Nitpicking Photography in movies?

[cjm]

Do you ever find yourself nitpicking photography in movies or TV? You know you see a show that has someone taking pictures and you are thinking "give me a break! First blah blah blah" and so on.

So do you ever find youself nitpicking a show when it has photography in it and you know it is all wrong?

[cjm]

I just saw some awful TV show or TV movie or worse Canadian Movie and it had some of that photography in it.

Here is somethings I noticed in it.

First thing I noticed off the bat, this guy is less than 20 and has a Nikon camera older then himself. But the sound the shutter was making was moterized and it clearly wasnt a moterized camera.

Second, he is taking pictures with a camera that I can only assume has the kit lens and from the look of it, its 55mm max and he is half a block from the subject, and then when he is in his dark room (see third) the pictures look like they were taken at 300mm+

Third, this guy has a dark room. Which to me seems a bit odd for a guy who has a camera older then he is. You'd think if he was that into the hobby that he would at the very least have a better lens, or even worse a Canon Rebel G (first edition).

I caught all that in only 2 mins of watching some terrible show and I am just a amateur with some talent at best, no where near an expert just a learner and relative n00bie at taking artistic and great photography and taking crappy photography for a little longer (I got like 1000 pictures that just suck and can stay in that shoe box)

[cjm]

Oh just thought of one other thing that was wrong with that scene. The pictures this guy looked like they were taken with tons of light around the subject, yet when he took pictures of this girl it was dark, maybe 1-2 street lights behind her lighting everything up. At 1/125 speed and no flash at all, there is no way that I know of that his picture would turn out like that.

[sixshot]

I am nitpicky with all films.

[Seamless]

Not just camera props, I've been observing intruding cinematography, ever since the camera crew was visible in a brass waistcoat button on a British soldier in the 1976 Bincentennial IMAX film about the American Revolution. Now I routinely look for reflections (eyeglasses, sunglasses, mirrored and glass surfaces, auto body, hub cap and glass reflections...).

Surprised to find a reflection of both camera crew and the puppeteer under a dolly in a Muppets film (Great Muppet Caper); the set decorator didn't work too closely with the film crew to work out angles in a mirror-walled music club.

Very surprised to find a film crew capture the second crew in Moulin Rouge.

Poor but intentional photographer/prop camera depictions don't seem as interesting.

[O/confusion]

Not just camera props, I've been observing intruding cinematography, ever since the camera crew was visible in a brass waistcoat button on a British soldier in the 1976 Bincentennial IMAX film about the American Revolution. Now I routinely look for reflections (eyeglasses, sunglasses, mirrored and glass surfaces, auto body, hub cap and glass reflections...).

Surprised to find a reflection of both camera crew and the puppeteer under a dolly in a Muppets film (Great Muppet Caper); the set decorator didn't work too closely with the film crew to work out angles in a mirror-walled music club.

Very surprised to find a film crew capture the second crew in Moulin Rouge.

Poor but intentional photographer/prop camera depictions don't seem as interesting.

I think the first time I ever noticed this kind of lapse was when I saw "Magnum Force" (the Clint Eastwood "Dirty Harry" movie) back in the seventies--there's a scene where a rogue motorcycle cop pulls over a large pink pimpmobile, and just before he shoots the driver you get a great reflection in the car of the entire camera and sound crew a few feet behind them.

Terry

[Rob612]

I suppose that everythin we know well, we can easily spot errors in movies. Personally, I've seen movies where the guy cocks the hammer of... a Glock (that has no external hammer), movies where a .45 handgun could hold easily 30 rounds (never seen one, except the Thompson machine gun), silenced revolvers (it just won't work) etc... as of photography, its about the same. They are always missing the technical part... Its nice if you have time to spot the errors and have a good laugh at them :D

[MazerRakhm]

My biggest pet peeve is the fact that they frequently use the keyboard clicking noise when reviewing and manipulating digital pictures.

Can you zoom in on her head?
Sure. (With two clicks on the keyboard they get a perfect selection bracket, and another one increases the magnification.)

I understand that the director doesn’t want to spend a whole lot of time on technology, but I feel it would be a lot more realistic if we saw a fake mouse or selector go to the area highlight the selection and then zoom in, same time requirement but a bit more realism thrown in.

[exposingmyself]

In Boiler Room, Giovanni Ribisi's character copies his entire hard drive onto a 3 1/2 floppy. hmmmm.

