Super-Sharp Shot in Gladiator...
 

I don't quite know exactly how they do this. There's a shot in Gladiator, the one where he's in the arena and a tiger comes out of the trap door and grabs at him. For the split second that the shot is on screen, it looks incredibly sharp, I don't really know how to explain it. It is used in other scenes of the film as well, and I think it's also used in music videos alot. How exactly do they do this?

-Ryoko

We were just talking about this over at:

http://www.dvinfo.net/conf/showthrea...ie+another+day

The effect is called a "skinny shutter"; in film it involves physically reducing the size of the shutter opening which ensures a shorter exposure for each frame, reducing motion blur in the image. Video cameras do the same thing by electronically limiting the amount of capture time for each frame. Going to a 1/250 setting on your camcorder will simulate the effect of a 45 degree shutter on a film camera, which is one of the more popular settings for this sort of effect (also see the scenes of "Saving Private Ryan" on Normandy beach)

The picture quality on that film is very good, but you can tell that the native footage was interlaced and then deinterlaced with gaussian blur. I would still like to see the results of a well done film like that on the Panasonic 24p camera or on Canon frame mode.

<<<-- Originally posted by peter0302 : The picture quality on that film is very good, but you can tell that the native footage was interlaced and then deinterlaced with gaussian blur. -->>>

Wha? This is a movie we're talking about here.

Nobody scans the negative in a feature, interlaces it, deinterlaces it, and then outputs back to film.

What are you talking about?

P.S. 250th shutter @24P on the DVX looks exactly like one would think...i.e. exactly like what a film camera does.

Boy, is this effect in vogue. Since this thread started, I must have seen the skinny shutter in five more films. There was a bit of it in "25th Hour" (also a large section of the film seems to have been shot with a 90 degree shutter which delivers a fairly subtle effect), plus some of the marching band sequences in "Drumline". I really liked how it was used in the latter (and not just because the DP is a friend of mine!), but that instead of the usual fight type action, it was used to augment and add excitement to the pageantry of the college marching band, cymbals flying through the air etc.

<<<-- Originally posted by Charles Papert : Boy, is this effect in vogue.-->>>

It's a cool look.

For me, it's just another way to add over-the-top energy to something without having to use a ton of cuts.

I have a music vid coming up where probably all of the performance will be hand held (on a dolly over bumpy dirt), medium to long lens, and the short shutter. It'll be a hair-raiser for sure.

"What are you talking about?"

Was referring to the movie posted on the link - obviously not referring to Gladiator! :)