You forgot to mention that by tilting the camera, a filmmaker can emphasise the motive because it can take more space or fill the space more effectively. For example: You are shooting 16:9 One person on the screen You want the person to look imposing, so you crouch a bit, the audience now looks up slightly You want your motive to be centered to not leave enough context or empty space, shifting even more focus on your motive But oh no, if you center, there is a lot of space left and right, or the head is not good on screen So you make a slight angle, everything important is now perfectly in frame.
Perfectly put! As in the thumbnail for this video from "The Dark Knight." Heath Ledger's Joker is seen in full with limbs flailing to the very edges of the frame. Yet he is still face to face with Batman who's profile is framed by the corner of the screen and the Joker in the center.
It's one of the most simple techniques available to a film maker, but as you pointed out with Battlefield Earth, it's the intention behind it that gives it it's power and meaning. It's gotta have substance otherwise it's just a bonky angled shot. It's that classic thing I was always taught in film school; you have to think about what you want your audience to feel, not what you want them to see.
I gotta say, while there are so many fantastic uses of the Dutch Angle out there… Terry Gilliam is easily one of the absolute masters of it. Particularly the way he used it in “12 Monkeys”, creating a visual reality that was just as bizarre as the screenplay itself. And then he went on to make “Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas” (mentioned in this video), where Gilliam manages to hold back a bit more from the angle, but still used it at moments particularly appropriate to evoke the otherworldly craziness of whatever drug (or combination of drugs) he was trying to portray. His movies kinda remind me of ‘Battleship Earth’ in a good way. While that particular film was a complete mess of every mistake a filmmaker could do, I feel like if Gilliam was at the helms, it would’ve been at the very least noteworthy for all the right reasons.
Went straight to the expected Battlefield Earth section because of its infamy. Someone out there has to make an "undutched" edit of it to see just how bizarre it might look.
What I find most interesting is when considering it next to camera work that we physically can not replicate. Our eyes can't zoom, for example. But we can easily tell that. We can tilt our head, so on some level, it feels like a thing we can do, but we can not tilt the world we see, and so we can't get the same effect. This leaves it in a strange place as something we both can and can't replicate. And I think that's the biggest reason it can have such a strong effect on us. When used well, it can draw us in. When used poorly, it's like forgetting to turn off autotilt on your phone when you rotate the screen for a different angle. I don't know if that last comparison is universal or just me, but still. In any case, it's more annoying than engaging for sure.
Camera heads: a head is an interface between the camera dolly and the camera. It's attached to it. A fluid head has two balanced wheels for the operator to pan and tilt. A Sachtler head when used with a Hollywood handle (a long metal stick) can move the camera left/right and up/down with positions in-between. The Dutch head can position the camera from 9 o'clock to 12 o'clock to 3 o'clock position angles. It symbolically expresses imaging to characters moving "up hill" and "down hill" depending on the action.
When i think of Dutch Angles, I think of the Batman TV show of the 1960s. Theirs are super obvious, meant to attract your attention, usually made you l laugh, and are a satire/parody of the Dutch Angle and its uses.
People, like dogs, put their head sideways when wondering. There isn’t some large conspiracy here. Pretend you are trying to figure something out and voila your head shifts now do that with a camera.
I'd LOVE to see more First person view camera's as something new. But it'd have to be used sparingly. The movie Doom (as bad as it was), had a good example of First Person and I thought really made you feel more a part of Karl Urban's (or was it Dwayne's Johnson's?) rampage. Imagine seeing Spider Man, just his arms, webbing and swinging through New York. That'd be fantastic to witness. But, again, you'd have to be careful a movie doesn't overdue it.
So, it's called "Dutch" for probably the same reason that the Pennsylvania "Dutch" are called that. Also, I've heard the term "Dutch Angle" many times before, but never really explained until now. Most of the examples you showed in this video were a lot more subtle than I imagined they would be.
Think of Mission Impossible 1, with Ketrich talking to Ethan in the restaurant, using the conversation as it unravels with Dutch angles and close ups from the bottom Something like that can spark ideas
I was sure that your would talk about Dogme 95 that really popularized the Dutch angle for indie directors and eventually to big Hollywood blockbusters.
lol i remember how bad the PLOT was in BFE, but I forgot how bad the camerawork was too. was every other shot a dutch angle for NO reason? at least he knew the difference between closeups and wide shots...
Some of the examples you used aren't actually dutch angles. Just the camera looking up (or down) at something that it isn't facing head on, and the perspective is the only thing creating the perceived angle of the background. The shot you use at 3:29 is a perfect example of this. It's not a dutch angle. Just a camera looking up from the side.
