The Man who Invented Camera Shots

One of my favorite films of all time is actually one of the first films in history: "Man with a Movie Camera (1929)" posted down below, directed by the great Dziga Vertov and masterfully edited by his wife Elizaveta Svilova.

In this film Dziga Vertov films the life of the people in different soviet cities in the Ukraine. The cinematic and stylistic elements of the film however are its main attributes. In the film, Dziga deploys an enormous variety of camera angles, movement and techniques that despite being experimental at the time, became standard with the passing of times. Many of them such as filming a vehicle in movement from below as if running over the camera, have become cliche.

Throughout the film we see an awesome succession of extreme close-ups, double shots, freeze frames and other camera as well as edit techniques which back then were almost a miracle. Panoramic views of the city are succeeded by close shots of a girl dressing up in the morning. Action shots such as following a horse drawn carriage or a truck packed with soldiers with the camera were all experimental moves back then.

Really folks, just watch it. Its long but fast paced and full of detail, the soundtrack (not the original) of this version is awesome and the subject as well as the quality of the technique are a treat for any film lover.