WEBVTT

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- Thank you, sir.
- Alright. See you later, thanks.

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Hi, my name is Tony

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and this is Every Frame a Painting.

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Today's topic is the oner, AKA a long take.

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This is probably the most jerked-off-to
type of shot in filmmaking.

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But basically, all it means

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is doing an entire scene
in a single, unbroken shot.

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And let's face it, it's pretty awesome.

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We all have our favorites.

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There's six dozen lists
on the internet about this.

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But we tend to notice the ones
that draw attention to themselves.

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So let's skip all of these guys

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and go to one filmmaker
who does oners all the time,

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except his goal is to remain invisible.

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This dude.

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Truthfully, Spielberg's takes
aren't even that long.

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He tends to keep them less than 3 minutes.

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In fact, he really likes that
one minute to two-minute zone,

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which is long enough to
cover an entire scene,

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but short enough to keep the pace brisk.

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And while other directors seem to have

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a dominant formal technique
to their long takes —

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for instance, Wes Anderson
likes to move laterally,

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the only thing that really
defines a Spielberg oner

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is that it's supposed to be invisible.

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So maybe I'm full of shit
for even saying it exists.

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Now, I'm gonna cut
these shots down for this video,

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but if you want to see the full scenes,

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I've put them all in two
separate videos linked below.

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First off, a shot from
Raiders of the Lost Ark.

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This is a single unbroken, 90-second take.

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The great thing about it is that it's
basically four different shots in one:

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there's a push-in, two matching
singles, and an insert.

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So Spielberg combines all four
into a single moving master.

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It's really simple and elegant,

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and it probably saved
a bunch of time on set.

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Also, it really works for the scene,

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because there's suspense
in the drinking contest.

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And no matter how many times I watch it,

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I still forget the exact timing,

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so it's always funny when this happens.

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Next up is a shot from Minority Report.

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This time, they're on a steadicam.

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But notice how the camera
never moves unmotivated.

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It's always following
a motion or an action.

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Hold that, please.

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The pacing is fantastic,

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you really get the sense that
the scene is unfolding in front of you,

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rather than a cameraman hitting his marks.

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You're in a lot of trouble, John.

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The blocking of the actors is really fluid

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and the shot goes from
favoring one character...

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...to favoring another.

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Seems I've found a flaw.

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Flashing back in time, this is Jaws.

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The great thing about this one
is how restrained it is.

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The cameraman barely moves.

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All of the movement is
in the blocking of the actors

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and specially, the really
smart choice of location.

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By shooting on a real ferry,

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Spielberg can use the background action
to keep the pace snappy.

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One of the reasons I forgot
how long this shot is

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is because the background keeps shifting

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and you're always looking
at something new.

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You yell "shark",

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we've got a panic on our hands
on the 4th of July.

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Next up, Saving Private Ryan.

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One of the hallmarks of a Spielberg oner

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is that he tends to do almost all of his
special FX or his vis FX in the master.

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And this one's a doozy.

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Explosions, rubble, dust, smoke,
gunfire, squibs, and you know...

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A tank.

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Good shit.

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Now, I do want to emphasize,

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Spielberg did not invent this type of shot.

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In fact, it used to be
a very common choice.

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How about you, handsome?

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Haven't I seen you somewhere before?

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In the 40s and 50s and 60s,

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studio directors frequently employed

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a moderate-length oner
to move the story along.

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How do you like this?
I'm running outta alibis.

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But really, beginning with
Rope and Touch of Evil,

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the oner became a
calling card for directors.

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Audiences noticed it,

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film critics and students
got raging hard-ons for it,

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and for the last 50 years,
it's been a game of one-upmanship.

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Yours is 3 minutes?
Well mine's 17.

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Hitchcock did a movie
seemingly in one take?

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Well we did it actually in one.

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Now, I'm not saying that
these long takes are bad.

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Most of them are fun as shit.

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All of them are a little awe-inspiring.

