# Would somebody lend these guys a tripod! **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [April 5, 2005, 8:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/would-somebody-lend-these-guys-a-tripod/297906 "2005-04-05T20:40:45Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 10\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Plan\_B](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/3ec8ea/32.png) [@Plan\_B](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Plan_B)\ **Post date:** [April 5, 2005, 8:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/would-somebody-lend-these-guys-a-tripod/297906/1 "2005-04-05T20:40:45Z")
I just came home from watching _Mondovino_ . A large percentage of the film was clearly shot without a tripod and had a lot of up and down shaking. Both Ms. Plan B and I were kind of dizzy/squeamish right after the film. Is there a name for this technique? A rationale? Is this considered sophisticated or cultured in some way? Do people appreciate this kind of shot? Or did they just forget to bring their tripod? ---
**Author:** ![Johnny\_L.A](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/johnny_l.a/32/1084_2.png) [@Johnny\_L.A](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Johnny_L.A)\ **Post date:** [April 5, 2005, 8:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/would-somebody-lend-these-guys-a-tripod/297906/2 "2005-04-05T20:51:32Z")
A general term would be _cinéma vérité_ – literally ‘cinema truth’. It’s a documentary-style that stresses realism. Using a handheld camera is supposed to give the impression that what the viewer is seeing is ‘true’. It’s one of those techniques that was cutting-edge at one time, but which has now passed over to cliché. ---
**Author:** ![Cliffy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/59ef9b/32.png) [@Cliffy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cliffy)\ **Post date:** [April 5, 2005, 10:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/would-somebody-lend-these-guys-a-tripod/297906/3 "2005-04-05T22:35:30Z")
I wouldn’t say cinema verite is cliche. It’s not as popular as it was 10-15 years ago (when it was ubiquitous), but it’s not uncommon. –Cliffy ---
**Author:** ![jimpatro](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/b9e5f3/32.png) [@jimpatro](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jimpatro)\ **Post date:** [April 5, 2005, 11:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/would-somebody-lend-these-guys-a-tripod/297906/4 "2005-04-05T23:07:58Z")
Oy! Wish I could buy them all tripods. I work with a lot of newbie filmmakers who’d rather just shoot shaky cam. It’s an art to setup a camera on sticks, compose a shot, light it well, choreograph action and consider how a series of these shots will cut together later to form a scene that works. Many are just in it for the glory and don’t neccessarily have any talent. Not to mention the patience it takes to do it right. ---
**Author:** ![Stranger\_On\_A\_Train](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/13edae/32.png) [@Stranger\_On\_A\_Train](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Stranger_On_A_Train)\ **Post date:** [April 5, 2005, 11:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/would-somebody-lend-these-guys-a-tripod/297906/5 "2005-04-05T23:14:34Z")
> [@Johnny L.A.](#): > > It’s one of those techniques that was cutting-edge at one time, but which has now passed over to cliché. I wouldn’t exactly call it cliché; it’s used quite a bit, still, although it’s not as cutting edge as it once was when, say, _Medium Cool_ came out. The original _Law & Order_ series used this almost exclusively, and the critics hated initially hated the show for it, but it does add a sense of immediacy to the viewing. Still, rampant overuse of it is obnoxious. You see it a lot in cheap independant productions where they can’t afford a Steadicam setup and (for some reason) don’t want to use a tripod or mount. I guess it is supposed to look artistic, _a la_ von Trier’s _Dogme 95_ movement :rolleyes: but instead it generally just looks cheap. A good example of appropriate use I can think of off the top of my head is James Cameron’s use of it in _The Abyss_. While it was probably dictated by the claustrophobic sets and environment inside the rig, it does make the setting look more confined and the action more unpredictable. It’s noteworthy in that it’s unusual for Cameron, who otherwise almost exclusively uses Steadicam and fixed rail/crane mounts for camera movement. Stranger ---
**Author:** ![Stranger\_On\_A\_Train](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/13edae/32.png) [@Stranger\_On\_A\_Train](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Stranger_On_A_Train)\ **Post date:** [April 5, 2005, 11:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/would-somebody-lend-these-guys-a-tripod/297906/6 "2005-04-05T23:25:42Z")
> [@jimpatro](#): > > I work with a lot of newbie filmmakers who’d rather just shoot shaky cam. It’s an art to setup a camera on sticks, compose a shot, light it well, choreograph action and consider how a series of these shots will cut together later to form a scene that works. Ho boy, you must be talking about [this](http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0379270/) film. 'Course, they weren’t willing to spring the money or time for a decent, coherent script, either. I can’t believe this thing actually made it to a film house. If it weren’t for the lovely Marguerite Moreau in frequently denuded state that two hours would have been a complete write-off. Stranger ---
**Author:** ![YellowTail](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/y/b5ac83/32.png) [@YellowTail](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/YellowTail)\ **Post date:** [April 5, 2005, 11:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/would-somebody-lend-these-guys-a-tripod/297906/7 "2005-04-05T23:41:05Z")
Add me to the list of annoyed. It just looks like a gimmick to cover up bad acting and directing. ---
**Author:** ![Tuckerfan](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/eada6e/32.png) [@Tuckerfan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tuckerfan)\ **Post date:** [April 6, 2005, 12:56am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/would-somebody-lend-these-guys-a-tripod/297906/8 "2005-04-06T00:56:00Z")
But you know, the shaky camera stuff just isn’t complete without inexplicable jumping cutting like they used in the remake of _Get Carter_. ---
**Author:** ![RealityChuck](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/realitychuck/32/195_2.png) [@RealityChuck](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RealityChuck)\ **Post date:** [April 6, 2005, 2:53am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/would-somebody-lend-these-guys-a-tripod/297906/9 "2005-04-06T02:53:41Z")
> [@Stranger On A Train](#): > > I wouldn’t exactly call it cliché; it’s used quite a bit, still, although it’s not as cutting edge as it once was when, say, _Medium Cool_ came out. The original _Law & Order_ series used this almost exclusively, and the critics hated initially hated the show for it, but it does add a sense of immediacy to the viewing. Other way around. **Law and Order** used tripods. It was **Homicide: Life on the Streets** that was filmed exclusively without them, so much so that when the actors from Homicide crossed over to L&O, they commented that it was odd to see cameras on tripods. **NYPD Blue** used it a lot, though it was much more obtrusive – wild swings o the camera as opposed to Homicide’s just general shakiness. In films, it’s been done much longer. Kubrick filmed the attack on the base in **Dr. Strangelove** with a handheld camera, and I’m sure the technique was used in avant garde films even earlier than that. ---
**Author:** ![Stranger\_On\_A\_Train](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/13edae/32.png) [@Stranger\_On\_A\_Train](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Stranger_On_A_Train)\ **Post date:** [April 6, 2005, 5:04am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/would-somebody-lend-these-guys-a-tripod/297906/10 "2005-04-06T05:04:35Z")
> [@RealityChuck](#): > > Other way around. **Law and Order** used tripods. It was **Homicide: Life on the Streets** that was filmed exclusively without them, so much so that when the actors from Homicide crossed over to L&O, they commented that it was odd to see cameras on tripods. Er, no. I don’t know about your last statement, but the original _L&O_ show used a lot (although possibly not exclusively) handheld and possibly Steadicam shots. They didn’t use it in the overmannered style of _Homicide_ or _NYPD Blue_, but they definitely did use freehand camera work. The franchise shows, however, seem to use more conventional static shots, from what little I’ve seen of them. Stranger