Fast As You Can music video question!

[theyarelegion]

I remember this information was on the old c&rv website, however, my question: at the mark, how does PTA do that? I vaguely remember something about different lenses dropping in front of each other, creating the real time cuts? He also used the effect to jump cut into the "but it did happen" in Magnolia. Soderbergh uses it in as well. Anybody know/remember?

[Bethie]

i heard paul was magic

[Tictacbk]

[Reinhold]

do it in post with different camera setups, i say.

[matt35mm]

One could do that, but in this instance I think it takes away the charm of it.  Plus, a subway train is going by at that moment, and to attempt to sync that while doing multiple camera setups seems to be more trouble than it's worth.  If you're shooting on film, why not just rotate the lenses?  If shooting digital, you'd pretty much have to do multiple setups, because I don't know if that sort of lens rotater exists for digital cameras, unless you built one.

The effect basically reminds me of using a microscope and rotating the lenses to view it closer and closer.

Also, that point in the video has more of a "hey let's just fuck around with the camera" vibe, which would be destroyed at the merest hint of it being done in multiple takes and put together in post.  Very different kind of energy.