MTV promotes A.D.D.

willoughby · February 9, 2002 7:57PM

Try this:

Turn on MTV. Try to count the seconds between each camera angle.

MTV will not hold a shot for more than 5 seconds....EVER.

Every single show and video does it. It moves so quickly it can give you seizures. No wonder kids today have such short attention spans. I blame MTV!

buonrotto · February 9, 2002 8:18PM

The 5 second rule-of-thumb is a common one for TV actually. Films more or less follow it too generally though they have ore leeway (shots can be longer before people become disinterested in theory). MTV just makes the effect a lot more jarring than usual. I think the bigger issue with the network is that all of its content, though posing as 1/2 or 1 hour shows, is really about 4-5 minutes of content at a time. There is little continuity of content -- obviously the nature of music videos -- but their programmed material follows the same pattern.

The most notable exception I can remember is the _one_long_ tracking shot at the end of the movie, Paris, Texas: about 20 minutes without a cut. The camera would keep swinging around slowly to each person's point of view, hold, then swing around again over and over. There are long pauses and labored dialog throughout. Now that's a challenge to any viewer!

Another less intense example of loooong tracking shots is the introduction of the drill sargeant in Full Metal Jacket. The scene does have some cuts but the initial dollying shot (that requisite backward dolly he uses in all his film) turns into a tracking shot and pans all over, following the drill instructor as he marches around the room. That one isn't so noticable because it isn't as slow or quiet as the Paris, Texas one.

[all kinds of edits]

[ 02-10-2002: Message edited by: BuonRotto ]

groverat · February 9, 2002 9:13PM

Longest shot w/out cut I've ever seen was a French film that had a 30+ minute pan of a traffic jam in the beginning.

Jeeeeezus I was glad when they cut.

gyroscope · February 9, 2002 10:14PM

BuonRotto The most notable exception I can remember is the _one_long_ tracking shot at the end of Paris, Texas: about 20 minutes without a cut.

Another example: Alfred Hitchcock's Rope was filmed in 10 eight-minute-long takes.

applenut · February 9, 2002 10:35PM

Wasn't the movie timecode one shot? I remember there being some sort of gimmick with that movie.

Elton John's video for I want love is all one shot and so is Green Day's latest. Pretty cool when they do that IMO

wyntir · February 9, 2002 11:58PM

Gah, I hate when music videos try to be all stylistic and artsy (with exceptions). Stick to what you do best (which isn't music, most times...).

Oh, and Green Day? I thought they retired.

P.T. Anderson uses tracking shots a lot in his films, especially Magnolia (love that movie). My favorite tracking shot is the beginning of Touch of Evil. That's a sweet movie.

cosmonut · February 10, 2002 1:22AM

[quote]Originally posted by Willoughby:



MTV will not hold a shot for more than 5 seconds....EVER. <hr></blockquote>

Oh, try watching "The View" on ABC some time without your head spinning. I SWEAR, I think the director is insane!

When all the ladies are around their table it's the worst of all: They try to get a shot of whoever is talking, whenever they talk, for only as long as they talk. It ends up being a bunch of shots, one right after the other, and some are only a couple FRAMES long. Yes, I said FRAMES. Like 2/30 of a second or so. Maybe. <img src="graemlins/oyvey.gif" border="0" alt="[No]" />

No wonder women are so screwed up. <img src="graemlins/smokin.gif" border="0" alt="[Chilling]" />

eman · February 10, 2002 10:22AM

[quote]Originally posted by applenut:



Elton John's video for I want love is all one shot and so is Green Day's latest. Pretty cool when they do that IMO<hr></blockquote>

Same with Elton's new video for This Train Don't Stop There Anymore.

outsider · February 10, 2002 10:51AM

MTV? Is that still being aired? I thought they stopped playing music videos?

ghost_user_name · February 10, 2002 3:15PM

Taxi Driver has some long shots in it.

cdhostage · February 10, 2002 3:39PM

I've gotta agree that MTV is causing my brother's brain to quietly become rice pudding. And not my little brother either, he's 6 foot 1, although he IS my younger brother. Well, he only weighs half as mcuh as I do, so he IS my little rbother... what was I saying?? Yes, TRL is rotting his brain. THEy don't even show the ENTIRE VIDEO THAT"S BEEN REQUESTED! Argq! Make a show on a silly premise and then don't live up to it! No wonder my brother complains that "carson" is not thther half the time./!!!

artman @_@ · February 10, 2002 5:57PM

[quote]Originally posted by applenut:

Wasn't the movie timecode one shot? I remember there being some sort of gimmick with that movie.<hr></blockquote>

Others with long uncut pans or shots:

Robert Altman's "The Player" intro pan shot...amazing!

Orson Wells' long crane shot intro in "Touch of Evil" ...masterpiece!

Andy Warhol's "Empire State Building"...one loooong static shot...pure shit!

Wow, so much for the orginal topic...has as much retention as a teenager... <img src="graemlins/hmmm.gif" border="0" alt="[Hmmm]" />

MTV promotes A.D.D.

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