Excellent tips Luc... I've been doing these for years; always nice to watch a refresher on them. Enhancing the light that is already there is such a huge but underated tip. Heavier = better for camera rigs.. yes! I think people don't realize this.. also; points of contact on the camera; an EVF is a nice third/fourth point. I never use autofocus with the stories I film.. even if a shot I am in the middle of has me searching for focus.. its organic.. It also makes you feel like your perspective makes that shot/shots work. I could go on and on.. thanks for sharing these and your thoughts on Verite. I 100% agree.
Great video! Just forgot to mention "City of God", which for me is the biggest reference for a film that has this documentary style (even if the film is "outside" Hollywood)
I know this may sound counterproductive, but a third option for shaky hands with small cameras is to use the gimbal in FFW mode or sport mode. That usually eliminates shakiness and offers a handheld feel.
Having worked as a cinematographer for 20 years, primarily on feature films and TV shows, I can say that it is all about the story. If the story feels like it could benefit from a handheld style, then sure, go with that. But to say that you get more immersed in the story because of handheld, I strongly disagree. There are many examples where handheld has been a distraction rather than something that enhanced the story. In short, apply the cinematography that serves the story, not because something is trending.
Felt the same way when I first watched Dune at home but when I saw it on a proper IMAX screen for Part 2 I confirmed my suspicion that the streaming version crop was stifling and made the lenses seem much longer than they actually were. When viewing it in the native aspect ratio the film felt completely different and was much more immersive. Hopefully they'll release an original aspect ratio version for streaming or BluRay.
I think there are some situations where long lenses can give a sense of realism. For example Cassavetes and Abbas Kiraostami even some of the Safdies earlier stuff give this feeling as if the cameras are depicting very intimate moments without being choreographed. Shooting from far away feels as if the actors aren’t even aware of that they’re being filmed the camera follows the actor in a fashion similar to the observational approach in some documentaries.
Hey Luc! Great video, I’m falling in love with this style of cinematography more and more. One thing I don’t completely agree with is the wide lens discussion. A lot of documentaries are shot on longer lenses and zooms (as you said.) For example Captain Philips (just like most of the movies shot by Barry Ackroyd like The Big Short and The Hurt Locker) is almost always on long very compressed focal lengths but I don’t think it makes any less veritè. Just wanted to know what you think about it :) great video!
The first film i remember using this documentary style approach was the "Right Stuff" (1983) by P. Kaufman. I first saw it as a kid back in the late '80s, and it was exactly because they used actual footage from the official NASA space program archives, that it was so deeply ingrained in my memory, as a deep and serious film, as opposed to Top Gun for example.
It's not just the cinematography. It's also the writing and acting style. A lot of older movies almost seem more like theatrical play. Modern writing and acting has become very realistic and close to real life. A good example of this is The Meyerowitz Stories. It's full of characters talking over each other and a lot of times having a conversation where both characters are not hearing each other at all and talking about totally separate things. It's really wild.
Roger Deakins also discusses the use of close-ups with wide lenses, affirming Luc's statements. This channel provides high-quality information comparable to what I encountered while studying documentary filmmaking at university in Vancouver. My professor was the director of the film "Bombies" (2001).
Would have loved for you to talk about Terrence Malick and his style. You briefly mentioned Chivo with Children of Men but Chivo and Malick together 🤯🤯. They even established a dogma when it came to shooting which overlaps with your tips as well
My dad ,Brian Probyn BSC ,was the first DP on BadLands , came from docs and taught Malik everything about camera moves :) , it was Maliks first film out of film school , and he was a bit clueless apparently , and gave my dad an ulcer !
Lately, as an artist, the two sides of me have been battling between formality and spontaneity. I think there's a harmony between both that can prove impactful and emersive.
It really isn't taking over Hollywood. There have always been some movies like that, and some movies with other styles. Surveys show that more audiences than not do not like the documentary style, particularly women. I personally do not want everything I watch to be ugly-gritty-depressing In Canada I'm an outcast to many in the film community, which has been saying what you are saying for the 20 years I have been in the business, but I don't really care. BTW Children of Men as what, 15 years ago? More? And Barbie was last summer. So... Not really an example of how something is supposedly currently trending.
Maybe not so much Hollywood movies yet, but as far as TV goes I feel like the success of a show like Succession and the work of Armando Iannucci may come to influence others shows, particularly more dramatic comedies.
@@phillt436 Yes. There have always been a variety of styles, both visual and narrative, to cater to a variety of tastes. If you look at watch minutes reports on streamers, you don't in any way see an uptick in audience desire for the doco style.
