The Cinematography/Set Design/Visuals Thread

Well, This is exactly what it's titled as,

A thread to pay homage to the Cinematography/Set Design/Visuals of movies that you think were exceptional.

You're welcome to post scans, collages, screenshots or any infographics of the movies that you consider to have done an awesome job in this aspect. I am well aware of the fact that most of the posts here are gonna be of CBMs but you're welcome to post Images/Visuals from any movie and make the collection diverse.

Let's see and discover some exciting and mesmerizing work of different cinematographers. If possible name The Movie, The Director and The Cinematographer along with the images you post.

THE REVENANT (2015)

The movie I'd like to start with is, The Revenant. In recent times, I have hardly seen anything as beautiful as this movie. The landscapes, the groundbreaking use of natural lighting and the continuous uninterrupted shots are so stunning to look at that they will assault your eyes. It is of no surprise that, Emmanuel Lubezki, the cinematographer is the first person in history to have won three consecutive Acamdemy Awards in Cinematography. The Revenant, Birdman before that and Gravity before that. He's a genius in his field and one of the best cinematographers working today

Here are some compilations and collages of different shots from the movie.

Movie: The Revenant, Director: Alejandro González Iñárritu, Cinematography: Emmanuel Lubezki

Nice idea, lets look some of Snyders beautiful work

His work doesnt get enough appreciation

I am going to say the Chronicles of Narnia (at least the Lion the Witch and the Wardrobe and Prince Caspian). But since I am trying to hurry off here and to bed at this point, will probably try to dig some photos up later. Unless someone else wanted to in my absence :)

@youshallnotpass:

Isn't that the one thing most of the Snyder haters actually say he does really well in? And gets a lot of respect in? He is great for cinematography, but can't direct or make a good plot to save his life?

But yeah - that is awesome. He does make a lot of things in those movies look really awesome and epic.

How about Denis Villeneuve's Sicario cinematography.

EDIT: Cinematography by Roger Deakins.

@youshallnotpass:

I'll post in a detailed way about Zack Snyder and his associate cinematographer, Larry Fong that he works with frequently.

BvS is the most beautiful CBM ever shot and it was Larry Fong. Watchmen was Larry Fong too.

Man of Steel was also really beautiful BTW. I forgot the cinematographer's name.

I've read... I think it was Imdb, that Man of Steel had attempted to visualize the certain aspect of comic book paneling with wide shots getting close up with a PoV effect.

I think it was an incredible idea.

@legacy6364:

Haven't seen the movie yet but it looks awesome. However you didn't mention Roger Deakins, the cinematographer of the movie.He's pretty well known. IIRC he won the Academy for best cinematography last year for his work in Blade Runner 2049

Here are some shots from the movie Blade Runner 2049 for reference. It was absolutely stunning to look at. Cinematography: Roger Deakins.

@deltahuman:

Do yourself a favor and watch it asap. One of the best movies of this decade.

@adamtrmm:

Thanks for the suggestion and yeah, Absolutely. I love watching beautifully made movies. It will be in this week's bucket list for me.

Also, I'll do a detailed post here on Man of Steel and BvS's visuals as soon as I can get my hands on some quality images and create a collage. I'll tag you.

@theonewhopullsthestrings:

When you get time, do post some images of the Narnia Series if you like to. I mean there could be specific scenes that caught your attention which others were oblivious to.

@deltahuman: My apologies. Roger Deakins is Sicario's cinematographer. I should have listed that. He is also responsible for No Country For Old Men, True Grit (2010), and of course Blade Runner 2049.

Blade Runner 2049's cinematography was extraordinary. Definitely up there with some of the best I've ever seen. You fellow Viner most definitely have a keen eye for the remarkably stunning theatricality.

Also, I highly recommend Sicario.

Snyderverse is definitely up there, currently tops cbms imo. BvS, MoS, 300, and Watchmen all looked awesome.

Some scenes from MoS :

Cinematographer: Amir Mokri

I remember Snyder shooting that kid Clark Superman pose by himself.

Edit: converted the images to jpg.

@deltahuman:

I wouldn't call it a beautiful movie, as it's pretty brutal, but its cinematography is superb regardless, and now that I learned that it's the same duo responsible for BR 2049, it's simply undeniable what kind of talent was involved.

Great, looking forward for it. ??

@zepta_pon:

Yup, I still have a hard time deciding which is the most beautiful CBM ever made, MoS or BvS.

BTW, I'll make a detailed post on MoS later here. Do you mind if I use some of the images you posted.

