A friend shared this video with me after I let her take a peek at what Richard and I had shot for the Unipiper. It’s a fantastic little piece about a woman who sings opera on the streets and why she sings. (Incredible tidbit: Matty Brown, the director and editor, only had one conversation with woman. It was for an hour and a half.)
I’m not a huge fan of shaky camera footage, mostly because it’s something I struggle with when shooting and because it makes me feel sick. But I liked how it was used here (1:43-1:52) and feel it compliments the raw emotions being shared.
I also liked how this video seemed to have a cascade of “reveals.” We open with this woman talking about this artist she admires, and then we find out the artist died. Then, she reveals the artist is her son, who committed suicide. Ultimately, leading to her explanation as to why she performs opera on the street. Incredible.
(I wasn’t really sure how to feel during 3:02-3:15, though. I don’t hate this part of the narrative, but I’m also concerned there’s an earthquake? Did this technique work for you?)
I like emotional pieces, but this was very hard to watch. I must admit, there was a point where I had to fast forward, because it was too emotional for my taste. Not from the filming stand point, but more so the subject matter. I sort of like the aspect of the camera being shaky, because the main character, to me, felt a bit shaky as you stated above. So, I feel like it works. I don’t necessarily want to see this in every production, but this works well for me.