Lost Art of Filmmaking represents my attempt to highlight examples of film language that no longer seems to appear on the radar of a majority of working filmmakers. Each column, I’ll choose a clip from a movie that demonstrates a ‘lost art’ of some sort, ask you to watch it, and then go into detail about why this particular slice of movie is worth bringing back into focus.

This episode of LAOF is kinda-sorta dedicated to a friend I’ve known going on sixteen years now.

We’ve talked about fluid masters and blocking in the past, and he brought up one of his favorite fluid master shots. I was surprised he said SNEAKERS, because it’s a movie I was very familiar with and didn’t know what he was talking about.

So he popped in the movie. Very odd that I’d missed it, but there it was, right in front of me.

The scene was a really nifty and subtle piece of filmmaking that had eluded me until he ‘discovered’ it for me. It’s nice when that happens – when a friend discovers something for you and lets you in on it. So I thought that maybe you’d enjoy ‘discovering’ it as well.

SNEAKERS

SNEAKERS is about a highly trained group of men (led by Robert Redford) who use their individual skills to break (or ’sneak’) into their clients’ businesses to test the efficiency of their security systems.

Redford is soon compromised by two NSA agents who have learned his true identity: he’s a fugitive from justice.

He’s been wanted for hacking the system and committing serious crimes against the government for the betterment of humanity.

Although he got away, his best friend and partner did not… and he’s lived with that guilt ever since.

In the clip below, Redford arrives to hear out the agents’ proposal.

They explain that there’s a little black box that the Russians are looking into, and want Redford and friends to steal it for the NSA. If he does, they’ll pay him well… and clear his name.

Pay attention to the way the the camera movement is motivated by the actors’ movements, and not random ’steadicam swirling.’ The actors’ ‘pull’ the camera instead of the camera being an omniscient force that just moves for no reason.

Pay attention to the blocking. The actors move about naturally, but the shots never suffer for it. Perfectly balanced within the frame.

Also pay attention to how that camera placement sells the drama of the scene. At the front of the scene, Redford enters the room ‘large and in charge.’ At the tail end of the scene, Redford’s swagger is gone, and the two NSA agents clearly have the upper hand.

I’d seen this movie many times. It was even one of the first reviews I ever did that saw print – back at SUNY at Purchase for an alternative college paper called THE LOAD. But I never noticed the subtle artistry involved in the scene until recently when my friend ‘educated’ me about it.

It’s the perfect example of how a fluid master doesn’t have to be ’showy’ to be effective.

On to the clip.  Enjoy.

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