The DP is the man, obviously,

When it comes to achieving "the look" of a movie, it all falls on the shoulders of one position, the Directory of Photography (DP). Of course, you have the director who says what he wants to see and how he wants to see it, but often times, that director is not directly responsible for actually doing it. That job is the task of the DP who in turn grants the director's wishes. After watching Visions of Light I learned in great depth what it actually means to be the DP. I even learned some of the names of the people responsible for my favorite films.

The first person I would like to throw out there is Haskell Wexler...

He is the man who achieved the look for two of my favorite baseball movies, The Babe and 61*. He paints a beautiful portrait of what it was like to be some of the first great American baseball heroes. Shot in black and white he captures the drama and love for the game that was so evident when Ruth, Mantle, and Maris were in their prime.

The next person on my agenda is a man responsible for one of the greatest movies (and subsequently trilogy) of all time, The Godfather.

And that man is a Mr. Gordon Willis.

The Godfather Trilogy are arguably his greatest works, especially when you think about how highly regarded Godfather I has been over time. The way he captured Coppola's vision for Marlon Brando as the godfather was superb. The mix of light and dark in the opening scene with Brando being begged for help his excellent. He was able to capture this look of love and nurture in the eyes of a cold blooded Mafioso.

The other DP I had my attention drawn to was a one Mr. Roger Deakins.

And with him, I would like to list all of his movies that I would consider very good and worth watching (working from the most recent to oldest): The Assassination of Jesse James by the Coward Robert Ford, No Country for Old Men, A Beautiful Mind, O Brother Where Art Thou?, The Hurricane, The Big Lebowski, Fargo, The Shawshank Redemption, Mountains of the Moon, and Nineteen Eighty-Four....

Can you see why I like this dude so much?

...and so once again we have reached the end of our time together so I will leave us with yet another movie quote I like. This one goes out to Roger since it is from The Big Lebowski:

Maude Lebowski: What do you do for recreation?

The Dude: Oh, the usual. I bowl. Drive around. The occasional acid flashback.

Thanks for stopping by guys. Take care.

-BB

My visual style...

(sorry if Mr. Cash startled you, it should make sense soon enough.)

Welcome to my blog, Man vs. Blog. I have never been an avid writer nor do I claim to be a talented one but I enjoy reading other peoples blogs and since this is required... I figured why not give it a shot. Any criticism is accepted as this is a learning process for my self...

I don't really know where to start or even how to do this but here it goes...

I had never taken notice of what my visual style was until I became a media production student and realized my love for the field and most things involved with it... I have always been able to say that I like something, but it has only been in the last few years where I have become able to say why I like something.

This is my attempt to journey down the rabbit hole of what is my visual style. Enjoy!

As I look around my den I can see 4 posters on a wall (all of the images seen here)... they are all different yet they have one thing in common, they are all in black and white. I had never really noticed it before but for some reason they all just seem to go together. I cant really explain it, maybe I am getting older or more mature, or maybe I just enjoy older movies these days... Whatever it is, I cant get enough of them. I had a class this summer on The American Gangster Film era and it was an eye opening experience. Getting to watch The Great Train Robbery and The Muskateers of Pig Alley was something I truly enjoyed.

Actors like James Cagney, Humphrey Bogart, and Marlon Brando put on some of the best performances in history in the early film industry. Their film noir classics are the stuff of legends and is what keeps bringing me back to watch more and more.

So if I had to label my style, that would be it...

Another way of trying to describe my visual style would be to name my top 5 directors and the movie I like best from them... that should help clarify. I am only talking about the films cinematography and director style (not so much the actual content of the movie, in some cases.)

5. DW Griffith- The Birth of a Nation

4. Quentin Tarrantino- Death Proof

3. Martin Scorcese- Taxi Driver

2. Rob Zombie- The Devil's Rejects
1. Francis Ford Coppola- Apocolypse Now

...a list of movies you need to see if you haven't:

The Great Train Robbery (1903)

Muskateers of Pig Alley (1912)

Public Enemy (1931)

Kiss of Death (1947)

On the Waterfront (1954)

The Godfather, pt. 1

...I am officially done rambling and I have not checked my word length so I hope its 350-500.

and I think I will leave a quote to close out my blogs from hence forth.

Today's will be from Goodfellas: "I'm not mad, I'm proud of you. You took your first pinch like a man and you learn two great things in your life. Look at me, never rat on your friends and always keep your mouth shut. "