"taking over hollywood" is more of a youtube terminology for clicks. i think what he means is it's becoming more popular. Yes this style of filmmaking have been around, and i agree that not everyone wants to watch this style of film. But he's also right about this tyle being utilized more these days.the target audience of this video is cinematographers who are unfamiliar with this style but interested in it. The purpose is to give them some insight and techniques that they can apply to get better at this style. and it served its purpose.
Ooof. I feel that. I was a Field Producer/DP on a docu-series which was AMAZING. It didn't pay well, but it was decent for my first "big" profile shoot. I had to take a job as a B-Roll Cam Op on a home reno show i'm it's 6th season. They are paying me $190/day. Other Cam Ops are getting a regular reality rate, bur they don't consider me a real CamOp.
You are totally right the doc style already took over Advertising Promotional videos around the world to make it feel more authentic and relatable. Often shot on film developed in newly opened film labs
You've been inspiring a lot so I will start with some mini docs to start my RUclips channel and get some practice, so this video is obviously a little step into the right direction. Thanks and keep it up! Greets from Mexico.
In the UK this move from doc to features was already happening in the 60,70,s , maybe more so than in the US. Roger Deakins , Chris Menges , Barry Ackroyd all came from doc,s and I think their feature film work is clearly influenced by that background . I assisted Barry Ackroyd for 6 years in the UK in the 80,s , he always used zooms and those small motivated zooms are pretty much his trade mark move. When I was his focus puller he actually didn't want the focus pulls to be nailed , he said go past and come back and find it. Easily done in the days before monitors :) .. best DP to be a focus puller for !.
Some notable factors on the field: Productions wanting to be more efficient by run n' gunning and shooting more pages per day Directors & DPs loving the shallow DOF looks from close-ups and mediums Subsequently: Directors & DP have become less comfortable with tripod shots because of the time they require to stage as well as a fear of lifelessness of a shot By all means not all is bad, though I feel a notable disconnect between creators' personal pleasure (from creative satisfaction on set) and the bigger mission which is to serve the audience
This is really old news, if anything, Cinematography is starting to move away from the documentary/naturalistic style. Striking colorful compositions with artistic camera movements are back and I couldn't be more excited. Documentary style cinematography is so goddamn boring and overused.
I agree. "Docu-style" is just a way to drive costs down and speed up production. It's usually a symptom of productions who struggled with time / budget / planning. We're getting more and more people focused on creating a proper language and a unique style of cinematography these past few years. Hopefully the "Taken" era of poorly operated handheld films is gone.
I think you’ve confused “aesthetic” with “ethic.” “Documentary style” is much more, in this case, about being less deliberate and prepared and instead documenting stuff happening-instead of bending everything backwards for the camera’s sake
@@The_CGA exactly. Which is why it looks bland and boring 90% of the time. It’s a movie, everything should bend backwards for the cameras sake. Your not making a documentary, your not documenting real life. You’re creating art, and one of the most important parts of art is intention. Blocking, composition, and lighting are the most important things. Following actors handheld with a high iso mirrorless camera (so you don’t have to use lights) is not Cinema, and it’s hardly art imo. It’s more of a technical skill then anything else. Let’s just call it what it is, videography.
@@liampughwell that depends on the story being told and what effect the director wants the film to have. I certainly wouldnt call schindlers list or saving private ryan unintentional.
@@fredisflores3878 your proving my point, both those films are decades old at this point. While I’m personally not a fan of the style I’m in no way staying it doesn’t have a valid place in cinema. It just isn’t “taking over Hollywood” as the video suggests. Most big movies these days have gone back to using a more defined cinematic language through careful composition and lighting. Docu-style is kinda dead imo. Sure movies like the creator used it to great effect but overall that look is kinda dated now. Feels very 2010’s. 2020’s have been more stylized so far.
Thanks Luc great insights. One question i ask myself as a documentary filmmaker often. Shooting wide brings you in the scene and makes it more immersive as you said, but you with the obvious camera become much more disturbing/seen to the people you´re shooting. Often i find it better, when they forget that there is a camera shooting them. What is your approach to that? I´m thankful for a good advice or some experience.
'I prefer 3rd ACs who are classically trained' ...so you were supposed to be trained as a 'classical' PA first or something? Can't stand logic like that DP's
"Classically trained?" If you were asking to be his 1stAC - I'd kind of get it - you might not know the protocol, but you were asking to be in the position people do to get the training! Maybe they thought you being overqualified would be a problem, like you'd step on their toes or something.