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But there used to be a real type of shot
in at least American cinema that was…

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for lack of a better word, really robust.

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Like, it didn't break down.

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It worked, it got the job done.

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It was always interesting to watch.

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It didn't call attention to itself.

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You know, you could rely on it.

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Now, it's split.

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You got one branch of filmmaking

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that is trying to go faster,
shorter, more chaotic.

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And another that is almost
willfully doing the opposite.

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Some people are still in the middle.

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Alfonso Cuarón comes to mind

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as someone trying to mine
the long take for dramatic purposes.

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But even Alfonso
isn't trying to be invisible.

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Hell, even Spielberg sometimes
wants you to notice.

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This one from Minority Report

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is practically a De Palma
or Hitchcock shot.

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This one from Duel is, I mean,
it's almost like a slasher movie.

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This one from Always,

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which is a terrible movie,

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is done in sync with a 747.

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And this is just insane.

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But otherwise, Spielberg plays it quiet.

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Which is weird to say, because
you know, Spielberg.

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But compared to his peers,

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this technique, which he has been doing
this for 40 years at this point,

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makes him stand out all the more.

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Which car were you planning on?

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Whichever one you are.

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So I guess that's maybe the closest
I can get to defining a Spielberg oner.

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It uses any and all possible
tricks to remain invisible.

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So if you're a director

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and you want to pull off a Spielberg oner,

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there’s only a few simple rules to follow.

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First, move your actors.

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Move 'em around.

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Don't just have them stand there and talk

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like they're in a 2014 blockbuster.

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Don't mind him.

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- English humor?
- Scottish whiskey.

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Second, follow that movement.

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The camera doesn't have
to follow on a leash,

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it can swing around,
it can move counter to them,

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it can track laterally, whatever.

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But watch the scene and
place the camera accordingly.

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Third, break down the shot

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into multiple compositions
and smaller angles.

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You are essentially linking
five or six different shots

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into a single moving master.

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So you can think in terms of

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single, over-the-shoulder, insert, wide.

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It all flows together.

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Ah, Frank.

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Oh, and if you can accomplish all this

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without even moving the camera?

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Even better.

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All of you?

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Fourth, do your vis FX or special FX,

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anything you need to
keep the "magic" alive,

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do it in the wide shot.

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Don't cheat and construct your elements

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out of close-ups and cutaways,

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put 'em in the wide shot and
let the actors interact with them.

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And don't fucking green screen
shit that should be practical

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The audience can tell

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when an actor is reacting
to something that's there

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versus something that isn't.

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Fifth, if you need to, shoot a cutaway.

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All of the shots in this video
are completely unbroken takes,

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but Spielberg isn't stupid.

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He often shoots an insert
or a cutaway for a oner

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even if he's sure they nailed it.

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This gives him the ability to
tighten in editing if he needs to,

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or perhaps use the beginning of one take

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and the end of another.

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It also helps if he needs someone

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to hit a particularly difficult mark,

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like making a gun land in the right spot.

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...cautious fellow I am.

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And last, keep it short.

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Don't outstay your welcome.

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The Spielberg oner is designed
to get through scenes quickly

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and keep the pace up.

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You should not be
spending an entire day

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trying to get it perfect.

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That's for shit like this.

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So in conclusion,

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I understand that there's
sometimes a lot of backlash

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with regards to talking about
Spielberg as a serious artist.

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I mean, sometimes the sentimental
stuff is a little hard to swallow.

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I'm not gonna talk about his legacy,

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but I do think he should be
celebrated for his oners.

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Especially considering it's a technique

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generally abandoned by mainstream directors

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for either this kinda
incomprehensible bullshit

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or this really good, but also
really noticeable style.

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Ironically, this dude,

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who was once considered responsible
for destroying 70's Hollywood filmmaking,

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is probably the greatest
living practitioner

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of a classic Hollywood tradition.

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I wonder if he feels sad about that.

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Fuck that, he's rich!