Batman v Superman (2016)

I've always wanted to do a tribute to Zack Snyder's films which often have spellbinding visuals. Snyder is considered to be a visionary director by many with a distinct style of film making. He tells a story in a hyper-stylised cinematic way (and you see influences from his art studies). It's not really just aesthetic for the sake of looking good, there's also functionality and language. He uses color to draw attention to figures in contrast to the worlds they live in and so his movies often have a very unique and distinct colour palette.

This post will be on Snyder's 2016 movie Batman v Superman where Larry Fong was the cinematographer. Now Larry Fong has worked with Snyder twice before, in 300 and in Watchmen and together they have managed to create magic on screen. From his work on 300 to Watchmen, Fong has a cinematic style all his own. He is known for a very dynamic and stylized approach to action sequences that makes his films feel like live-action comic books.

Here are some shots from Batman v Superman. It is arguably one of the best, if not the best looking CBM ever made.

@adamtrmm: BvS post is up.

People just down right say they hate snyder, BvS etc. dont care about how visually and audibly gorgeous the films are.

@deltahuman said:

I've always wanted to do a tribute to Zack Snyder's films which often have spellbinding visuals. Snyder is considered to be a visionary director by many with a distinct style of film making. He tells a story in a hyper-stylised cinematic way (and you see influences from his art studies). It's not really just aesthetic for the sake of looking good, there's also functionality and language. He uses color to draw attention to figures in contrast to the worlds they live in and so his movies often have a very unique and distinct colour palette.

This post will be on Snyder's 2016 movie Batman v Superman where Larry Fong was the cinematographer. Now Larry Fong has worked with Snyder twice before, in 300 and in Watchmen and together they have managed to create magic on screen. From his work on 300 to Watchmen, Fong has a cinematic style all his own. He is known for a very dynamic and stylized approach to action sequences that makes his films feel like live-action comic books.

Here are some shots from Batman v Superman. It is arguably one of the best, if not the best looking CBM ever made.

Terrific work, I cant believe I forgot about the opening Ocean scene. My personal favourite from BvS has got to be that opening Knightmare scene shot, just look at the design and precise detail everywhere.

@zepta_pon said:

Snyderverse is definitely up there, currently tops cbms imo. BvS, MoS, 300, and Watchmen all looked awesome.

Some scenes from MoS :

Cinematographer: Amir Mokri

I remember Snyder shooting that kid Clark Superman pose by himself.

Glorious. Yeah it was in a bts vid, all by himself. Put this gorgeous scene in the first teaser as well. Love the terraform shot.

Cool thread idea.

@amcu: Thank you :-)

@legacy6364:

Thanks.

I'm absolutely looking forward to watching Sicario ASAP.

@youshallnotpass:

Thanks. I hope by BvS opening scene, you're talking about Bruce Wayne's flashback to his past where his parents are killed. Yeah, that scene was fabulous. It felt like brought straight out of some comic book. The background score accompanying it, titled "A Beautiful Lie" was exceptional and made everything feel surreal.

Also, after BvS, now I'll be doing a post on MoS. Tell me if you'd like to be tagged.

Bump

@zepta_pon: @youshallnotpass:

Unpopular opinoin : A bunch of random screenshots does not equal good cinematography

There's a difference between good cinematography and pretty colorful shots enhanced with slow motion.

I would say that he has his moments, but overall I'm not too impressed with him. Most of the shots are heavily enhanced with CGI (which again, it´s not a bad thing)

I´m not saying his movies look bad, I just don´t get the high praise

Nah, that's a pretty popular opinion when it comes to Snyder lol

I agree that pretty shots don't equal good cinematography but your criticism seems more like a dig than anything else. The cinematography ,the meaning in the shot is there for a lot of the screenshots, and throughout his two DCEU movies themselves. However, if one analyzed them at all you're opening yourself up to being flamed as a fanboy or apologist. Imagine somebody doing what @legacy6364 did for Sicario with the DCEU frames lol

Bump

I don´t think you need to bump this when the last post was 30 minutes earlier

@buttersdaman000:

I know, it´s usually a theme I try to avoid, specially since film it´s subjective at it´s core

what "bothers" me is that most Snyder fans think cool looking shots = good cinematography.

Some of them even think Zack is a cinematographer himself lol

And on top of that, I think his visuals are overrated. (I hate me for saying that, but I need to)

I don´t like to talk much about this topic, for reasons stated, but I´m open to.

Cool thread.

@legacy6364 said:

How about Denis Villeneuve's Sicario cinematography.

EDIT: Cinematography by Roger Deakins.

