#The Vertical Cinematography of Damien Chazelle’s ‘The Stunt Man’
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“#The Vertical Cinematography of Damien Chazelle’s ‘The Stunt Man’”
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- Meg Shields
- August 12, 2020
Sure, you’d watch a film shot on an iPhone, but what if it were shot vertically?
Aspect ratios, like many elements of filmmaking, often go unnoticed. During the climax of Mission: Impossible – Fallout, you’re not looking at the sides of the frame as they flit between 2.35:1 and IMAX 1.90:1. You’re watching a climactic helicopter duel. Maybe at the beginning of The Lighthouse, you thought to yourself, “Huh, is this whole thing going to be this square?” Then Willem Dafoe’s alcoholic farts whisk you away into a Promethean tale of jealousy, murder, and seagulls and you stop noticing the 1.19:1.
That said, when a film is shot “vertically” on a phone, you notice the aspect ratio. And, perhaps more than any other aspect ratio, filming “vertically” has an immense effect on what you can show. Sure, you have more vertical room to play with. But, horizontally, real estate is sparse.
As a promotion for Apple, Academy Award-winner Damien Chazelle shot a short film vertically on an iPhone. The Stunt Double is billed as “a journey through cinema history…reimagined for the vertical screen.” A film being shot on a phone is nothing new. But for Hollywood, “vertical cinema” is relatively uncharted territory. Below you can find a video from Thomas Flight, breaking down the pros, cons, and implications of Chazelle’s vertically-shot short.
Watch “Damien Chazelle’s Vertical Cinema Shot Breakdown“:
Who made this?
This video essay is by Virginia-based filmmaker and video editor Thomas Flight. Flight runs a YouTube channel under the same name. You can follow Flight and check out his back catalog of video essays on YouTube here. You can follow him on Twitter here.
More Videos Like This
- Want to know how The Stunt Double was made? Well, good news: there’s a behind the scenes making-of video (“try to make choices that feel deliberate and that’s almost all you need”)
- Here’s a TCM clip on what letterboxing is, how it affects your perception, and why its transitions chart the course of cinema history
- Relatedly, here’s Siskel and Ebert summarizing the home video war between widescreen and pan & scan
- Here’s a Vimeo Short of the Week, [ UNUM ], an experimental short film with a vertical format
- In the context of On the Waterfront, Criterion Collection put together an informative video about the history, debate, and purpose of warring aspect ratios
- From Kyle Kallgren of Brows Held High asks: is Vine cinema?
- A video essay on whether or not you can you shoot a feature film on an iPhone
- How aspect ratio tells a story
- What is the shape of the frame of your favorite film? Fandor wants to know, in this video essay on why aspect ratios exist and what they signify on a technological and narrative level
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