There are two kinds of filmmakers: Those who cherish Dutch angles and those who level the tripod first and foremost, even before looking for a suitable frame composition. Just kidding! Yet there is an underestimated craft in this special tilted shot, which was oh-so-popular decades ago. Let’s take a look at the history of the Dutch angle and the place it occupies now. What storytelling powers does it hold? How can you use it in your projects to enhance the viewer’s visual journey? And above all, it’s time to decide what side you are on: Dutch or “Level your damn shot!” According to Hollywood Lexicon, Dutch angle, also known as Dutch tilt, vortex plane, left/right-tilt, oblique, ditched, or canted angle, is a special type of shot in which a horizon line is not parallel with the bottom of the frame. To achieve it, filmmakers set the camera at an angle, which produces a viewpoint similar to tilting one’s head to the side (hence some of its names). A film still from “Man with a Movie Camera”–a 1929 experimental documentary by Soviet filmmaker Dziga Vertov, which contains a lot of innovative techniques The roots and definition of the Dutch angle Did you know the title “Dutch” has nothing to do with Holland? In fact, it’s a distorted version of the word “Deutsch” (“German” in German). The reason for this is the origin of this unusual framing. It was invented and widely used by German expressionist filmmakers during World War I, such...
Published By: CineD - Friday, 21 February