My pet peeve in movies is when someone's hair is styled one way and when the cut the scene then come back it's styled another.

one more thing, when someone is in a darkroom they never show the enlarger, its always cut to the point where the paper is dipped in developer.

[smirchfa]

How about all of these crime dramas such as CSI where someone says something like "zoom in on that" and all it takes is a couple of keystrokes to make a 640x480 image from a grainy black and white security camera into a super hi-res image with detail down to freckle level. I want that in PSCS3.

[roanjohn]

How about all of these crime dramas such as CSI where someone says something like "zoom in on that" and all it takes is a couple of keystrokes to make a 640x480 image from a grainy black and white security camera into a super hi-res image with detail down to freckle level. I want that in PSCS3.

:lol: :lol: :lol: :lol: :lol: :lol: :lol: HA HA HA HA HA HA!!! SO TRUE!!!

Or how about when they used satellite images to read a guys license plate number!!!

Ro1

[cjm]

Not just camera props, I've been observing intruding cinematography, ever since the camera crew was visible in a brass waistcoat button on a British soldier in the 1976 Bincentennial IMAX film about the American Revolution. Now I routinely look for reflections (eyeglasses, sunglasses, mirrored and glass surfaces, auto body, hub cap and glass reflections...). Apparently the most famous reflection was in Scrooge, where a stage hand was seen in a mirror, for not one shot but everytime you see the mirror a (towards the end of the movie) you see this guy standing there.

That's funny about the guns, I always seem to noticed that too. Although to give hollywood credit some of the better movies have caught on to that and now have the actor change clips before it is even all used up. Which is more realistic even though I doubt most cops/federal agents carry and average of 10 clips on them. ;)

One of the better realistic Camera movies I've seen (basing this on memory) was 1 hour Photo with robin williams in it. In that movie, they even mentioned the settings on the photo machine! Now that was realistic.

[DocFrankenstein]

Yeah... photos and guns...

Whenever there's press chasing celebrity, all the guys have vivitars mixed with pro modern flashes...

"Jackal"... when bruce willis prepares the assassination he's on top of the roof with a noink and 70-200/2.8

The zoom is motorized...
From the range of zoom, you'd need sigma 300-900 to zoom like that!

Sniper scopes are always shown as if it's a 100x spotting scope...

Personally, I've seen movies where the guy cocks the hammer of... a Glock
How about when glock runs out ammo, the slide locks backwards and each press of a trigger makes a clicking sound? :lol:

Gotta give credit to britney spears... In her video "everytime" video the fat lady who knocks on the window of the limo is the actual working photog who shoots on most of the movie sets here in toronto. Forgot her name though.

[Jackal]

one more thing, when someone is in a darkroom they never show the enlarger, its always cut to the point where the paper is dipped in developer.

Haha I have always noticed that too. Where did the enlarger and grain magnifier step go?

I'm super picky when it comes to movies as well. To the point where I count bullets :(

[PhotosGuy]

silenced revolvers (it just won't work) etc In one case it will. The Russians made a revolver where the cylinder seals against the barrel when you pull the trigger. I know a guy who has one.
How about the red light in the darkroom when they're developing film. That only works with orthochromatic film.
Books are good for mistakes, too. Like the guy who's using a tele on a tripod on a moving boat!

[Rob612]

In one case it will. The Russians made a revolver where the cylinder seals against the barrel when you pull the trigger. I know a guy who has one.

True, there was a short production in Russia. If I am not going wrong, even S&W tried that way in the past. But all pre problems raised in building such a thing made it impracticable at the end. OTOH, when these experiments were made, semiauto/auto handguns were just at the beginning of the "real" life, I believe.

[PhotosGuy]

But all pre problems raised in building such a thing made it impracticable at the end. Costwise, you're correct. But the Russians got this one right (At least, I wouldn't want to be standing in front of it when it's loaded!) ;-)

[cjm]

I saw Spiderman on TV last night, anyone see that movie?

Anyways I know that that is the last movie to nitpick since it is a comic book and usually they don't make any sense anyways. But man alive! These pictures Peter Parker is taking of himself as spiderman are beyound nitpicking because they are so off the wall fake that any realism was lost as soon as the camera started taking self timer pictures back to back and the rate the pictures were taken was inconsistant.

Never mind the shots he is selling that news paper guy Jameson. Yeah right!

And I wont even mention how unlikely a freshly graduated 17-18 year old kid would land a photography gig in the City of New York. Never been there but I am sure that there are enough arts students to take his place. Whatever as I said it made no sense and was just made for teenagers.

Road to Perdition on the other hand had an interesting 1930's photographer. That was a good movie. :)

[Rob612]

Costwise, you're correct. But the Russians got this one right (At least, I wouldn't want to be standing in front of it when it's loaded!) ;-)

You bet !

Whatever has a barrel, looking at it from the wrong side is always unpleasant, no matter if its working/loaded or not :D :D

[the7ferret]

You bet !

Whatever has a barrel, looking at it from the wrong side is always unpleasant, no matter if its working/loaded or not :D :D

Hell yes, even when I have my gun taken apart cause im cleaning it whenever i look down the barrel to inspect my work i get uneasy.

I was wondering in teh movie the jackel what is that camera/videocamera , lens he has on the gun which was in the van?

[cjm]

In TV I have always wondered on Cop shows why guys like Andy Sipowitz on NYPD Blue (and a fat cop on 3rd Watch) still use a revolver. Too me it seems sort of strange why a guy would want to have a revolver with what? 6 bullets in it and slow reload when all his partners have Glocks and clips. Sort of seems sort of stupid, like racing in the Indiapolis 500 with one of the first race cars when everyone else is driving current cars. Dangerous is all I can think of.

[cjm]

Dangerous especially when the guy is up some gangsta with a Mac 10 and the cop has something that looks like a cap gun. Why do they do this?

[DocFrankenstein]

Dangerous especially when the guy is up some gangsta with a Mac 10 and the cop has something that looks like a cap gun. Why do they do this?
Reliability? Revolver will fire wet, dirty, abused...

[cjm]

Oh is that it. Not a Gunspert so I wouldn't know. I thought they were just too cheap to buy a new gun or are paid so little that they pawned their department issue glock to pay the rent :lol: . (NYC rent I hear is pretty high)

[Curos]

Oh is that it. Not a Gunspert so I wouldn't know. I thought they were just too cheap to buy a new gun or are paid so little that they pawned their department issue glock to pay the rent :lol: . (NYC rent I hear is pretty high)

:D

Doc's right, I believe. Revolvers will fire under damn near any condition, and with some new little doo-dads the reloading really is almost as fast as changing clips in a Glock.

[Rob612]

:D

Doc's right, I believe. Revolvers will fire under damn near any condition, and with some new little doo-dads the reloading really is almost as fast as changing clips in a Glock.

Agree, revolvers are highly reliable, albeit some of today's semiautos are at least as reliable, and about speed... take a look at this:

http://www.findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_m0BTT/is_170_28/ai_n6040335

or, better if you want to see some action, go here:

http://www.i-am-bored.com/forums.asp?page_num=1&action=read&q_id=8969&ct=10

and click on "Quick Draw". That's fascinating. :D

[DocFrankenstein]

I thought they were just too cheap to buy a new gun or are paid so little that they pawned their department issue glock to pay the rent :lol: . (NYC rent I hear is pretty high)
It's a lot like photography, you don't need fancy equipment to shoot...

I'll shut up now. This is a photography forum. :o

[FlyingPete]

How about all of these crime dramas such as CSI where someone says something like "zoom in on that" and all it takes is a couple of keystrokes to make a 640x480 image from a grainy black and white security camera into a super hi-res image with detail down to freckle level. I want that in PSCS3.

The worst is when then enhance an reflection in someone’s sunglasses, do their sharpen thingy, and make out the detail, saw that in CSI:NY, which by the way seems to like the whole digital enhancement thing a little too much.

A while back one of the guys here posted an image, in the distance there was a plane, he zoomed in on it at 100% to show the resolution of the camera, I saw the 100% image and thought I would have some fun with it, a quick Google image search provided me with a similar aircraft image, a little Photoshop, and posted the following:
“...its a plane, I cleaned up the image with 'Hollywood CSI Grade' image sharpening tools to get the following:
http://www.lowden.net.nz/Stuff/g6_plane.jpg http://www.lowden.net.nz/Stuff/g6_plane2.jpg

I seem to recall a couple of people were taken in by it!

[cjm]

Wow that is amazing! You can star on the 18th CSI, CSI: Branson, MI