Marika's Extra Credit: Birdman

I went to see the new movie, Birdman, this week, and given its unique cinematography, I thought it was appropriate to write about. The movie is all shot in "seemingly" one take, an incredibly difficult feat, and one that added dramatically to the overall feel of the movie. Washed up ex-superhero (birdman) actor, Riggan Thomson, attempts to make a come-back by writing, directing and staring in his own broadway show. Constantly haunted by his past (which is represented quite literally by a deep voice, an actual birdman, and super powers), the camera remains constant as Thomson's psyche goes in and out of reality. While watching this film, I was incredibly impressed at how the movement of the camera and the different angles added to my perceptions of the characters. During one scene, Thomson found his daughter, played by Emma Stone, smoking pot after just getting out of rehab. After he reprimands her, she retaliates by yelling back, but the angle (and possibly the lens?) of the camera makes her head and eyes look enormous as she bugs out vocally and visually. Some of my other favorite shots took place in the hallways of the theater where the cast stayed. The beginning of  this clip shows Thomson and his manager/friend/lawyer walking through the halls. Through the camera, the audience is visually taken through the twists and turns of Thomson's life, making us feel, as Thomson does, like we can't escape.