The Art of the Static Shot

I love the concept of using the static shot as much as possible in a video. Since I’ve read your book, my videos consist of mostly static shots unless a simple movement is either motivated or can not be avoided. The static shots are sharper, simpler, and clearer to the viewer.

When I try to study modern day directors who use primarily static shots, I’m hard-pressed to find any. I always go back to Howard Hawks’ Red River, Yasujiro Ozu’s Tokyo Story, or Hitchcock’s Psycho. Are there modern day directors and/or films that still utilize this method of movie-making or is it a lost art?

–Keith

Those three examples are just top of mind– I think if you can’t find a film with a lot of static shots, you’re not looking. There’s a certain power and authority to the static shot,  and good directors use them a lot.

True, that static shots don’t dominate like they did in the 1930s and ’40s– but that’s a bit of a technological accident. Silent directors moved the camera constantly. But when Hollywood started making “talkies” at the end of the ’20s, the camera noise could be heard on the early microphones. The only way to prevent it was to put the cameras in a small sound-proof room on the set and shooting through glass (see Singing in the Rain for a 1950s re-enactment– and a great film!) Later “blimps” were built right around camera bodies to silence noise, but they were often still big and bulky and hard to move. It took a while to figure out how to make sound cameras small and light enough to maneuver easily. No moving parts with digital, so that’s no longer an issue.

All that aside, the reason I talk about static shots in my book is not because they’re in some way inherently superior, but because for beginners, moving shots are easier to screw up. If you’re just learning how to compose shots and shoot really great video, it’s much easier to think about one thing– the movement in the frame. It’s like learning to drive on an automatic before tackling shifting gears.

Practice storytelling without camera movement when you’re getting started. As you’re more and more comfortable with the camera, you can add motion in a way that works for your video.