in my humble opinion being overqualified for a 3rd AC might be a bad thing... i guess the DP felt he/she needed someone who would just run for the batteries and having someone overqualified was gonna bring him/her some kind of stress he/she didn't want to have on set... might also be that he/she had their team ready, and knew what to expect from them. which is valuable. I honestly like hiring assistants that are good and do their own DP work, but sometimes you just need someone reliable who listens and do the "dirty" job while maybe learning some stuff on the way. I feel bad underpaying an overqualified person on set, but I guess if you talk it out in advance and they agree is fine. in this and every other industry there is way more than qualifications to get a job there is people's skills.. I'm a nerd for technical stuff and my wife is a natural for connecting with people, some of the best jobs I got was because she handled the clients, decision makers very well while I was able to answer the technical questions. Now she is both, great technical and great peoples skills, while I still struggle connecting at a personal level with the decision makers.
hello Luck, I really appreciate your videos, Thank you very much. I have been out of Nigeria for almost 11 years now, as an Architect I picked up a camera and fell in love with it, now that I am going back home I want to produce some documentaries to preserve some of Nigerian heritage. I would like your advice and more.
Hey Luc! Have you watched “End of Watch”? Talk about a doc style movie, man you gotta check it out if you have time! Absolutely loved how different it felt from other movies.
random question: Why does Alone only show the other DP's face when they allow glimpses of the crew? Whenever the crew goes in to visit a participant for a med check or for the winner reveal they only show the other DP's face? I wonder if the other DP has a different status on the production--he's positioned as someone the participant can interact with or maybe your shooting style is simply more fly-on-the-wall? It just random? Yes, I'm going back through previous seasons in prep for Season 11.
Love shooting in the Verite style you laid it out perfectly thank you! With the No Man's Land examples for the lighting wouldn't you say that the DP was using some bounce to light up the face just a bit. This is one thing that I have struggled with when shooting into the giant scary ball in the sky. Thoughts anyone?
I saw Glen Howerton from Always sunny talk about filmming Blackberry that they used Long Lenses on gimbals on tripods and shot a lot of stuff telephoto to give it a more voyeuristic feeling.
Nah The cinema verite style is becoming common in Hollywood cause of 2 thing, 1. All the directors and DOPs that were using that style came to Hollywood and all your favourite directors/dop got inspired by them. Cinema verite is not a new trend, America isn’t the only country that makes films. This style was a common style of cinematography in Europe, Mexico and Taiwan (Nuovo cine Mexicano films, british social realism films, dogme 95 films, French new wave/verite films, Romanian new wave films, Taiwan new wave films) alphonso cuaron and lubeksi changed the world of Hollywood when they brought the nuovo Mexican style to Hollywood (children of men) Danny Boyle did the same thing by introducing the British realism style to Hollywood. American directors like Catherine bigelow & Terrence Malik were the first few directors to adopt the verite style. And directors like Kelly Reichardt made the style popular in the American/canadian indie scene. So now you have a bunch of newer directors all being influenced by the verite style and that’s why you’re seeing more and more of it. Secondly, it’s also becoming a response to superhero film saturation. Just like the French new wave/verite was a response to westerns. Newer Directors want to make more grounded films and this neo verite style is the antithesis of that superhero style.
I have no idea what camera district 9 was shot on. Me 5 seconds looking it up. It’s red cameras with Cooke se 4 primes. News footage shot Sony ex1 and ex3 cameras. Somebody asks what camera is the creator was shot on. I have no idea. Dude it was advertised all last year. There interviews with the dp. Takes 5 seconds.
Hey luc, Excellent video as always. I have a question if you have time to answer it... did they light Frances McDormand's character in the scene at 13:18? How did shooting backlit on that scene not sillouhette her? Thanks for sharing your experiences with us all!
@@joaocorreiamedia Thank you so much for the reply. It was such a simple tactic to... I kinda feel dumb. I guess when he says in the video "They only used natural light" even bounces went right out the window. I'm still learning. 😄
@@JesseEdgar If you meet someone who says they've learned all there is to learn... chances are they're full of it. It's possible they didn't use a bounce and it's just good color grading and great dynamic range of the camera used, but I doubt it.
It's taking over Hollywood because Hollywood loves trends. This, and the latest reliance on droning hybrid soundtracks are perfect examples, and they, too, shall pass.
Hi Luc, I am a mature film production student and I am trying to get as much experience as possible and after uni is done I would not do anything that is not DoP-ing. I simply don't want to do something that I don't care. You have so much experience that a lot of people would love to have you as a DoP, probably they would be smaller productions but if that's what you want to do go for it!
Handheld is almost never done well today. The exceptions are exceedingly rare. It's almost always intrusive and degrades the viewing experience. In real life, my eyes are not making the world jump all over the place, even when I'm in a fender bender. An intrusively shaky camera insults the actors ("you can't convey emotion - here, let me help"). Over-shaky clips are tiring to watch and feel contrived. They tempt the camera person to think his/her role includes helping to write the script, which it doesn't.
