Bound for Glory - First Steadicam
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The impressive feature film debut of Garrett Brown's steadicam immerses audiences in a migrant camp.
- from Bound for Glory (1976)
- Creator: Hal Ashby
- Distributor: United Artists
- Posted by Isaac Rooks
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Commentaries on this Media!
Technical Innovations with Thematic Importance
by Isaac RooksIt might not be the most famous use of the Steadicam, but this shot remains noteworthy as the feature film debut of Garrett Brown's steadicam rig. The camera descends from on high to the level of the people (a particularly impressive technical feat - Brown rode on a crane rig before stepping off to follow the action). It then follows Woody Guthrie as he makes his way through the dejected migrant camp. This method of filming places audiences in the action. We have to weave through the crowds with Guthrie and we get a stronger sense of the space. It's an important aesthetic innovation for a film about an artist with a great ability to empathize with and express the plight of refugees during the Great Depression.
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