http://kubrickfilms.warnerbros.com/common/Kubrick_101.html
Few directors in the history of film have been as associated with technology, or been as technically proficient, as Stanley Kubrick.
Combining his background in still photography with his insatiable thirst for learning, Kubrick spent virtually his entire career in a quest to use the most up-to-date technology in order to tell stories in the most visually interesting way possible.
Yet unlike many other directors whose style is obvious throughout their body of work, Kubrick’s style changed from movie to movie.
It was always connected to the story, and he always tried to make the world of that story as authentic as possible, using the best tools he could find.
His aim in each of his films was to find a visual style that would best serve the story he was trying to tell.
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2001: A Space Odyssey (1968)
This film firmly established Kubrick at the forefront of film technology. Earning an Academy Award® for special visual effects, 2001 set a new standard for the art form that would eventually lead to Star Wars, Close Encounters of the Third Kind, Titanic and numerous other effects-laden blockbuster films.
Obsessed with accuracy as usual, Kubrick pored over technical journals, NASA studies and futuristic predictions by the world’s finest scientific minds in order to create the most realistic depiction of space travel ever recorded on film. It was so realistic, in fact, that several astronauts who flew into space and landed on the moon, when asked what it was like, reportedly said "Like in 2001."
The startling spaceship effects were created using a primitive version of the motion-control system that would later be developed for Star Wars. The models were mounted and moved along precision-engineered tracks that allowed the technicians to precisely replicate their movements in order to film all the optical elements needed for the composite shots.
The primary difference between this technique and the Star Wars motion control system was that it was all done by hand and eye — no computer existed at the time which was powerful enough to control the models and cameras.
Kubrick and special effects technician Douglas Trumbull pioneered the process called "Slitscan photography" to create the psychedelic experience of Bowman traveling through the stargate at the climax of the film. This involved moving the camera rapidly past different pieces of lighted artwork, with the camera shutter held open to allow for a streaking effect. The overall effect gave the audience the sense of plunging into the infinite.
One of Kubrick’s greatest innovations on the film was also one of the most subtle. Preferring to shoot the opening "Dawn of Man" sequence in a controlled environment, Kubrick pushed the art of front projection to a new level. The technique had been around since the 1940s but was generally considered experimental and rarely used.
The normal techniques for placing actors on a stage against a realistic-looking background involved rear projection or travelling mattes, but neither could create the realism Kubrick wanted.
To get his desired realism, Kubrick and special effects technician Tom Howard designed and patented new equipment for front projection. The highly reflective screen was created using material designed by 3M for highway road signs.
The footage of the African landscapes was projected onto the screen, and the camera was placed behind a two-way mirror set at a 45-degree angle, to eliminate the shadows of the actors and live set pieces on the screen. Combined with the realistic lighting, the result gives the spectacular illusion that the entire sequence was filmed outdoors in the desert.
To simulate walking in a weightless environment, Kubrick had the main set of the Discovery spaceship built inside a giant rotating drum. By locking down the camera and slowly rotating the drum, Kubrick could give the audience the impression that astronaut Frank Poole (Gary Lockwood) was jogging in a vertical circle around the ship. A similar, but smaller, drum set was used for the scene showing the Pan Am shuttle stewardess walking vertically into another part of the ship.
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A Clockwork Orange (1971)
After the technological advances of 2001, Kubrick decided to return to his roots with A Clockwork Orange.
The film was shot almost documentary-style on a fairly low budget. Very few sets were built, and actual locations were used whenever possible. Kubrick went back to using a hand-held camera for many scenes, including the Singin’ in the Rain rape sequence, to underline the savagery and violence of Alex and his Droogs. Kubrick even resorted to the old documentary trick of using a wheelchair for dolly shots, in order to shoot them quickly and economically.
Kubrick did, however, use camera speed in rather interesting ways. He sped up the camera during Alex’s orgy scene, turning it into a bizarre comedy of flesh and debauchery. And during the key scene where Alex beats up his Droogs for rebelling against him, he slowed the camera down, creating a balletic dance of pain and anger.
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The Shining (1980)
Prior to the mid-1970s, the only ways to move the camera within a closed-set scene were via dolly or by having the operator hold the camera and walk around himself. The dolly allowed the camera extremely fluid movement, but required either an ultra-smooth surface or the laying down of tracks, plus several camera assistants to operate.
Hand-held camera shots, by their nature, tended to be somewhat unsteady, and were usually used to give a certain documentary-style effect (something Kubrick himself had done in his films on several occasions).
Then around 1974, a camera operator and inventor named Garrett Brown invented what he called the Steadicam. Essentially it was a small movie camera mounted onto a harness rig that could be carried and operated by one man, but which used a system of gyroscopes to keep the camera steady and the motion fluid. The result was a perfect hybrid of hand-held and dolly movement, and gave filmmakers a new, very flexible tool for moving the camera.
However, the Steadicam was still considered an experimental device in 1978, when Kubrick decided to use it extensively for The Shining.
In fact, Kubrick had the interior sets of the Overlook Hotel designed specifically with the Steadicam in mind, using only natural lighting and designing the corridors and rooms to gain the maximum effect from the device.
Garrett Brown came up with extenders and other modifications to give Kubrick more flexibility, including a "low mode" for shooting the scenes of Danny riding his Big Wheel throughout the hotel’s corridors.
Brown ended up shooting almost the entire film using the Steadicam, and The Shining was lauded for showing the device’s potential and making it a virtually standard piece of camera equipment from that point forward
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interview with michel cimet
Kubrick discusses things such as research, lighting, ghosts, Kafka and duality.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=g2MF4sBYUy4
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http://www.theasc.com/magazine/oct99/violence/pg1.htm
Kubrick’s adaptation of the novel is depicted in three segments. In the first, Alex and his gang terrorize the locals with their lust for sex and violence. Next, Alex is imprisoned and selected for the Ludovico treatment. Finally, after his release, Alex’s victims get their revenge, but in the end, Alex’s glee for mayhem returns—man cannot alter his fate. Each of the three sections has a distinctive color palette and camera style that expresses the narrative. To depict Alex’s fondness for "ultra-violence," Kubrick and Alcott employed a bright color presentation with high-key lighting, fluid zooms, and dolly shots. Alex’s time in prison and reprogramming is rendered in cool, flat tones, as long takes and subtle camera moves create a somber and then clinical atmosphere. The last segment returns to the environment of the first, but is rendered in gray and low-key tones. Flatter lighting and desaturated colors help to define Alex’s comeuppance.
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