Deakins is a legend.

Well, I'd like to weigh in on this. I'm certainly by no means an expert. I just like to admire and analyze stuff. I won't say if you're right or wrong in your criticism for Snyder. It's a matter of personal opinion and everyone is entitled to have one. Now Snyder has his chosen team of cinematographers. Most of his work is With Larry Fong, Fong is an ASC nominated cinematographer and his work has had worldwide acclaim in the past in movies such as 300 and Watchmen. In fact 300 entirely changed how people view comic book movies and movies adapted from graphic novels.

These movies, and particularly the work of Larry Fong in the DCEU, all look literally like comic-book panels put into motion. And all symbolism stuffed in these films really is just the icing on the cake. I think you're understating things if you say these shots are just pretty and lack real meaning and value. Visuals and symbolism are big parts of comic-book storylines and I wish more comic-book films emphasized in this aspect. For Justice League, Snyder got Fabian Wagner who has worldwide acclaim for his Cinematography in Game of Thrones and Sherlock.

What's great about these movies and shows is how they're able to use black negative spaces to create beautiful contrasts and to highlight the characters. I do understand that These shots are beautiful but dark and lack realism for many. I think You either love this about his work, or you don't. But his work certainly is acclaimed.

@deltahuman: I´ll come back to this later

@deltahuman: Ok

I´ll try to keep this as superficial as I can , as I said, I don´t like debating cinema and Snyder at the same time, but I´ll try.

Some points/opinions of myself

• His work is heavily enhanced by CGI, which I hate to admit, but it may lessen his value.
• His so called symbolism is just too over the top and in-your-face.
• MoS has a washed out color palette which I don´t like.
• Justice League took no advantage on Fabian Wagner, as I would say this this film looks horrible

I'd say Snyder has his moments. He's far from being an innovative filmmaker but he does manage to pull off some nice visuals from time to time.

As for the "comic in motion" theme... I dont know, I need to think about it.

Overall, not a fan of his style for the most part (I liked it in Watchmen)

It is aclaimed? I´m not sure either, but it has his followers.

@deltahuman:

Some of these shots are one of a kind, now that I can see them captured/out of motion. Very good work here mate. You talked about A Beautiful Lie and the whole opening scene with Waynes' murder. I need to make a breakdown of this as well...

I'm loving this, I actually did see Blade Runner 2049 a while ago the visuals where mouth dropping was honestly surprised by it.

@deltahuman: Yes, the a beautiful scene is magnificent, the song is the reason why I got into film scores and I like how it builds up and links to the Metropolis destruction with Their War Here booming on. But some on the cinematography of the streets of Gotham city in that scene is great. The initial blur shot of the gun to convey the shock, the close up of the gun just after its fired and the round dropping. The sound was also very cleverly used. BTW, they also used a beautiful lie for the scene when Clark says Martha. I would like to be tagged please.

I know this aint that film related but look at the graphics/design for the Wonder Woman end credits.

@deltahuman: Cool, I don't mind.

----

Some scenes from 300 and BvS:

Cinematographer: Larry Fong

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I really like the dream sequence in BvS especially the pearls and gun scene. Also, when Bats threw Supes down, his cape was laid out above and under his head which looked awesome.

@payneintheass:

Well I'd have definitely liked to respond to all the points you listed but then again, this thread wasn't created for glorifying somebody over everyone else anyway. I just made it to celebrate the work of different cinematographers and the vision and visual style of different directors. Otherwise a lot could be written about some of the points you addressed.

For instance the colour pallete in MoS may appear to be washed out for many but even that has a reason and symbolism behind it. Snyder said in an interview that he wanted to represent a less than perfect world and not some bright and colourful utopia.

But like I said, at the end everything depends upon personal preference.

Nevertheless, thanks for your inputs. Feedback always appreciated.

This is why Justice League seemed so weird to me.... well, one of the reasons, anyway. The palette used in that film just didn't match up with anything previous.

@batman242:

Yes. Inspite of hiring someone like Fabian Wagner, JL failed to live up to its prequels, MoS and BvS in the visuals department. However I believe the fault lies in the use of two directors rather than Mr Wagner himself. I'll show you in a collage below how. A lot of the original Snyder directed scenes adhered to the previous visual style which Joss Whedon didn't replicate at all. Going by the fact that majority of the later half is re shot material, particularly most of the fight scenes, it's easy to spot differences. Whedon's shots were oversaturated with colour and lighting and wasn't similar to the overall tone of the DCEU at all. His style is pretty evident when you watch the Avengers and Age of Ultron. Colours are either too faded as in Age of Ultron or too saturated as in The Avengers. Whedon also doesn't really use darkness and shadows into his advantage. I'll put and collage of Snyder directed shots in JL below and you can clealry see that originally the JL would've carried forward the style from previous movies.