Frankly, I see it as a failure of cinematography. If I want to see a documentary, I'll do that. A movie should look like a feast for the eyes. Poetry in motion. Documentary-style cinematography is were movies go to die.
A lot of DPs are idiots. Protectionists; afraid they'll loose their jobs to younger, and "more talented", people. I always teach everything I know, I don't care. There's room for everyone. Cheers!
I kind of dislike the documentary style in narrative works, the supposed realism clashes with the inherently abstract nature of storytelling and pulls me out of the story. If the movie pretends everything in it is real it ends up highlighting all the artificiality and contrivances that are necessary for any narrative to function, but without the aesthetic layer that gives you enough distance to let the story affect you. I also don't think imitating reality is a useful aesthetic goal to begin with, you can express ideas much more precisely through abstraction and simplification, because you have to actively make choices on how to represent something for it to work. I would go as far as saying that conveing the idea of realism isn't even possible. That children of men scene isn't immersive for me, I can literally see the cameraman through the camera movements, nomad land seems to be very carefully composed, its incredibly artificial, which kind of highlights that the supposed pursuit of "realism" is basically futile. Don't get me wrong, this technique can be used in interesting ways, it can have a kind of thrilling energy, it has a certain gritty texture, it's very distinct and immediate, even somewhat jarring. But a lot of the time it isn't, most of the time I see it it's a non decision, it's just a lot easier to gather content if you shoot everything wide and handheld. Most of the time it lacks intent and is therefore empty. You could say it's realistic, which as I said isn't a real or possible idea in my opinion, but even if it were possible to convey reality, reality is incoherent, flat and boring. I think there are far better ways to convey ideas and narratives, Everytime this technique works it is either used sparingly or stylists to a degree that calling it authentic or realistic would just be false.
To be honest, documentary style cinematography feels lazy. Dune, for example, feels like a real world with beautiful views, while district 9 feels like home made video
Personally i tend to lose interest in a movie when it's shot in "documentary style" that you speak of. It kind of gives it that douchy aura, like, we're lazy but we're gonna mask it by applying a simpler aesthetic and pretend we don't care either way. Also, I'd like to butt in and state that what you define as the "traditional Hollywood aesthetic" is actually video-game aesthetic. The truly traditional aesthetic goes way back and is timeless. Don't confuse rollercoaster rides with Vilmos Zsigmond.
I’ve been bingeing your videos for the past week and learning so much. I’m an aspiring filmmaker and professional photographer and found your style engaging and videos incredibly helpful. Thank you Luc!
This is great timing where I’ll be filming a documentary for a thesis project this summer! I’ve been following this channel closely to get tips. Thank you!
"Use your feet to get closer to your characters" i loved that
Excellent tips Luc... I've been doing these for years; always nice to watch a refresher on them. Enhancing the light that is already there is such a huge but underated tip. Heavier = better for camera rigs.. yes! I think people don't realize this.. also; points of contact on the camera; an EVF is a nice third/fourth point. I never use autofocus with the stories I film.. even if a shot I am in the middle of has me searching for focus.. its organic.. It also makes you feel like your perspective makes that shot/shots work. I could go on and on.. thanks for sharing these and your thoughts on Verite. I 100% agree.
Learning so much from you!! Thanks 🙏🏽
Look at you, Omar!! nice to see you around here 😀
You are so welcome!
Great video! Just forgot to mention "City of God", which for me is the biggest reference for a film that has this documentary style (even if the film is "outside" Hollywood)
I was thinking exactly
I know this may sound counterproductive, but a third option for shaky hands with small cameras is to use the gimbal in FFW mode or sport mode. That usually eliminates shakiness and offers a handheld feel.
District 9...great choice!
great vid, thanks Luc for everything, please keep these coming!
Thanks, will do!
Thank you for taking the time to put this together Luc! Clear, insightful and actionable, love it
Glad it was helpful!
Having worked as a cinematographer for 20 years, primarily on feature films and TV shows, I can say that it is all about the story. If the story feels like it could benefit from a handheld style, then sure, go with that. But to say that you get more immersed in the story because of handheld, I strongly disagree. There are many examples where handheld has been a distraction rather than something that enhanced the story. In short, apply the cinematography that serves the story, not because something is trending.
Felt the same way when I first watched Dune at home but when I saw it on a proper IMAX screen for Part 2 I confirmed my suspicion that the streaming version crop was stifling and made the lenses seem much longer than they actually were. When viewing it in the native aspect ratio the film felt completely different and was much more immersive. Hopefully they'll release an original aspect ratio version for streaming or BluRay.
I think there are some situations where long lenses can give a sense of realism. For example Cassavetes and Abbas Kiraostami even some of the Safdies earlier stuff give this feeling as if the cameras are depicting very intimate moments without being choreographed. Shooting from far away feels as if the actors aren’t even aware of that they’re being filmed the camera follows the actor in a fashion similar to the observational approach in some documentaries.