The fucking sensodyne ads man. Made to look «authentic» with bad quality and non-sceipted appearamce but screams desperation. I dont buy it because of that alone
Those darn Dutch are always taking the credit for things that us krauts invented. I'm half kraut, but I'm also half-limey, so instead of blaming England for renaming Deutschland "Germany" (we already _had_ a name, dangit!), I'm just going to blame the Dutch for stealing our name
Agree about transformers. Can't say it was great in thor, but not audacious. It was directed by Kenneth Brannagh, an old school Thespian as well as now well - known actor/director. Which I think, if nothing else, merits he be cut some slack for trying to bring some class into the MCU before the first avengers came out and it's trajectory was set.
Honestly never noticed the whole Dutch angle thing until the pitch meeting for Thor 1.
DAYUM i didnt know joker was that thicc ok thumbnail we see you my boi
Ikr? I failed nnn cause of that
Ayo 😆
@@frdvz *AYO!* 😳
@@frdvz I didn't go dat far but it was close😤
😋🤤
I love Dutch angles
Especially accompanied with rotating roll axis
does this angle come with a plan?
You forgot to mention that by tilting the camera, a filmmaker can emphasise the motive because it can take more space or fill the space more effectively.
For example:
You are shooting 16:9
One person on the screen
You want the person to look imposing, so you crouch a bit, the audience now looks up slightly
You want your motive to be centered to not leave enough context or empty space, shifting even more focus on your motive
But oh no, if you center, there is a lot of space left and right, or the head is not good on screen
So you make a slight angle, everything important is now perfectly in frame.
Perfectly put!
As in the thumbnail for this video from "The Dark Knight." Heath Ledger's Joker is seen in full with limbs flailing to the very edges of the frame. Yet he is still face to face with Batman who's profile is framed by the corner of the screen and the Joker in the center.
It's one of the most simple techniques available to a film maker, but as you pointed out with Battlefield Earth, it's the intention behind it that gives it it's power and meaning. It's gotta have substance otherwise it's just a bonky angled shot.
It's that classic thing I was always taught in film school; you have to think about what you want your audience to feel, not what you want them to see.
My boy the Joker be lookin extra zesty
* Bonk *
Amazing work as always!
I gotta say, while there are so many fantastic uses of the Dutch Angle out there… Terry Gilliam is easily one of the absolute masters of it. Particularly the way he used it in “12 Monkeys”, creating a visual reality that was just as bizarre as the screenplay itself. And then he went on to make “Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas” (mentioned in this video), where Gilliam manages to hold back a bit more from the angle, but still used it at moments particularly appropriate to evoke the otherworldly craziness of whatever drug (or combination of drugs) he was trying to portray.
His movies kinda remind me of ‘Battleship Earth’ in a good way. While that particular film was a complete mess of every mistake a filmmaker could do, I feel like if Gilliam was at the helms, it would’ve been at the very least noteworthy for all the right reasons.
Went straight to the expected Battlefield Earth section because of its infamy. Someone out there has to make an "undutched" edit of it to see just how bizarre it might look.
What I find most interesting is when considering it next to camera work that we physically can not replicate. Our eyes can't zoom, for example. But we can easily tell that. We can tilt our head, so on some level, it feels like a thing we can do, but we can not tilt the world we see, and so we can't get the same effect. This leaves it in a strange place as something we both can and can't replicate. And I think that's the biggest reason it can have such a strong effect on us. When used well, it can draw us in. When used poorly, it's like forgetting to turn off autotilt on your phone when you rotate the screen for a different angle. I don't know if that last comparison is universal or just me, but still. In any case, it's more annoying than engaging for sure.
This video is officially the most I've ever watched of Battlefield Earth.
Camera heads: a head is an interface between the camera dolly and the camera. It's attached to it. A fluid head has two balanced wheels for the operator to pan and tilt. A Sachtler head when used with a Hollywood handle (a long metal stick) can move the camera left/right and up/down with positions in-between. The Dutch head can position the camera from 9 o'clock to 12 o'clock to 3 o'clock position angles. It symbolically expresses imaging to characters moving "up hill" and "down hill" depending on the action.
Some of the angles hit in Fear & loathing are amazing. A perfect movie for that technique..
When i think of Dutch Angles, I think of the Batman TV show of the 1960s. Theirs are super obvious, meant to attract your attention, usually made you l laugh, and are a satire/parody of the Dutch Angle and its uses.
People, like dogs, put their head sideways when wondering. There isn’t some large conspiracy here. Pretend you are trying to figure something out and voila your head shifts now do that with a camera.
I'd LOVE to see more First person view camera's as something new. But it'd have to be used sparingly.
The movie Doom (as bad as it was), had a good example of First Person and I thought really made you feel more a part of Karl Urban's (or was it Dwayne's Johnson's?) rampage.
Imagine seeing Spider Man, just his arms, webbing and swinging through New York. That'd be fantastic to witness. But, again, you'd have to be careful a movie doesn't overdue it.
Have you seen Hardcore Henry? Whole movie was first person
Karl Urban was Dredd, not sure about doom
Spider-Man was already done
I loved that scene in Doom, felt like you took over the movie and could play it during the most kick ass scene, more movies should do it!
