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This scene from the 2010 film The Other Guys is not only drop-dead hilarious, but also loaded with action. It's actually a fairly simple scene, in the feel of a big budget action blockbuster. Shot in wide 2.35:1 cinema-scope aspect ratio, the movie has a typical action movie looks. The cameras used Arriflex 235 and Panavison Panaflex in 35mm film. This scene in particular really isn't anything specially, its just a lot of quick cuts that are pieced together to create a short burst of action. It starts with a dolly in behind actors Ferrell and Whalberg as they exchange a view pieces of humorous dialogue. This is followed by a reverse dolly long shot as they address the boardroom. The lighting in this scene has no artistic value whatsoever, its probably all lit naturally, along with the practicals in the room (maybe a key). The color and lighting is as it would appear to the human eye, maybe a little flatter. (Grey appears on the walls, floor, and on everyone's suits). The next shot is a wide of the main characters as the events of the scene play out. A jump cut in on Ferrell and Steve Coogan sets up the next shot. As the music crescendos, the camera flips around and zooms in on Bob, the punchline. The question proposed earlier is answered by this shot, and then confirmed with dialogue. While the plot is half-assed and doesn't make much sense, that's not where interest lies. The plot in and of itself, is sort of a joke; an afterthought. The action starts after Ferrell picks up the papers and everyone in the background pulls out guns. There's a close up of the papers, followed by more guns being pulled across the table. The music picks up intensity again as the tension is built up. A quick close up of Whalberg pulling his gun, and then the antagonist delivers his line in a medium close-up. We then cut to a close up of Ferrell who turns to look at where we can assume Whalberg is. As he turns, there is a Leone style zoom to extreme close up right on his eyes. This intense shot is synced up with the beginning notes of The White Stripes' Icky Thump, to kick off the action. Then there is an identical zoom in on Whalberg on the other side of the screen, indicating eye contact using the rule of thirds. One more action-reaction of Ferrell and Whalberg nodding at each other. By zooming in on their eyes, we are locked in with the two, and now exactly what they're planning. This is effective visual story telling, that in just 5 seconds, we have seen an entire conversation, using no words. The action begins with Ferrell throwing the stack of papers in the air as a distraction. This is shown through a series of cuts on the action. The real genius of this film, that is displayed in this scene, is how the jokes are played so naturally. Their often told so quickly and subtly that one could mistake them for being honest. When Ferrell throws his stack of papers, everyone in the room ducts as if they were a weapon. The shooting begins after this, with a quick series of shots. The antagonist fires, followed by Ferrell's reaction, followd by Whalberg's return fire. In reality, or any realistic movie, the villains could not possibly miss from point blank range, but in this scene they do. Throughout every shot, small explosions of paper, or bullets are thrown in to add to mayhem. We then are shown a wide shot of the room through the floating papers. Both sides are ducking and firing at one another, even tho they are trying to kill the same two men. Some more quick shots of actors dropping to the floor, and Ferrell escorting Coogan out of the building. A quick note, the rule of 180 simply does not exist in this scene, with actors being shot from all sides and angles. But this actually adds to the scene increasing the dysfunction. Several shots are taken from outside the building as several windows are shattered, assumingly with bullets. The crew must have had a big rig (possibly crane) to get outide the building, and shoot in. After more shots of guns firing and Ferrell running, we see him turn around and motion to Whalberg, amongst the papers. Every shot is slowed down at a higher frame rate as to actually show what is going on, otherwise it wouldn't be very entertaining at all. A close up of Whalberg reveals him pulling out a second gun as we start to move with him. There's a quick cutaway of Ferrell exiting the room with Coogan as the door shatters behind him, and then back to Whalberg as we finish his shot. This leads to the big stunt of the scene, Whalberg's table slide. A quick long shot is shown of him (or a double) landing on the table. There's a couple ore cuts of him sliding. The gag is the length of his slide, which is shown in 8 entire shots. Two of these, include a quick zoom in, and out, which is almost completely unnoticeable watching at full speed. I've always wondered how they completed this stunt. My assumption is that they tied Whalberg to some sort of wire rig and pulled him, then masked it out in post. As Whalberg falls off, there's some cutting on action as he is shown getting up, and leaving the room. In the entire sequence, there are 63 cuts, even though it only runs for a 1:67. The cuts are so quickly paced, that its almost impossible to tell when its happening. The action almost looks like one fluid motion, but is actually broken up to an average of 1 cut every 2 seconds. 

