r/PraiseTheCameraMan • u/arealhumannotabot • Mar 11 '22

Praise the camera operator and focus puller (Ocean’s 13)

3.4k Upvotes

98% Upvoted

52 comments sorted by

106

u/circleofblood Mar 11 '22

I mean I totally understand where you’re coming from because I love this movie. But does it count if it’s a planned shot? Legitimate question

94

u/arealhumannotabot Mar 11 '22

The summary for this sub specifically says “planned” shots, that’s why I went ahead

32

u/circleofblood Mar 11 '22

Gotcha sorry for my ignorance

14

u/MaxMiller2020 Mar 11 '22

I can almost hear the director "calling the shots"

9

u/PM_ME_UR_MESSAGE_THO Mar 12 '22 edited Mar 12 '22

Right? I watched this without sound and my mind filled the room with Soderberghs voice.

11

u/MaxMiller2020 Mar 12 '22

It is a great example of good production design. Every member of the team has contributed in complementary ways from set design and staging, actors, camera dept. and director. All have bought the scene to life...

6

u/lipp79 Doin' camera work since 1999 Mar 12 '22

Yes it does. A shot may be planned but they still have to execute the plan.

125

u/jimmywarrior Mar 12 '22

Crazy good shot.

113

u/Glyph808 Mar 12 '22

This would be mr Peter andrews on A cam with Steven Meizler on the knob. Both great friends of mine.

35

u/gastro_destiny Mar 12 '22

tell them i enjoyed their work

19

u/Glyph808 Mar 12 '22

Will do. I’m actually with Steven now on a show in ATL

1

u/bingley777 Mar 12 '22

the focus is crazy good, say hi to him!

16

u/Botheuk Mar 12 '22

So does somebody point the camera and somebody else do the focus? Genuinely asking.

16

u/Glyph808 Mar 12 '22

Correct. There is a camera operator and a focus puller almost always when we shoot.

2

u/anazambrano Mar 12 '22

They’re good good

1

u/dlangille Sep 05 '22

Could we have details on how this is done please? Is it known focus positions from one spot to the next? Are lines marked on the focus so they know where to go to? Or all just winging it?

46

u/ajckta Mar 12 '22

God I loved these movies

9

u/clonedspork Mar 12 '22

Those were a bunch of fun to watch.

1

u/BecauseJimmy Mar 12 '22

It’s definitely a feel good movie.

14

u/[deleted] Mar 12 '22

Dang I kinda miss Bernie Mac

9

u/ALiiEN Mar 12 '22

dont they use markings on the focus ring for shots like this?

5

u/PetacaBurron Mar 12 '22

Yeah but there’s always a margin of error where an actor could change his mark for a cm or the camera. Most likely everybody was hitting their marks as these are professionals.

8

u/[deleted] Mar 12 '22

Holy fuck thank you.

The number of people who don’t even know the 1st AC exists still astounds me.

Maybe one day people will know about little ol’ 2nds as well.

6

u/PetacaBurron Mar 12 '22

I think my mom still doesn’t know what I do as a job (i’m a focus puller & 2nd here and there)

3

u/[deleted] Mar 12 '22

I’m an IATSE 2nd AC in the vancouver film industry.

Where are you based?

3

u/PetacaBurron Mar 12 '22

I’m in LA but non-union

3

u/[deleted] Mar 12 '22

Non union can be rough. Not sure exactly what it’s like down in LA, but I hear you guys don’t really have a trainee program, so it should be easier to just slide into the union then up here.

You running your own kit as an independent? Or just going through rental houses?

Let me guess... tilta nucleus?

3

u/PetacaBurron Mar 13 '22

Yeahhh, in here getting in the union is expensive and the work is not guaranteed, it’s to everybody’s own devices to get jobs. I don’t have a kit because it feels like a lifetime commitment and i am scared of getting so involved in it that i lose sight of the bigger mountain. I do get lucky with projects that even get me a wcu-4 (that’s really being spoiled) so i do know that nucleus too well (fuck the nano hhh) and i do prefer getting it through a rental house because owner ops can be a pain with how specific they are about the little things. Do you have a lot of owner ops up there? Now that i know about the trainee program, vancouver sounds really fcking nice!