Hey Luc! Great video, I’m falling in love with this style of cinematography more and more. One thing I don’t completely agree with is the wide lens discussion. A lot of documentaries are shot on longer lenses and zooms (as you said.) For example Captain Philips (just like most of the movies shot by Barry Ackroyd like The Big Short and The Hurt Locker) is almost always on long very compressed focal lengths but I don’t think it makes any less veritè. Just wanted to know what you think about it :) great video!
The first film i remember using this documentary style approach was the "Right Stuff" (1983) by P. Kaufman. I first saw it as a kid back in the late '80s, and it was exactly because they used actual footage from the official NASA space program archives, that it was so deeply ingrained in my memory, as a deep and serious film, as opposed to Top Gun for example.
It's not just the cinematography. It's also the writing and acting style. A lot of older movies almost seem more like theatrical play. Modern writing and acting has become very realistic and close to real life. A good example of this is The Meyerowitz Stories. It's full of characters talking over each other and a lot of times having a conversation where both characters are not hearing each other at all and talking about totally separate things. It's really wild.
Roger Deakins also discusses the use of close-ups with wide lenses, affirming Luc's statements. This channel provides high-quality information comparable to what I encountered while studying documentary filmmaking at university in Vancouver. My professor was the director of the film "Bombies" (2001).
Would have loved for you to talk about Terrence Malick and his style. You briefly mentioned Chivo with Children of Men but Chivo and Malick together 🤯🤯. They even established a dogma when it came to shooting which overlaps with your tips as well
My dad ,Brian Probyn BSC ,was the first DP on BadLands , came from docs and taught Malik everything about camera moves :) , it was Maliks first film out of film school , and he was a bit clueless apparently , and gave my dad an ulcer !
The style of cinematography should be dictated by the content of the story… Not just because you like the style. How do you not know that?
Did you not listen to anything he said? Luc has extensive knowledge in his field, your criticism is laughable.
Wow, that´s a real toy in the background, well done!
Lately, as an artist, the two sides of me have been battling between formality and spontaneity. I think there's a harmony between both that can prove impactful and emersive.
very very valuable video ... thank you!
It really isn't taking over Hollywood. There have always been some movies like that, and some movies with other styles. Surveys show that more audiences than not do not like the documentary style, particularly women. I personally do not want everything I watch to be ugly-gritty-depressing In Canada I'm an outcast to many in the film community, which has been saying what you are saying for the 20 years I have been in the business, but I don't really care. BTW Children of Men as what, 15 years ago? More? And Barbie was last summer. So... Not really an example of how something is supposedly currently trending.
Maybe not so much Hollywood movies yet, but as far as TV goes I feel like the success of a show like Succession and the work of Armando Iannucci may come to influence others shows, particularly more dramatic comedies.
I agree with this sentiment
also, 'documentary style' used in narrative has roots as far back as The Battle of Algiers in 1966. Before that, even. So this is nothing new.
@@phillt436 Yes. There have always been a variety of styles, both visual and narrative, to cater to a variety of tastes. If you look at watch minutes reports on streamers, you don't in any way see an uptick in audience desire for the doco style.
"taking over hollywood" is more of a youtube terminology for clicks. i think what he means is it's becoming more popular. Yes this style of filmmaking have been around, and i agree that not everyone wants to watch this style of film. But he's also right about this tyle being utilized more these days.the target audience of this video is cinematographers who are unfamiliar with this style but interested in it. The purpose is to give them some insight and techniques that they can apply to get better at this style. and it served its purpose.
Ooof. I feel that. I was a Field Producer/DP on a docu-series which was AMAZING. It didn't pay well, but it was decent for my first "big" profile shoot. I had to take a job as a B-Roll Cam Op on a home reno show i'm it's 6th season. They are paying me $190/day. Other Cam Ops are getting a regular reality rate, bur they don't consider me a real CamOp.
wtf.....its a reality show....not cinema
I appreciate your honesty
I just watched “safe house” and man it’s gorgeous docustyle
You are totally right the doc style already took over Advertising Promotional videos around the world to make it feel more authentic and relatable. Often shot on film developed in newly opened film labs
Couldn't agree more man
You've been inspiring a lot so I will start with some mini docs to start my RUclips channel and get some practice, so this video is obviously a little step into the right direction. Thanks and keep it up!
Greets from Mexico.
In the UK this move from doc to features was already happening in the 60,70,s , maybe more so than in the US. Roger Deakins , Chris Menges , Barry Ackroyd all came from doc,s and I think their feature film work is clearly influenced by that background . I assisted Barry Ackroyd for 6 years in the UK in the 80,s , he always used zooms and those small motivated zooms are pretty much his trade mark move. When I was his focus puller he actually didn't want the focus pulls to be nailed , he said go past and come back and find it. Easily done in the days before monitors :) .. best DP to be a focus puller for !.
What i like in your videos
Is its simple and very informative 👌
Glad you like them!
Some notable factors on the field:
Productions wanting to be more efficient by run n' gunning and shooting more pages per day
Directors & DPs loving the shallow DOF looks from close-ups and mediums
Subsequently: Directors & DP have become less comfortable with tripod shots because of the time they require to stage as well as a fear of lifelessness of a shot
By all means not all is bad, though I feel a notable disconnect between creators' personal pleasure (from creative satisfaction on set) and the bigger mission which is to serve the audience
This is really old news, if anything, Cinematography is starting to move away from the documentary/naturalistic style. Striking colorful compositions with artistic camera movements are back and I couldn't be more excited. Documentary style cinematography is so goddamn boring and overused.
I agree. "Docu-style" is just a way to drive costs down and speed up production. It's usually a symptom of productions who struggled with time / budget / planning. We're getting more and more people focused on creating a proper language and a unique style of cinematography these past few years. Hopefully the "Taken" era of poorly operated handheld films is gone.
I think you’ve confused “aesthetic” with “ethic.” “Documentary style” is much more, in this case, about being less deliberate and prepared and instead documenting stuff happening-instead of bending everything backwards for the camera’s sake
@@The_CGA exactly. Which is why it looks bland and boring 90% of the time. It’s a movie, everything should bend backwards for the cameras sake.
Your not making a documentary, your not documenting real life. You’re creating art, and one of the most important parts of art is intention. Blocking, composition, and lighting are the most important things. Following actors handheld with a high iso mirrorless camera (so you don’t have to use lights) is not Cinema, and it’s hardly art imo. It’s more of a technical skill then anything else. Let’s just call it what it is, videography.
@@liampughwell that depends on the story being told and what effect the director wants the film to have. I certainly wouldnt call schindlers list or saving private ryan unintentional.
@@fredisflores3878 your proving my point, both those films are decades old at this point. While I’m personally not a fan of the style I’m in no way staying it doesn’t have a valid place in cinema. It just isn’t “taking over Hollywood” as the video suggests.
Most big movies these days have gone back to using a more defined cinematic language through careful composition and lighting. Docu-style is kinda dead imo. Sure movies like the creator used it to great effect but overall that look is kinda dated now. Feels very 2010’s. 2020’s have been more stylized so far.
This really kicked off with the French New Wave.
john woo was inspired by French new wave and it shows. really loved how his scenes were filmed
Thanks Luc great insights. One question i ask myself as a documentary filmmaker often. Shooting wide brings you in the scene and makes it more immersive as you said, but you with the obvious camera become much more disturbing/seen to the people you´re shooting. Often i find it better, when they forget that there is a camera shooting them. What is your approach to that? I´m thankful for a good advice or some experience.
'I prefer 3rd ACs who are classically trained'
...so you were supposed to be trained as a 'classical' PA first or something? Can't stand logic like that DP's
"Classically trained?" If you were asking to be his 1stAC - I'd kind of get it - you might not know the protocol, but you were asking to be in the position people do to get the training! Maybe they thought you being overqualified would be a problem, like you'd step on their toes or something.
Thank you so much, really appreciate learning from you
Happy to hear that!
Doc style can sometimes get way too shaky, even when it's people sitting or standing still.
Sometimes if there isn't anything close to make a dirty frame outdoors, I'll pick a leafy stick and hold it in front of the lens haha.
Commenting for the algorithm
Some of the most miserable people I’ve seen on sets are “classically trained” DPs sounds like he did you a favor.
ahh finally, something i was already doin 😅👌 love that this style is getting recognized
in my humble opinion being overqualified for a 3rd AC might be a bad thing... i guess the DP felt he/she needed someone who would just run for the batteries and having someone overqualified was gonna bring him/her some kind of stress he/she didn't want to have on set... might also be that he/she had their team ready, and knew what to expect from them. which is valuable. I honestly like hiring assistants that are good and do their own DP work, but sometimes you just need someone reliable who listens and do the "dirty" job while maybe learning some stuff on the way.
I feel bad underpaying an overqualified person on set, but I guess if you talk it out in advance and they agree is fine.
in this and every other industry there is way more than qualifications to get a job there is people's skills.. I'm a nerd for technical stuff and my wife is a natural for connecting with people, some of the best jobs I got was because she handled the clients, decision makers very well while I was able to answer the technical questions.
Now she is both, great technical and great peoples skills, while I still struggle connecting at a personal level with the decision makers.
