Week 25.11 - Socials Roundup
Posts from 10 Mar - 16 Mar 2025
Week 25.11 posts include shots from He Walked by Night (1967); Severance (2022-current) and Take This Waltz (2011); Happy Endings (2011-2013); BoJack Horseman (2014-2020) and Jackie Brown (1997); and Mrs. Davis (2023).
He Walked by Night
Instead of shot-reverse-shot, split diopter, deeeep depth of field, or racking focus from one character to the other, He Walked By Night (1948) 'splits the difference.'
You can see the items on the desk between the men are sharply in focus, which keeps both characters' reactions readable, but ‘soft’ — demonstrating they’re not quite sure what to make of each other.
BoJack Horseman and Jackie Brown
The "BoJackie Brown" Special
BoJack Horseman 6.07 "The Face of Depression" pays homage to Jackie Brown’s iconic airport conveyor belt entrance, complete with large title over the top.
Happy Endings
From Script to Shot - Mel and Chas talk about these (and more!) shots from the Happy Endings pilot, and how they stuck to or deviated from the words on the page to make sweet sweet physical comedy!
Mrs. Davis
Mrs. Davis include a lot of fun practical shooting tricks like this:
Sister Simone (Betty Gilpin) has a Capital O Ominous chat before she barges past an employee into the kitchen; she flings open the door and we see her whole chest (this is relevant!) before her look Right motivates the camera to pan Left and see what she sees: chaos.
At :24 the cut to Sister Simone is a tighter shot; now from the neck up. Her eyes shifting prompts a rack focus, then she turns towards the now-in-focus goon, who shoots her with a [CGI] dart.
As Sister Simone turned, the camera starts to pull back, which if you even notice it feels like a response to the goon, but also reframes for the ‘punch line’
after a little shudder, Gilpin turns back, and the [real, practical] dart — placed in her chest before the shot commenced — finishes selling that she just got shot with a heavy duty tranquilliser.
Severance and Take This Waltz
Severance 2.08 “Sweet Vitriol” has this time lapse shot which shows a day turning into night in one room.
Because Margo (Michelle Williams) is more prominent and moving in this similar shot from Take This Waltz, it’s a little clearer to tell how a moving light rig simulates the sun moving and taking us from day to night without actually having to shoot all day.