I. Hate. Shakycam.

At times I do, lol.

What are you talking about? Do you mean the walls that move and hit me, for not reason at all, that sort of thing? *L*

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Bleacheddecay

Only if things are shaking...

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“The gladdest moment in human life, methinks, is a departure into unknown lands.” – Sir Richard Burton

So called, "inanimate objects" have it in for me.

*nods*

Yeah, fo' shizzle'. What was that movie that had Tom Cruise and Jamie Fox?... Collateral, Lateral?.... I think it had Jamie Fox. Regardless, it was a lame movie that was over the top with shaky cam (hand-held / rack focus / swish-pans). I can get down and funky with those camera moves when they're motivated but when they seem to be done just to flash the audience into submission, I usually bust a cap - in dat' ass. Fo' sho'.

Another movie that really chapped my hide with "shaky cam" was that one with the girl from the Pirates of the Carribean, where she plays some sort of bounty hunter. Not only did it have the shaly cam but it also had the pointless color filter on it.

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Side Note: I don't think we should include Blair Witch Project in here at all, except as perhaps a way to define the effect Yoda is trying to describe.

Otherwise, I have to say that, in BWP, the cameras themselves were part of the story. They were almost separate characters in a way (one showing B&W, one color -- one film, one videotape).

So, we already expected to see them shaking about, especially as the movie progressed and the three youths get more and more frightened and disoriented.

Whether or not it made anyone physically ill, I think it's a good example of when you'd HAVE to use shakycam. If they'd had those kids holding cameras steady throughout the movie, it would have seemed as contrived as, well, it really was.

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P.S. I saw Saving Private Ryan in the big theater, and between my utter dislike of true-life war stories and my motion sickness and vertigo issues, I was close to walking out of the movie during that opening half-hour. I couldn't handle the truthfulness of it, the starkness of the scene, the reality of it -- and the shakycam-effect made it all the more real.

I applaud it in terms of effectiveness ... but personally I can't handle that sort of combination in a movie. At least I know this about myself and I can now make choices to wait and see something that intense on the smaller TV screen months later.

YEAH!!! It ruined Batman Begins for me!

David Bordwell recently wrote two brilliant articles on it:

http://www.davidbordwell.net/blog/?p=1175

http://www.davidbordwell.net/blog/?p=1230

My favourite quotes:

Shakycam can be put to good use, like in Saving Private Ryan, but:
a) It's too common nowadays. There are too many directors who think they are "naturalistic" if they use shakycam,
b) They use it too much. Not just the action scenes, but even when nothing much is happening, like when two people are sitting at a table and talking.

it depends if it's done right , some movies like batman begins i can't remember if it has a shaky cam but it had tons of horrible cuts and really crappy action scenes

the shaky cam effect is very effective if only done slightly or for a short time

what i hate more than that though is movies with TONS of cuts like batman begins/star wars episode 3/ and other crappy movies i can't think of

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Michael Bay's heinous tool of cinematic rape.

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"Puns are the highest form of literature." -Alfred Hitchcock

Cloverfield was terrible, I got it out on dvd instead of the cinema because I knew I'd have to walk out and would have wasted money because of motion sickness. Starting watching the DVD and had to switch off after 15 minutes, so had to keep going back to it a number of times lol.

The Hurt Locker I had to switch off half way through because of the camera work style used.

Blair Witch Project was a pain - I didn't know I felt motion sickness at the time this was released, and thought I felt a bit off because it really creeped me out, but realised after a while it was motion sickness lol!

I'm the same for video games, can't play most, waste of time.

As for the other way, a normal shot(not hand held) shaking because of action and so on, it doesn't seem to bother me, as brought up in 28 Weeks Later, and also Bourne Supremacy, Quantum of Solace types - this kind of camera work I don't mind. Seem to follow it fine without getting lost, can't remember it as a problem.

Like others have pointed out, it all depends on how it's used. I think it fits well at certain times, but if used poorly and too much it becomes obnoxious and disorienting.

I know some people use a defense of it simulating the chaos and confusion of a situation, but there really is a line there and if I cannot tell what is going on for sure for extended moments, I feel cheated and distracted.

I think in the right hands at the right moment it is a perfect tool to help immerse the viewer, but it shouldn't be relied on to create a sense of danger or drama. That's just cheap.

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#31 on SC's Top 100 Mofos list!!

I hate shakey cam-- have the actors shake, instead of the camera.

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I agree whole-heartedly. I remember watching this movie called Husk on the SyFy channel and it gave me such a headache because the action scenes were super shaky. I got a horrid headache, and changed the channel before I could even finish watching it..

^ Urgh - Just bought that Husk on DVD a few weeks back, hope it doesn't make me feel ill.

Haha, well I never finished it, so let me know if it's worth watching. I just don't wanna deal with the shakes. :P

I'm hoping that this filming style dies out quickly like 3D, remakes, reboots. It just seems as if it's a new style of filming that makes it feel like a pixelated shaky YouTube movie.

There's only one answer to why they all do it - and she because they all do it.