A good example for the non-Vérité car scene is Little Miss Sunshine. Lots of clean frame car scenes…
wooow, thank you for this, you opened up a new way of thinking about cinematography for me!
Happy to hear that!
D9 was Red and Sony Ex1.
"Verite Shooting" that is what it is called all this time.
Thank you!
hello Luck, I really appreciate your videos, Thank you very much. I have been out of Nigeria for almost 11 years now, as an Architect I picked up a camera and fell in love with it, now that I am going back home I want to produce some documentaries to preserve some of Nigerian heritage. I would like your advice and more.
Have been thinking about doing my next film French Connection style. Then this video comes out...
Thank for an INFORMATIVE video. Your explanation is succint, clear and easy to understand.
Hey Luc! Have you watched “End of Watch”? Talk about a doc style movie, man you gotta check it out if you have time! Absolutely loved how different it felt from other movies.
random question: Why does Alone only show the other DP's face when they allow glimpses of the crew? Whenever the crew goes in to visit a participant for a med check or for the winner reveal they only show the other DP's face? I wonder if the other DP has a different status on the production--he's positioned as someone the participant can interact with or maybe your shooting style is simply more fly-on-the-wall? It just random?
Yes, I'm going back through previous seasons in prep for Season 11.
Shout out to Sharlto Copley & Neill Blomkamp for District 9 (2009)
Again another excellent video.
Love shooting in the Verite style you laid it out perfectly thank you! With the No Man's Land examples for the lighting wouldn't you say that the DP was using some bounce to light up the face just a bit. This is one thing that I have struggled with when shooting into the giant scary ball in the sky. Thoughts anyone?
Thats a mouthfull.😊🎉Thank You
I saw Glen Howerton from Always sunny talk about filmming Blackberry that they used Long Lenses on gimbals on tripods and shot a lot of stuff telephoto to give it a more voyeuristic feeling.
Great video with great tips. Thank you for sharing
Thanks for watching!
Great Video. Thank you!
My pleasure!
New to your channel, great video...youve just yourself a sub...👍
Thanks for subbing!
Great info!
Dude. You know how it works.
i could not agree more with you
informative video thanks Luc
My pleasure!
district 9 was shot with Camera. Phantom HD Camera. Red One Camera, Cooke S4 and Angenieux Optimo Lenses.
man.........i have so much to learn. its daunting and disheartening for a hobbyist
Is the movie "Capernaum" considered a documentary verite style of shooting?
Awesome!! 🙌🏻
Thank you!! 😁
Great info! 🔥. If you check out “On the Silver Globe” from the 70s/80s it does an amazing job of verité in a sci-fi film. Free to watch on youtube.
NICE.
Documentary is nice, District 9 killed it, but cinematic light is the real escape.
Nah The cinema verite style is becoming common in Hollywood cause of 2 thing, 1. All the directors and DOPs that were using that style came to Hollywood and all your favourite directors/dop got inspired by them. Cinema verite is not a new trend, America isn’t the only country that makes films. This style was a common style of cinematography in Europe, Mexico and Taiwan (Nuovo cine Mexicano films, british social realism films, dogme 95 films, French new wave/verite films, Romanian new wave films, Taiwan new wave films) alphonso cuaron and lubeksi changed the world of Hollywood when they brought the nuovo Mexican style to Hollywood (children of men) Danny Boyle did the same thing by introducing the British realism style to Hollywood.
American directors like Catherine bigelow & Terrence Malik were the first few directors to adopt the verite style. And directors like Kelly Reichardt made the style popular in the American/canadian indie scene. So now you have a bunch of newer directors all being influenced by the verite style and that’s why you’re seeing more and more of it.
Secondly, it’s also becoming a response to superhero film saturation. Just like the French new wave/verite was a response to westerns. Newer Directors want to make more grounded films and this neo verite style is the antithesis of that superhero style.
Laughs Breathlessly
I have no idea what camera district 9 was shot on. Me 5 seconds looking it up. It’s red cameras with Cooke se 4 primes. News footage shot Sony ex1 and ex3 cameras. Somebody asks what camera is the creator was shot on. I have no idea. Dude it was advertised all last year. There interviews with the dp. Takes 5 seconds.
Hey luc, Excellent video as always. I have a question if you have time to answer it... did they light Frances McDormand's character in the scene at 13:18? How did shooting backlit on that scene not sillouhette her? Thanks for sharing your experiences with us all!
They probably bounced some light on her. Otherwise she would've been very washed out because they're shooting for direct backlight, not even 45º.
@@joaocorreiamedia Thank you so much for the reply. It was such a simple tactic to... I kinda feel dumb. I guess when he says in the video "They only used natural light" even bounces went right out the window.