Karl Urban does get that first person scene replicating Doom
6:50 Barry Peppered
So, it's called "Dutch" for probably the same reason that the Pennsylvania "Dutch" are called that. Also, I've heard the term "Dutch Angle" many times before, but never really explained until now. Most of the examples you showed in this video were a lot more subtle than I imagined they would be.
I've heard about German expressionism so many times, but never about what led to it. good video
"Peppered.."
I see what you did there. 👍
Good question
Not sure why I like Dutch Angles, but I can't help but try to visualize how I would use them and when while plotting out scenes in stuff I'm writing.
Think of Mission Impossible 1, with Ketrich talking to Ethan in the restaurant, using the conversation as it unravels with Dutch angles and close ups from the bottom
Something like that can spark ideas
Watching this video sideways hits different
I was sure that your would talk about Dogme 95 that really popularized the Dutch angle for indie directors and eventually to big Hollywood blockbusters.
“Peppered through the film” I saw what you did there 😅
Right. and then he shows a shot of Barry Pepper
should be renamed the Battlefield Earth angle
"If a trick works for you, you use it" - every artist ever.
Peak thumbnail game
Batman the 1966 series loved me some Dutch angles.
Great video.
Several ot this exaples are not tilted. It is just perspective.
Surprised Brian d'Palmas Mission : Impossible doesnt feature at all, thought the fishtank resturant scene would get a namecheck
Surprised no mention of Netflix's Cowboy Bebop, also misused/overused in that a ton.
Battlefield Eart is a guilty pleasure.
Idk if you've done it already but can you do Casper? Please?
I love Dutch Angels, they remind me of the 60’s Batman show
Here i am watching this disappointed that we never covered the dutch angle in film studies 12 😂😂😂😂
BEST use of The Dutch Angle... Carlito's Way!
The precursor of the Dutch angle the cabinet of dr Caligari deserves a shoutout
I absolutely hate how poorly some directors use this. It’s almost always misused now
They are also called Canted Angles
As soon as I saw the thumbnail, I was hoping this video would address Battlefield Earth.
lol i remember how bad the PLOT was in BFE, but I forgot how bad the camerawork was too. was every other shot a dutch angle for NO reason? at least he knew the difference between closeups and wide shots...
Some of the examples you used aren't actually dutch angles. Just the camera looking up (or down) at something that it isn't facing head on, and the perspective is the only thing creating the perceived angle of the background.
The shot you use at 3:29 is a perfect example of this. It's not a dutch angle. Just a camera looking up from the side.
What movie is the scene at 7:27 from?
7:48 fin.
I found myself tilting my phone during this video.
This angle has a plan!
I like Battlefield Earth. Seen it four times. I don't get why it's so maligned.
It's WAAAAYYY better then SW Sequel trilogy and all of the M-SHE-U
Makes me wonder why Christopher Nolan never uses the Dutch Angle.
I remember being a 13 year old when Battlefield Earth came out and thinking….why is this movie so crooked. lol.
Do you wanna know how i got these glutes?
Anime mentioned
Am I the only one that never sees a Dutch angle when it's in the movie or TV series? It just look like regular filming to me
The fucking sensodyne ads man. Made to look «authentic» with bad quality and non-sceipted appearamce but screams desperation. I dont buy it because of that alone
someone should stabilize battlefield Earth
It is a crime that you didn’t mention Michael bay
I didn’t know Heath Ledger was so 🍑
As long as it's not another camera flare 😂
Those darn Dutch are always taking the credit for things that us krauts invented. I'm half kraut, but I'm also half-limey, so instead of blaming England for renaming Deutschland "Germany" (we already _had_ a name, dangit!), I'm just going to blame the Dutch for stealing our name
Not sure why Tarantino was highlighted so much here. So many great movies out there and Tarantino is the gold standard on Dutch angles?
The most audacious (in a bad way) use of dutch angles has been in Michael Bay's Transformers crap and the first Thor movie.
Agree about transformers. Can't say it was great in thor, but not audacious. It was directed by Kenneth Brannagh, an old school Thespian as well as now well - known actor/director. Which I think, if nothing else, merits he be cut some slack for trying to bring some class into the MCU before the first avengers came out and it's trajectory was set.
@@sticklebrickz Kenneth Brannagh directed Thor?
That explains a lot, come to think of it.
ye, the motion it sturs in me is ANNOYANCE
Am I the only one who got a little dizzy watching all these cut-together dutch angles? Good video though.
Thor 1
Don’t watch this video if you are drunk
There's two things I can't stand in this world, the intolerant, and the Dutch angles!
Brilliant.
I think they’re fairly hideous
Inglourious etc is a turd. Never use it as an example.
I very much dislike dutch angles
1st
First!
I think you need to take a break. This stuff has been wack lately. As wack as saying the word “wack” sincerely.