Color/Fuzzy Camera in "Minority Report"

[DirkGntly]

I realize it’s been out for a while but I was reflecting on this recently and was wondering, what’s up withe fuzzy camera and funky colors in “Minority Report”? I didn’t see the flick in theaters, but saw it on DVD for the first time. The technique was so unusual, I actually thought something was wrong with my DVD player for a few minutes!
I guess it was there for “effect” but to me, at least for the first half-hour, I just found it “annoying” until I got used to it.
Did it affect anyone else this way?

• Dirk

[Keith_Berry]

I remember Speilberg’s director of photography (Janus Kaminsky? I think his name is) saying that he wanted to do something different; and since lush, overlit, colorful photography is one of Speilberg’s most common visual traits, they decided to go against the grain and make a harsh, monochromatic film.

[MovieMogul]

Janusz Kaminski. He has 2 Oscars, both from Spielberg films. A quote:

The director went on to note that the look of film and cinematography is “always evolving.” Minority Report has a very distinctive look and Spielberg and longtime DP Janusz Kaminski used a bleach by-pass process to remove a lot of the color from faces.

“That’s not to be confused with Saving Private Ryan where I simply desaturated the color and took out 65 percent of it for the whole film,” noted Spielberg. “This process just affects the faces, and keeps reds red and greens green, but it does bring down skin tones. The film stock today makes everyone look like they’re happy, when they shouldn’t be. The graininess was also important and we used 800 ASA emulsion for some of the scenes, and by shooting it in Super 35, it also forces you to blow it up after shooting, and that increases the grainy look too. I wanted it to have a texture to it, so it didn’t look slick like an acrylic painting. And that also plays against the futurism of it all.”

[Old_Shellhead]

*Originally posted by ArchiveGuy *
**Janusz Kaminski. He has 2 Oscars, both from Spielberg films. A quote: **

Janusz was also the director of the unfortunate film Lost Souls, a very poor movie (the climactic scene is absolutely inspid

Heroine & hero are sitting in car, waiting for the moment when the hero is supposed to turn into the devil incarnate. Moment passes…
Hero: I’m alive! Yay!
Heroine glances at dashboard clock and (gasp!) realizes it reads 6:66. Shoots hero.
Gaaaaah.
but with the same remarkable look.

[MovieMogul]

Well, there are few (if any) DPs that have made the successful transition to quality Director. Jack Clayton & Barry Sonnenfeld come closest to mind, but their directorial careers are still pretty spotty at best.