I'm still learning. 😄
@@JesseEdgar If you meet someone who says they've learned all there is to learn... chances are they're full of it.
It's possible they didn't use a bounce and it's just good color grading and great dynamic range of the camera used, but I doubt it.
@@joaocorreiamedia I think you nailed it with the bounce but I totally understand what you are saying. I'm just trying to learn in every way I can. :)
It's taking over Hollywood because Hollywood loves trends. This, and the latest reliance on droning hybrid soundtracks are perfect examples, and they, too, shall pass.
Hi Luc, I am a mature film production student and I am trying to get as much experience as possible and after uni is done I would not do anything that is not DoP-ing. I simply don't want to do something that I don't care. You have so much experience that a lot of people would love to have you as a DoP, probably they would be smaller productions but if that's what you want to do go for it!
Cinéma vérité has been around since the 1950s.
Handheld is almost never done well today. The exceptions are exceedingly rare. It's almost always intrusive and degrades the viewing experience. In real life, my eyes are not making the world jump all over the place, even when I'm in a fender bender. An intrusively shaky camera insults the actors ("you can't convey emotion - here, let me help"). Over-shaky clips are tiring to watch and feel contrived. They tempt the camera person to think his/her role includes helping to write the script, which it doesn't.
3rd ac is filmloader/data manger. At least in my experience.
hey luc i am an aspiring director.can you suggest me some good books ? i have already read 5 c's of cinematography by joseph v. mascelli .
Frankly, I see it as a failure of cinematography. If I want to see a documentary, I'll do that. A movie should look like a feast for the eyes. Poetry in motion. Documentary-style cinematography is were movies go to die.
videogames too, like last of us or god of war...
1917 was another film using this style to a hyper level.
"distort the crap out of everything" - :):):)
2025: It's all iphone reels.
There are always exceptions. The Battle of Algiers from 1966. Loose newsy camerawork to the max
Please can we stop using the word 'organic' when describing film making?
overqualified, eh?
A lot of DPs are idiots. Protectionists; afraid they'll loose their jobs to younger, and "more talented", people. I always teach everything I know, I don't care. There's room for everyone. Cheers!
City of God is the GOAT
Watch early cuaron
I kind of dislike the documentary style in narrative works, the supposed realism clashes with the inherently abstract nature of storytelling and pulls me out of the story.
If the movie pretends everything in it is real it ends up highlighting all the artificiality and contrivances that are necessary for any narrative to function, but without the aesthetic layer that gives you enough distance to let the story affect you.
I also don't think imitating reality is a useful aesthetic goal to begin with, you can express ideas much more precisely through abstraction and simplification, because you have to actively make choices on how to represent something for it to work.
I would go as far as saying that conveing the idea of realism isn't even possible. That children of men scene isn't immersive for me, I can literally see the cameraman through the camera movements, nomad land seems to be very carefully composed, its incredibly artificial, which kind of highlights that the supposed pursuit of "realism" is basically futile.
Don't get me wrong, this technique can be used in interesting ways, it can have a kind of thrilling energy, it has a certain gritty texture, it's very distinct and immediate, even somewhat jarring.
But a lot of the time it isn't, most of the time I see it it's a non decision, it's just a lot easier to gather content if you shoot everything wide and handheld. Most of the time it lacks intent and is therefore empty. You could say it's realistic, which as I said isn't a real or possible idea in my opinion, but even if it were possible to convey reality, reality is incoherent, flat and boring. I think there are far better ways to convey ideas and narratives, Everytime this technique works it is either used sparingly or stylists to a degree that calling it authentic or realistic would just be false.
To be honest, documentary style cinematography feels lazy. Dune, for example, feels like a real world with beautiful views, while district 9 feels like home made video
Films with guns are not the future, sorry. Any film that relies and depends on guns to tell a narrative is total shit
Personally i tend to lose interest in a movie when it's shot in "documentary style" that you speak of. It kind of gives it that douchy aura, like, we're lazy but we're gonna mask it by applying a simpler aesthetic and pretend we don't care either way. Also, I'd like to butt in and state that what you define as the "traditional Hollywood aesthetic" is actually video-game aesthetic. The truly traditional aesthetic goes way back and is timeless. Don't confuse rollercoaster rides with Vilmos Zsigmond.
Documentary style movie = director having no idea what he’s doing 😂
What a joke of a video
I’ve been bingeing your videos for the past week and learning so much. I’m an aspiring filmmaker and professional photographer and found your style engaging and videos incredibly helpful. Thank you Luc!
This is great timing where I’ll be filming a documentary for a thesis project this summer! I’ve been following this channel closely to get tips. Thank you!
So many pearls in this video. 🤝🏼🤝🏼🤝🏼
Great advice Luc! What are you using for manual focus?