@zepta_pon:

Very beautiful shots I must say. And yeah 300 changed the way people view movies that are adapted from graphic novels altogether. The shots look very stylized and comicbookish.

@youshallnotpass:

Nice. You did watch BvS scenes in detail didn't you. It's evident in how you describe things.

The Metropolis Destruction scenes from BvS were superb. Really depicts the gravity of the moment in a very intense and accurate way. And it gets even better in the Ultimate Cut. The scenes are extended. You can almost feel like two super powered Gods are levelling a city and everyone is helpless.

"Men fall from the sky. The Gods hurl Thunderbolts. That's how it starts. The fever, the Rage, The Feeling of Powerlessness that turns good men, Cruel"

This was such a apt and deep description and dialogue to convey Bruce's reaction to the whole Metropolis Destruction scenes. The movie had some really good dialogues in certain scenes IMO.

@adamtrmm:

Absolutely mate. You should definitely make a breakdown analysis of "A Beautiful Lie".

One other track that I think is absolutely brilliant is "Men are Still Good" towards the end of the movie.

@deltahuman:

Oh, yeah that scene made me actually feel the impact of the Waynes' murder as if I watched it for the first time. When you think about the idea of adapting it for the third time, all you can do is cynically snark at how "original" it's going to be and here, it turned to not only look original, it managed to breathe new life, ironically speaking, into it, and become the best adaptation as the result. Of course the impact was amplified by Zimmer's astonishingly touching background, but the cinematography there was at the same damn level. Speaking of Zimmer/Junkie soundtrack - it's just effing amazing. This, MoS and Fury Road are the soundtracks I can't stop listening for like a year now. Still get cheery by discovering something new in them lol!

Ok, I want to illustrate what I was talking about when I mentioned wider shots to closeups transitions in MoS. I rewatched the whole Krypton sequence, marked the moment where they took place and well, here it is:

(damn, some of them don't work for some reason in here... anyway, I'll also post the links if anyone will be interested in the gifs, making which, took much more time than I expected... damn giphy)

@deltahuman: @adamtrmm: The shots Adam showed are actually pretty interesting choices of cinematography

I can get behind that.

And Delta, I think a big factor on why JL looked different (or worse, imo) is also the use of spherical lenses and a different aspect ratio.

Quote

Batman v Superman was shot with anamorphic lenses, which squeeze the image and give you all sorts of artifacts, most notably the blue streak flares you can see in the JJ Abrams Star Trek movies. There are other attributes to them that often contribute to a film’s feel, including an enhancement of depth cues, shallower depth of field, and other things. Justice League appears to have been captured spherically, and with a relatively flat set of lenses that don’t accentuate the space like those used on Batman v Superman.

@payneintheass:

It's especially interesting for a comic book movie, a homage to paneling of sorts. I double like. The PoV effect adds an additional touch as well. imo

Nice touch.

As I said before, I don´t have high praise for Snyder/Fong as some people here, but they have their moments.

BTW , this is more of an editing choice more than anything, but do you remember how Ang Lee edited Hulk in 2003 ?

Your post reminded me this, how Lee was trying to emulate comic book panels. Dunno if people like it, but for me it was very interesting, also considering how "old" is the film.

@payneintheass:

Heh, it felt dated when I rewatched it couple of years ago. I feel like many movies used that effect back in the day (I guess that was some new discovery, adding a visual effect), but I can't remember which...

Anyway, Lee's Hulk is underrated imo. Typical instance of fanboy outrage because "it isn't like the comics!!", but it got the tragic aspect of the character right. I also liked the actors.

@adamtrmm: Agree , I love the fact that Lee went all auteur with that movie, adding all the psychological drama and the nature of anger with the backstory.

The main theme from Elfman is amazing as well.

I don´t think that movie would be greenlit today.

---------------------------------------------------------------------

Ok that being said, and going back to the thread itself

Do you have any scans to compare those MoS shots and movements?

I mean, I see where are they going, but I´m kinda dumb and I think I would need to see some actual comic panels to see them together and finally say "Ohhh"

@payneintheass:

Not from Superman comics, and my memory actually fails me here because as familiar as this trait is, I can only think of two instances right now and none are scifi/magic craziness or any other extravaganza, both are pretty down to earth: