Cinema visual "signatures"

December 15, 2008 2:15 PM

Often, movie directors include a variety of shots that could all be characterized as a visual "signature" or motif. What are some other signature shots from various directors can you think of?

Hitchcock put himself in all of his movies. Stephen Soderbergh freezes frames. Brian Depalma, for one, has often returned to a 360 degree camera pan. Wikipedia used to have a dedicated subheading of these for Michael Mann.

My first question so I beg that you please be gentle. Thanks everyone!

posted by Hypnotic Chick to society & culture (50 comments total)

Depalma is also well known for very long, uninterrupted Steadicam shots.

John Woo loves his doves.
posted by brundlefly at 2:21 PM on December 15, 2008

Spike lee always had those shots of people moving through space, even though their legs aren't moving. Wiki sez "floating effect".
posted by cashman at 2:23 PM on December 15, 2008 [1 favorite]

Brundlefly,
It was a John Woo youtube parody that got me thinking along these lines.

Cashman,
I know what you are talkng about (the most clear one in y mind is Denzel Washington in X).
posted by Hypnotic Chick at 2:26 PM on December 15, 2008

Michael Haneke is known for extremely long, uninterrupted static shots. There's an especially notable, painful example in "Funny Games."

David Cronenberg is a fan of really bizarre, uncanny violence. In his earlier movies, the violence is sci-fi body horror mutation stuff and in his later movies he takes scenes of relatively normal movie violence that wouldn't be so bad portrayed by most other directors and instead makes them really ridiculously gross. See the gunshot wounds in "A History of Violence."
posted by One Second Before Awakening at 2:26 PM on December 15, 2008

They call them "director trademarks" on IMDB and list them in the trivia section for the movies, and in the biography for the directors. Some of them are a bit tenous: yes, John Woo movies use guns, but is that his trademark?
posted by smackfu at 2:28 PM on December 15, 2008

Steven Spielberg likes close-up shots where you see people react to something and then the camera pans out to reveal whatever amazing thing it is they're looking at.
posted by EarBucket at 2:29 PM on December 15, 2008

Darren Aronofsky likes to repeat quick-cut shots (Max taking his pills in Pi, everyone taking their drug of choice in Requiem for a Dream)
posted by Lucinda at 2:31 PM on December 15, 2008

This refers mostly to TV, not movies, but Aaron Sorkin (and his frequent cameraman, Thomas Schlamme) often use the "Walk and Talk"/pedeconferencing technique.

See here.
posted by cider at 2:37 PM on December 15, 2008

These are great, thanks all.

Smackfu,
Thanks for the search term. I looked it up and I got a "trademarK" that could also be described as tenuous (but funny).

"Ed Wood - Extreme technical incompetence"
posted by Hypnotic Chick at 2:38 PM on December 15, 2008

A friend of mine identified what he calls the "STANDS UP!" shot as a trademark of Michael Bay. The archetypal example is in Bad Boys when Smith and Lawrence's car crashes from something the bad guys did. The car's trashed and it looks like they might be down for the count. Then there's a low-level moving camera shot where the heroes... STAND UP! There's another example in The Rock, I believe.
posted by Joe Beese at 2:39 PM on December 15, 2008

Steven Spielberg likes close-up shots where you see people react to something and then the camera pans out to reveal whatever amazing thing it is they're looking at.

If you watch Jurassic Park, the number of times he dollies in to someone's awe-struck face is so high that you'll tire of keeping count.
posted by Joe Beese at 2:41 PM on December 15, 2008

Kubrick loved him some mirrors and twinning, and so far as I can recall, every single one of his films (at least post-Spartacus) has a scene which takes place in a bathroom. There is also the famous Kubrick stare: head lowered, eyes raised and looking into camera (think of Alex in the opening shot of A Clockwork Orange).

James Cameron movies pretty much always have a closeup of someone's feet hitting the ground.

Wes Anderson seems to always use the Magicam for the final shot, and turn the last shot into slow motion.
posted by ricochet biscuit at 2:50 PM on December 15, 2008 [1 favorite]

Wes Anderson keeps featuring his characters underwater, and as far as I know, has increased the number of people underwater to correspond with the number of films he has done (one underwater in Bottle Rocket, two underwater in Rushmore, three in the Royal Tenenbaums, etc.).

Kubrick loved his tracking shots and narrators. Altman was into ensemble casts. Orson Welles loved crane shots. PT Anderson likes to do the iris in/out shots and using really long takes.

There have to be tons more.
posted by scarykarrey at 2:51 PM on December 15, 2008

Just off the top of my head, and I could be off the mark on some...

Stanley Kubrick - use of symmetry and long static shots.

Hitchcock - (Borrowed by many others) Static shot of person; cut to static shot of (something), cut back to person reacting to (something); close up shots that tell a bigger story, such as tripping feet, moving hands, and the ultimate one: the Psycho shower scene.

Spielberg - Use of reflections; images of childhood with an unrealistic degree of independence, and often fatherless. Dolly-zoom effect (receding background).

Coppola - Use of symbolic foreshadowing, and a lot of symbolism in general. (In The Godfather, when Luka enters the bar where he will be killed, the foreground shows a window etched with fish. Later, fish will be delivered to the Family, wrapped in Luka's bulletproof vest. "It means Luka sleeps with the fishes. Also, oranges represent impending violence or death. In Apocalypse Now, the entire opening scene is overlaid with images of the climactic scenes; the climactic slaughter of Kurtz is intercut with the ritualistic slaughter of a water buffalo. In The Conversation, Harry Caul is surrounded by images of eroding privacy: the building outside his window is being razed, his raincoat is translucent, his workshop has translucent panes he moves back and forth behind, the camera work is often static, or has "mechanical" movement, like a surveillance camera.

(more if I think of any)
posted by Fuzzy Skinner at 2:56 PM on December 15, 2008 [1 favorite]

Wes Anderson's use of 2.35:1 for long static shots with packed mise en scène, or for lateral tracking... which feels indebted to Peter Greenaway, but with fewer tables and/or naked bodies.
posted by holgate at 3:02 PM on December 15, 2008 [1 favorite]

Terrence Mallick is noted for his shots of long, windswept grass and endless skies - these appear in all his films.

And most (if not all) of Guillermo Del Toro's films feature some kind of feotus in a jar somewhere in the background of a shot.
posted by hnnrs at 3:02 PM on December 15, 2008 [1 favorite]

And you can pretty much identify a Tim Burton movie just by looking at any single shot.
posted by hnnrs at 3:03 PM on December 15, 2008

Wes Anderson always uses the Futura font. Kubrick liked the same, only in extra bold.
posted by nitsuj at 3:04 PM on December 15, 2008

Wes Anderson always uses the Futura font.

Well, if we get to mention fonts, Woody Allen has used the same font for his opening credits since Annie Hall.
posted by Joe Beese at 3:08 PM on December 15, 2008

Sam Raimi invented "shaky cam" and some other less famous camera tricks.
posted by roger ackroyd at 3:09 PM on December 15, 2008

Top of my head, and these run the gamut from classy to cheesy...

Welles's deep focus (Renoir too, and Leone uses it completely differently in the "Dollars" movies)
Kubrick's extremely wide angles and 'awkward' lingering shots
Aranofsky's Snorricam (an homage, I guess)
Tarantino's trunk shots, bathroom reveals, and spin-around-the-conversation shots.
James Cameron opening a scene with something crunched underfoot/wheel
The Wachowski Brothers... well, you know.
Fincher's color palettes and crazy close-ups of irrelevant objects
Wes Anderson loves jamming lots of people into small spaces
Baz Luhrmann sure loves curtains opening, and closing.
posted by rokusan at 3:15 PM on December 15, 2008

Wong Kar Wai is known for jumpy editing that gives scenes a hyperkinetic, stop-motion style. He used this to great effect in Chungking Express and Fallen Angels, capturing the hyper feel of a violent city at night. He also used a version of this technique in Ashes of Time to make the fight sequences very stylized.

Hong Kong trailer for Chungking Express
posted by Kafkaesque at 3:18 PM on December 15, 2008

Well, if we get to mention fonts, Woody Allen has used the same font for his opening credits since Annie Hall.

That's Windsor, according to nitsuj's first link.
posted by ricochet biscuit at 3:19 PM on December 15, 2008

These are great. BTW, I love the idea of the font as a vehicle for artistic expression in movies. I had watched the Trajan font clip and was shocked, but the consistent and meaningful use of font is very interesting.
posted by Hypnotic Chick at 3:20 PM on December 15, 2008

Sam Raimi's distinctive "Raimi Cam", in which the camera is either attached to an object or takes the place of an object or creature itself. The camera itself will knock objects out of the way. Shows up in all three Evil Dead films and in the Spiderman trilogy. Also, he uses brief montages with very rapid cuts to develop action, which was parodied throughout "Shaun of the Dead".
posted by Benjy at 3:22 PM on December 15, 2008

Taratino's never seen a shot of a woman's feet he didn't love, which makes me feel somewhat dirty for having to participate in his fetish.
posted by fairytale of los angeles at 3:40 PM on December 15, 2008

Orson Welles shot a lot of his stuff from below the floor or low to the floor, looking up. In "M," there's a brilliant pan-in at the beginning of the movie that I'm still not sure how he did it, because I just couldn't see the cut.
posted by Chuffy at 4:51 PM on December 15, 2008

I'll throw in Kieslowski's use of colour filters: not just Blue/White/Red, but in everything.
posted by holgate at 4:51 PM on December 15, 2008 [1 favorite]

yes, John Woo movies use guns, but is that his trademark?
Guns? No, but having characters firing while falling/leaping with pistols in both hands could arguably be.
posted by juv3nal at 4:52 PM on December 15, 2008

Then there are the inside jokes, like See You Next Wednesday in John Landis's films, or Hitchcock's use of that fat guy that cameoed in all of his movies.
posted by Toekneesan at 5:08 PM on December 15, 2008

Terry Gilliam loves really distorted wide angle shots.
posted by octothorpe at 5:26 PM on December 15, 2008

M. Night Shyamalan tends to identify characters and themes with certain colors. He also likes reflections. He also likes himself quite a lot.
posted by emelenjr at 5:42 PM on December 15, 2008 [2 favorites]

Lucas loves to use side swipes and other methods to transition from one scene to a next, rather than simply cutting away. And of course, he always includes 1138 into all his movies, directing and generally, also producing. He also has a predilection with his Star Wars movies to always open the movie with a scene in outer space featuring a space craft (not to mention, easy fun transition from scrolling text on a black field).
posted by Atreides at 5:44 PM on December 15, 2008

Stephen Soderbergh freezes frames.

He does? I remember them in Out of Sight and maybe an Ocean movie but... I don't think it's a trademark.

Orson Welles shot a lot of his stuff from below the floor or low to the floor, looking up. In "M," there's a brilliant pan-in at the beginning of the movie that I'm still not sure how he did it, because I just couldn't see the cut.

M was made when Welles was 16. By Fritz Lang. Maybe you're thinking of Citizen Kane, which has this shot but was created by Gregg Toland, his cinematographer.
posted by Manhasset at 5:47 PM on December 15, 2008

And you can pretty much identify a Tim Burton movie just by looking at any single shot.

A number of his early and signature films were art directed and/or production designed by the same people (Beetlejuice, Edward Scissorhands, Ed Wood, Batman Returns): Bo Welch and Tom Duffield.
posted by Manhasset at 6:00 PM on December 15, 2008

Terry Gilliam movies often begin and end with very similar shots.
posted by Stylus Happenstance at 6:00 PM on December 15, 2008

Hitchcock put himself in all of his movies.

Not all but most. Mike Figgis does this as well.

Sam Raimi also puts Bruce Campbell in most of his films. Raimi also features his own 1973 Oldsmobile Delta 88 in most (all?) of his films.
posted by Manhasset at 6:05 PM on December 15, 2008

Well, if we get to mention fonts, Woody Allen has used the same font for his opening credits since Annie Hall.

except Interiors and Manhattan.
posted by Stylus Happenstance at 6:06 PM on December 15, 2008 [1 favorite]

I think Welles was the first to show a ceiling in a shot (in Citizen Kane...and as Manhasset says this could also be attributed to his cinematographer).

Hitchcock used the "push/pull" where the background came towards the camera as the camera pushed towards the subject(s). I think there are several examples of this in Vertigo and Psycho, and maybe also in The Birds.
posted by junipero at 6:24 PM on December 15, 2008

I seem to recall flickering or malfunctioning indoor lights in most of the David Lynch movies I've seen.
posted by ROTFL at 8:44 PM on December 15, 2008

I've noticed maintenance men sweeping the floor are often featured in passing in David Fincher's movies. It might be a nod to the invisible army of Project Mayhem, eternally keeping guard while melting into the background.
posted by Operation Afterglow at 8:50 PM on December 15, 2008

Great answers all. Thank you everyone!
posted by Hypnotic Chick at 8:54 PM on December 15, 2008

He also has a predilection with his Star Wars movies to always open the movie with a scene in outer space featuring a space craft (not to mention, easy fun transition from scrolling text on a black field).

More specifically, the camera pans down from the text field as it fades away into the distance... except for "Attack of the Clones," where it panned up... That really caught me off guard (it should be noted though that he didn't direct "Empire Strikes Back" or "Return of the Jedi").

I'm not quite sure if his propensity for sunset shots counts, since he hasn't directed that much, but they figure prominently in the original, and the end of "Revenge of the Sith," as well as the end of THX 1138. "Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade" also ends with it, although that was directed by Spielberg.

When I first read the question, the first thing I thought of was Sergio Leone's uncomfortably close close-ups of the eyes. He does it in his Dollars trilogy, but I don' t know if he did it all the time.
posted by TheSecretDecoderRing at 9:33 PM on December 15, 2008

Werner Herzog has a tendency to insert shots of animals that seem to have little connection to the story. He does this most often with chickens, apparently because he is chicken-phobic. He also likes to put in shots or little vignettes of extras performing actions unrelated to the story, often local townspeople who aren't even involved with the shoot.

The Coen brothers occasionally like to do fast zooms like this one from Raising Arizona (starts at about 0:57), but tend to use it only in their comedies. Even more frequently, they'll have a long, drifting steadicam shot that sloooowly pans across or zooms in while characters are talking or doing stuff. Roger Deakins probably takes some credit for this, since he's been the cinematographer for almost all their films.

Peter Jackson likes to do extreme close-ups of his actors' faces reacting to something. (Seriously, he does this all the damn time. It's sort of a pet peeve of mine, especially when the actors aren't, you know, of the highest caliber.)
posted by Vic Morrow's Personal Vietnam at 9:41 PM on December 15, 2008

No mention of Martin Scorcese? He sure loves his long tracking shots. Another type of shot that I instantly identify as his is when he zooms in quickly on someone as they're getting ready to go. Paul Thomas Anderson referenced this quite extensively in Boogie Nights.
posted by alidarbac at 11:12 PM on December 15, 2008

Tarkovsky does veeeeeeerrrrrrrrrrrrrryyyyy loooooooooonnnnnnnggggggg tracking shots, not panning across a scene as things are happening.. you are basically watching time and movement.
Bresson makes a lot of quick cuts, cross cuts, often of gestures.
Dario Argento, when there are violent scenes in his films, they're set off from the rest of the film by music and an abrupt change in style, quick cuts and sudden close ups. very effective
Sergio Leone, close-ups of characters' eyes..
Quentin Tarantino, rips off scenes from other filmmakers..
posted by citron at 12:03 AM on December 16, 2008

Hitchcock's technique in Vertigo that Junipero's talking about is more accurately called a dolly zoom.

Brian de Palma's split screens.

There's also the Ken Burns effect; panning around still photographs.

ricochet biscuit, what's a Magicam?
posted by HE Amb. T. S. L. DuVal at 1:22 AM on December 16, 2008

Jonathan Demme (Philadelphia, Rachel Getting Married, The Silence of the Lambs) always has a shot where a character looks and speaks directly at the camera.
posted by achompas at 1:39 AM on December 16, 2008

In many of John Ford's movies, when people arrive somewhere ex: riding into town, arriving at the ranch, there is almost always a barking dog.
posted by marxchivist at 8:59 AM on December 16, 2008

Takeshi Kitano often will let the camera sit in a single spot and run. And run. And run. Even if nothing is happening in the frame.

God, I hate watching Takeshi Kitano movies.
posted by dellsolace at 10:31 AM on December 16, 2008