scene sees our three medical interns come from the parking lot, across a basketball court, into the hospital and up to the ICU- it reportedly took Donald Faison 21 takes to make the basketball shot on the court, let alone all the other would-be mistakes that made such a shot taxing to say the least.
But why do directors continue to do it? Well, quite simply, because it looks stunning.
Elsewhere, the West Wing, Christina Aguilera's The Voice Within video and quite a few adverts, too-
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