Xixax Film Forum

The Director's Chair => Stanley Kubrick => Topic started by: SoNowThen on September 15, 2003, 09:30:09 AM

Title: Planning?
Post by: SoNowThen on September 15, 2003, 09:30:09 AM
Scorsese used to storyboard everything, now he just does the big sequences. Fincher pre-plans every shot on a computer. Godard never planned anything more than half a day in advance.

So what did Stanley do, from Lolita onward? Because of course all his compositions and lighting patterns are famously over-stylized. So did he pre-draw every shot, then go in with the whole crew generally knowing the plan? Or did he reveal everything on set?
Title: Planning?
Post by: Finn on September 15, 2003, 03:05:58 PM
I have no idea. I just bought the documentary, "Stanley Kubrick: A Life in Pictures", so maybe they'll say something about that on there. I'll let you know.
Title: Planning?
Post by: Pozer on September 15, 2003, 10:33:12 PM
I read in one of his rare interviews that he figured out the shots on set.....let me find that bad boy
Title: Planning?
Post by: Pubrick on September 15, 2003, 10:36:25 PM
poser may be right. i'm pretty sure he made final decisions on the set but he definitely had a solid idea in mind. like the shining was made up as it went along, but Barry Lyndon was envisaged to the last butt dumpling.
Title: Planning?
Post by: Pozer on September 15, 2003, 11:07:15 PM
I think the interview might have been when he was younger come to think of it
couldn't find the one I was looking for, but found this interesting interview from 1969 when he was set to make Napoleon.
http://www.visual-memory.co.uk/amk/doc/0069.html
It's a good read
Title: Planning?
Post by: mutinyco on September 19, 2003, 12:41:31 AM
He figured it all out on the set. His feeling was that it would be impossible to know where to put the camera until he was there working with the actors. Everything about his style was process. He never had it figured out. He figured it out as he went along. Then did reshoots, etc., until he was satisfied.
Title: Planning?
Post by: SoNowThen on September 19, 2003, 08:43:42 AM
That's cool. Too bad we won't have that luxury until we've made at least 2 HUGE movies, just to be given the time. But he earned it, obviously...
Title: Planning?
Post by: mutinyco on September 20, 2003, 11:14:44 PM
Woody Allen has a similar approach -- in terms of figuring it out on the set, then doing reshoots later while he's editing. Only Woody doesn't do multiple takes.
Title: Planning?
Post by: ono on September 21, 2003, 01:29:50 AM
Quote from: mutinycoWoody Allen has a similar approach -- in terms of figuring it out on the set, then doing reshoots later while he's editing. Only Woody doesn't do multiple takes.
Yes he does.  Christina Ricci just said so on Conan O'Brien last night.
Title: Planning?
Post by: mutinyco on September 21, 2003, 12:40:44 PM
Maybe for her... He's been known to not give much direction, shoot a scene a couple of times and move on. Then if things aren't working he reshoots it. Who knows, maybe he's actually trying to make better movies now...
Title: Planning?
Post by: Pozer on September 23, 2003, 11:08:04 PM
Quote from: mutinycoWho knows, maybe he's actually trying to make better movies now...

nope
Title: Planning?
Post by: mutinyco on September 24, 2003, 09:37:21 AM
I didn't say he was. I said TRYING...
Title: Planning?
Post by: ElPandaRoyal on September 24, 2003, 12:32:35 PM
And I say he DOES make good movies. Ok, ok, I'm just a huge WA fan
Title: Planning?
Post by: mutinyco on October 11, 2003, 08:33:21 AM
One other thing to note though -- HE DID plan certain things. For example, on the Napoleon film he wanted to do massive aerial shots of the battles. He wanted to fly over the troops in a helocopter. So he actually did the math and figured out the shots' durations by combining the number of troops there'd be with the amount of terrain they'd cover and how fast the copter would have to travel to pass over everything.

By the way, QT finally took over SK as the #2 most posted director. Too bad SK doesn't have anything new coming out...
Title: Planning?
Post by: (kelvin) on December 01, 2003, 03:52:04 PM
Quote from: mutinycoOne other thing to note though -- HE DID plan certain things. For example, on the Napoleon film he wanted to do massive aerial shots of the battles. He wanted to fly over the troops in a helocopter. So he actually did the math and figured out the shots' durations by combining the number of troops there'd be with the amount of terrain they'd cover and how fast the copter would have to travel to pass over everything.


Has anyone seen Waterloo? I remember those aerial shots from the film (that ultimately was the reason why Stanley couldn't direct Napoleon).
Title: Planning?
Post by: Fernando on December 01, 2003, 04:21:42 PM
Quote from: chriskelvin
Quote from: mutinycoOne other thing to note though -- HE DID plan certain things. For example, on the Napoleon film he wanted to do massive aerial shots of the battles. He wanted to fly over the troops in a helocopter. So he actually did the math and figured out the shots' durations by combining the number of troops there'd be with the amount of terrain they'd cover and how fast the copter would have to travel to pass over everything.


Has anyone seen Waterloo? I remember those aerial shots from the film (that ultimately was the reason why Stanley couldn't direct Napoleon).

The reason he didn't direct Napoleon was because Waterloo failed at the box office and then the studio didn't want to take the risk of making the picture.