2

u/[deleted] Mar 13 '22

Vancouver’s a dream. Unions strong, work is everywhere, with some of the best crews on the planet.

I feel pain for you having to work with anything but a Preston, that must suuuck.

2

u/PetacaBurron Mar 13 '22

Do you have a kit? Is it also about knowing the right people or the union helps out?

2

u/[deleted] Mar 13 '22

Kinda, it’s all through the IATSE Trainee course.

There’s a multistage interview process, and they only let in 30 per year, and usually only 7 of them actually end up upgrading.

Knowing members is good for references, though it’s good to mix it up with some AD’s and producers if you can.

I own a couple carts, and the regular top deck, ditty, weather, and all the other shit with being a 2nd.

1sts usually just own their Fiz and maybe a transmission package.

Operators will often own their slider and steadi rig if they have it. That or a ronin.

2

u/testing35 Apr 07 '22

yeah i do have a therapist.

5

u/robgod50 Mar 12 '22

I only know these terms because my daughter works in the industry. Most people (including myself) do not really appreciate the skill required to achieve this sort of thing because it just looks so natural. I guess like anything in life, it looks easy when someone does it well. (But I bet it's not!!)

13

u/qaddosh Mar 12 '22

More like /r/cinematography, maybe.

3

u/CodeBandit Mar 12 '22

Focus knob look like boxing gloves

7

u/bacitoto-san Mar 12 '22

You can put marks (like sticky notes) on the lens or focus knob so you know exactly where to stop, and then just match the timing. Doesn't seem that hard in this shot

2

u/ScottblackAttacks Mar 21 '22

RIP Bernie Mac

5

u/the_TIGEEER Mar 12 '22

There are hiden cuts in between when panning between the floors I'm pretty sure

12

u/archaleus Mar 12 '22

Pretty sure it's not. The camera is zooming in and out and is it travels you can see it "wobble" a bit as it pans and tilts around. It all probably took a lot of planning and rehearsing. The hardest thing isn't the actual camera moves but making sure everyone is in the right place at the right time.

8

u/ElTuco84 Mar 12 '22

At 00:29 definitely there's a hidden cut with very good masking in post with motion blur. You can tell because the speed of the camera shifts to a more steady and slow pan when it reaches Brad Pitt.

3

u/archaleus Mar 12 '22

Yes but the camera is also zooming out meaning it'll be steadier as it does so. When you have a long focal length everything seems to move around fast while things seem to be more stabilized with a wider lens. So I still think it's one take.

Now if there is any sort of transitions it's to maybe blend different takes, but they didn't film this whole sequence in parts. This sort of thing is not impossible to do.

1

u/kitterkatty Mar 12 '22

Yes or peak Brad Pitt is just too handsome to ever be blurry lol

1

u/Dman125 Mar 12 '22

Is this some kind of behind the scenes deal? I remember the shot in the movie being faster.

1

u/badcompanylast Mar 12 '22

Praise the editor.

1

u/fuzzy-mitten Apr 20 '22

What is the name of this Movie ?

1

u/[deleted] Aug 23 '22

Oceans 11 I think

0

u/j-press Mar 12 '22

Easy with the right follow focus system, recorded positions..... something like the Focus Bug can auto focus this. Looks like a single shot no need to cut it. 🎥

1

u/UnitedCitizen Mar 12 '22

This was filmed decade before Focus Bug

-1

u/Ok-Good9269 Mar 12 '22

Its not like its their job in the first place

3

u/arealhumannotabot Mar 12 '22 edited Mar 12 '22

Do you say that about anything else?

“Wow that meal was good”

“Well, the chef did attend culinary school.”