ST The Cinematography/Film Techniques of The Last Jedi

If you tilt your head to the left about 80 degrees, Luke looks like a Protoceratops, and perhaps it's doing pushups.

Spoiler

 

Rian is big on tracking shots. He will use this a lot.

 

Alright, new trailers means it's time to revive this thread. Let's have at it, because this movie looks freaking gorgeous. In fact, I'm going to start with what might be my favorite shot from the trailer, which is coincidentally the first. Right off the bat, I was taken aback at just how different this movie looks from what we're used to. If The Force Awakens took the classic look and feel of Star Wars and brought it into the 21st century, The Last Jedi feels more like it's reimagining Star Wars for the 21st century.

 

Student vs Teacher death battle part 2

 

Nice catch. If anyone has a screenshot of the follow up shot, the closeup of Captain Phasma's helmet with Finn's face reflected in it, feel free to post it. It's a really nicely composed image.

 

Love the prequel references with a couple of the shots... Keeping Lucas’ rhyming technique intact is a lovely way to pay homage.

 

I don’t think the cinematography matches that of Rogue One. But that’s a very high bar. The film looks amazing. I personally would tone down the “bloom filter” look (i.e. that soft fuzzy veneer), but that’s a minor nitpick related to a very specific personal taste of mine.

 

Yeah, I adore the look of this film. I mean I really enjoyed the OT vibe that TFA presented...but here we have a newer auteur infusing his style into the franchise, along with that of his DOP (who he's used in his whole career I believe).

Some of the less kinetic shots actually feel like what Lance Accord (Sofia Coppola's main DOP) might give us, and showcase Steve Yedlin's confidence at setting up shots.

Most of this stuff is poster-worthy in my opinion.

 

Agreed. Can’t find a screenshot of it yet, but the overhead shot of Kylo and the stormtroopers streaming into a cave on Crait was really striking. And due to the constrasting colors (streaks of red and black and bright white), its much more interesting than its counterpart in ROTS.

 

I've got you covered



I'm also continuing to notice what I think is a strong anime influence on the composition of some of the shots, particularly the close-ups. I know Johnson is a fan of certain anime, particularly Cowboy Bebop, which also happens to be the only anime I actually like. I think this paired with the strong focus on dominant and contrasting colors is what gave the footage the comic book/animation vibe I've seen some people say they felt.

 

Hmm. Where have I seen that before?

 

As with the first teaser, this film looks so visually muscular and confident. Sure there's an abundance of CGI and digital color grading, but what matters to me are the ideas behind the images more than simply the visual appeal of the images themselves.

 

Personally I couldn't stand Rogue One's constant handheld cam look. This is an improvment to me.

 

I was more referring to the lighting, naturalistic color-grading (not surprising for the DoP of Zero Dark Thirty) and composition in the non-action scenes (where the camera is relatively still). For example, the first shot of the Star Destroyer above Jedha. One of the most epic images in sci-fi cinema, IMO. And a lot of the scenes are

In any event, I love what I’m seeing with TLJ. There’s a visual edge to it that I can’t put my finger on, but it makes a big difference.

 

I noticed handheld cam in most of the character scenes but fair enough.

 

Gorgeous cinematography. Can't wait to see more.

 

Much of the prologue, Jyn in prison, the interrogation on Yavin, the Jyn-Saw-Galen conversation, the chat on Eadu, and Yavin again, were not handheld. And even when it was, it wasn’t shaky-dizzy cam. There was a real fluidity to it. But this is off-topic. My point was that my expectations for TLJ’s cinematography were exceeded to the point that I’m entertaining the possibility that I’ll enjoy it more than my current favorite Star Wars film.

 

I continue to have a sneaky gut feeling that The Last Jedi is going to end up being the best film in the series, just in terms of pure overall filmmaking quality, but even if it isn't I think it's pretty safe to say that it'll at the very least be the best shot. It's remarkable that the cinematography has been this consistently great, and after The Last Jedi we have Bradford Young's cinematography for the Han Solo movie to look forward to in seven months.

 

Agreed. And Amen to Bradford Young. He’s gonna kill it!

 

I am looking forward to this piece of cinema.

 

That shot of the cave looked a bit like a Russell Mills painting. The striations on the ground remind me of Devils Tower. The red veins remind me of an Italian restaurant I went to as a kid, where they had red drip-candles in Chianti bottles. The Stormtroopers entering the scene remind me of how we made our own Chianti bottle candle holder for drip candles, alternating between red and white wax buildup.

 

I'm hoping this thread will get active again when the blu ray and DVDs comes out so we can analyse this more in depth!

 

PK EDIT: Images from tumblr not an actual source. ​