The Wolfpack, directed by Crystal Moselle, is probably the most interesting documentary I've ever seen.  It tells the story of 6 boys, who have spent a majority of their life inside a small apartment on the Lower East side of Manhattan. They rarely leave to go outside, or socialize with anyone outside their immediate family. While this would be torturous to anyone else, the Angulo boys find a creative outlet, reenacting movies with painstaking detail. The level of creativity these recreations contain is incredible, from every piece of dialogue, to intricate props and setting. Their taste in movies is of the highest, with selections such as Reservoir Dogs, The Dark Knight, No Country For Old Men, and more. What really makes the film standout, is how fit for the screen it is. At some points during the movie, I had to remind myself I was watching a documentary and not a scripted piece of fiction. It is perhaps due to the fact that all the boys feel like characters, instead of people, because movies are the only relation to the outside world they've ever had. One can clearly see the reflection and influence the dialogue of Tarantino and the Cohen Brothers have left on them. While Moselle is set up with a great story, her execution of it is near flawless as well. There clearly wasn't a big crew used, as outsiders weren't allowed in the Angulo house, so I assume she ran sound by herself, and used natural lighting (outside the occasional key or two). The way Moselle frames her shots are clever. She consistently uses a lens that is slightly too big for the shot, resulting in a partial crop on every subject, room, etc. This makes the whole thing feel very claustrophobic, subconsciously giving the viewer, in a sense, what the boys feel. Its very effective in telling their story where one of the essential themes is isolationism and its effects. The doc was shot on the Cannon 7D (the indie filmmaker's camera) and is very basic as far as stylistic choices. If anything, its cinema verite, which means there is an absence of artistic choices, and the camera just runs, picking up everything unaltered, letting the story tell itself. This works in her case as the story is good enough on its own merits and doesn't need flashy cinematography. Its almost unbelievable how much character development and plot movement there is in something unscripted, and that, is the films greatest strength. The real directors choice comes in the editing, choosing what we see, when we see it, and what music is behind it. That's what makes the previously mentioned strength so potent. Moselle is able to take all of her footage, and piece it together to make a convincing story. I would recommend this film to anyone and everyone, but especially hose who enjoy the art of filming. Part of the joy i found in watching this, was seeing some of my absolute favorite movies, be cherished by someone else as heavily as I do. The fact that movies are the boys salvation rings true (albeit to a lesser extent) with me. I actually felt myself smiling at their Heath Ledger and Samuel L Jackson impressions. This had to be, hands down, the single most entertaining, and moving documentary I've ever watched.  

The Shining, directed by Stanley Kubrick and shot by John Alcott, is one of the eeriest horror movies of all time. It's effective at being scary, without any jump scares or images to frighten you. This scene is part of a much larger ax-chase scene that stands as the climax of the movie. It is shot on the Arriflex 35mm camera and makes use of what at the time was a new technology, the Steadicam. This scene in particular finds Jack Torrance (Jack Nicholson) Chasing his son Danny and wife Wendy (Shelly Duvall) into the bathroom with an ax. Moments before the first shot, Danny climbs out the window and escapes. The first shot we see is a tracking shot of Nicholson walking up the stairs with the horrific sounds of composers Ligeti and Pendericki playing over. This gives an obvious sense of doom especially since Nicholson is walking towards the camera. We then cut to Duvall failing to crawl through the window to escape. These two shots cut together give the viewer a sense of the urgency, and fear she is feeling in the present moment. Then cut back to a shot of Nicholson tracking through the room towards the bathroom we know Duvall is in. The camera just meanders behind him, as if its its own character. This technique of free moving Steadicam is used throughout the entire film. It almost feels like a character in its own, somewhere between the characters point of view, and a gods eye look. This sort of meandering is part of what makes the shining so scary. Nicholson delivers his creepy line and we cut to Duvall. This time inside the bathroom, over her shoulder. She reacts to Nicholson's threats by turning around frantically. This builds the tension even further, as we can feel Nicholson edging closer. Another reverse shot from outside as Duvall fails again to escape. The music meanwhile is even more cacophonous. It slowly crescendos to build tension until Nicholson touches the door handle and it begins again. Here we have a tight side shot of Nicholson facing the door. He turns to face the camera and knocks on the door. The harsh lighting on his face only intensifies his craziness. It picks up his bulging eyes and his wandering tongue. A quick note that Nicholson was born to play this part and really sells the performance here. Nothing about the scene is scary if he's not. We cut back to Duvall in the window reacting to his knocking. She tells her son Danny to run as we cut out to a wide shot of the hotel buried in snow. The parallel between this wide shot, and the lose ups in the bathroom give the viewer a sense of claustrophobia. It makes the interaction between Jack and Wendy seem that much tighter. The colors are contrasting as well, which gives the scene some visual excitement (blue on red, cold on warm). After Nicholson delivers another insane line from outside the door, we cut inside, and this time, Duvall is frantic. The camera shows this as it shakes and quickly pans down to the knife she is eyeing. The camera then pans back up as she grabs it and takes cover. This quick movement sets us up for the remainder of the scene which is shot from essentially two angles. She also moves right across the 180 line in this shot as the camera switches to the other side of the actors for the rest of the scene. A quick return to Nicholson giving the last line of his pun, then a shot from behind showing his action. Finally, when he begins to chop at the door, the camera (on a tripod) moves back with him, then rapidly pans towards the door as he chops. The camera here, is paired up with Jack's swings. This not only gives the shot excitement and visual movement, but also places great importance in Jack's ax, possibly a symbol of his insanity. Cut to inside the bathroom, we see Duvall cowering in the corner, with the ax appearing in frame between her and the camera, aimed at her head. Enough said. This shot continues for a few seconds until a hole appears in the door. The camera uses this as a frame for Nicholson's face, apearing through it. he keeps chopping until we cut back to the shot prior where he finishes the hole. Her screaming seems to be in time with the ax chopping creating a call and response type effect between Jack and Wendy. The music crescendos again and in steps Jack to the door. The next shot is the infamous "Here's Johnny!" line. It is extremely close up and above all, bizarre. It stands out from all the other shots because it calls attention to itself. To end the scene, he steps away from the door and reaches for the door handel. We cut down to a close-up of his hand. Then a simple shot of Wendy slicing it, a reaction ofthe knife cutting hand, and then a final shot of his reaction. 

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