Why Jurassic Park Looks Better Than Its Sequels

there are few films that loom quite as large as jurassic park 26 years later and the rather quaint 15 minutes of dino carnage still remain one of the greatest examples of movie magic jurassic park is of course all about bringing these extinct animals to life and a lot of that credit goes to the brilliant engineers at ilm and stan winston studios however the spellbinding effect that these creatures hold on us is largely due to the assured direction of steven spielberg jurassic park is perhaps the greatest visual achievement from our greatest visual storyteller today i want to examine the images directed by spielberg and captured by cinematographer dean cundy and how dinosaurs were brought to life through scale and framing there's a desire for our blockbusters to be larger than life and jurassic park embodies this in more ways than one first there is the aspect ratio now most big budget films you'll see are shot in the two three five to one aspect ratio aka cinemascope now action films are almost made for this aspect ratio the tight shots feel even tighter and a greater emphasis is put on lateral movement which almost every single action scene is built around i should also point out that fallen kingdom was also shot in this format jurassic park on the other hand is shot in the 18521 aspect ratio which gives 24 percent more vertical space in the frame spielberg uses this extra 24 to its full potential and the best way to explain how is to compare the iconic bronchiosaurus scene to a similar one from the latest sequel first let's go over the types of shots and how they're used in this scene you'll notice that all the shots of the principal cast are medium shots taken roughly at eye level the characters remain stationary as they look up at this behemoth in the first wide shot of the bronchiosaurus the dino nearly blends into the terrain and central building when the characters share the frame with the dinosaur they do so evenly if not giving the humans more presence as a bronchosource leaves a scene it gets cluttered by other objects with this vehicle taking up more space in the frame the characters are meant to be struck with awe and wonder but did you feel that ah and wonder okay enough playing around steven show them how it's done in this scene the characters don't just react but also stand up into frame jurassic park is very much a film about verticality this jeep starts in frame but is quickly abandoned by the camera to track the dinosaur the camera pants to cover the length and tilts to cover the height when sharing the frame with the dinosaurs dr grant and dr sattler are kept to the bottom half of the frame relying on exaggerated body language to convey their emotions the medium shot is only used when more than one person is shown and that's to emphasize the group dynamic the low shot we saw in fallen kingdom is even lower here and again keeps the humans as small as possible we finally get a full view of the bronchi source in this climactic wide shot the humans are so small and low in the frame that in the cinemascope aspect ratio they would be cut from the shot as the dinosaur stands up it matches the size and shape of these trees fully communicating the scale of this creature spielberg is using every compositional trick in the book to make the frame feel huge and this applies to more than just the dinosaurs from the front gate to the vast lands in the towering waterfall this is a land for giants this sense of size and scale is also applied to the humans especially in the first half before the island most characters were shot in fairly standard spielberg coverage but once they get to the island low angles and extreme close-ups are the name of the game whenever they're shown playing with the dinosaurs the camera makes sure to have the humans tower over them visually they are playing god the full frame is required to show the wonder and unnecessary for the storyline how the dinosaurs and the island and the look on people's faces fill up the entire screen but ah is only half the picture [Music] jurassic park is of course a horror film in disguise what makes the horror element so effective is how deliberately it contrasts with the awe and wonder that came before where the key to awe is scale the key to horror is claustrophobia as the humans are trapped by these giants in compact and deadly spaces they aren't attacked in the vast open plains but instead in computer rooms kitchens and four by fours much like the set pieces in indiana jones all of these scenes become a dance between the humans the antagonists and the environment every shot communicates the relationship between these three elements often by connecting them within the same frame the environments are also clearly definable shapes and it's a navigation of these environments that separates life and death for the people in danger now while indiana jones will constantly punch and whip his way out of danger jurassic park revolves around a different set of rules keep absolutely still this vision is based on movement being trapped with these creatures in small compact spaces the characters have to think up and plan every single move any run action can mean death because of this much of these set pieces focus on our characters deliberating their movements waiting for that perfect time to act the threat of these scenes always remains the dinosaurs so all the screen time when our characters patiently wait to do something become the dinosaurs time to shine save a couple shots the dinos are almost exclusively shot from our character's perspective to add to the subjectivity of the scene this is the key to the effectiveness of the horror previously we were seeing the full grace of these dinosaurs from a distance but now they're right in front of us trapping us within these cramped spaces spielberg often creates a frame within a frame shooting close-ups of the dinosaurs through the surrounding geography the subjective lens that jurassic park utilizes particularly the motif of shooting dinosaurs through objects and especially glass is largely what sells this effect how it blends their reality with our own a standout moment has to be this shot of the t-rex where the transition from animatronic to cgi is masked by the interior of the jeep additionally whenever our characters share the screen time with the dinosaurs their presence becomes dwarfed by these giants there's no question as to who holds the power in these scenes this power dynamic extends well beyond the scenes with dinosaurs for instance this is how dr hammond is shot before the attacks and this is how he shot after them there are plenty more visual ideas at play in jurassic park for instance characters often descend into danger and ascend towards safety this idea is bookended by the helicopter rides towards and away from the park also whenever our characters are making important decisions about the dinosaurs they are backlit with an angelic glow but these core principles on scale and framing the night and day difference between awe and horror are what really matter there are plenty of problems with the sequels with the writing being the standout but more often than not i find they fail to meet these principles there's a confusion in those films and many other blockbusters as to what i meant to feel in any given moment and i think that confusion stems from the images being projected there's no wonder to me why the best scenes of the sequels are not the moments of dynamic action but instead the scenes where the characters are forced not to move yes jurassic park is great because of the brilliant effects and earnest performances and surprisingly sharp screenplay but it's also a master class in blocking and cinematography now cinematography isn't about the beauty of an image or the dynamic nature of a shot it really boils down to two things what does the shot say and how does it make you feel if you like this video make sure to like and 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Channel: Films&Stuff

Views: 4,213,683

Keywords: Jurassic Park Review, Jurassic Park Video Essay, Jurassic Park Analysis, Why Jurassic Park Looks Better Than It's Sequels, Jurassic Park CGI

Id: BKALxKbjOaE

Length: 8min 33sec (513 seconds)

Published: Wed Aug 14 2019

Reddit Comments

[u/Viasolus]

Brilliantly put!

[u/terencejames1975]

Yeah, Spielberg knows what he’s doing. Jurassic Park is the blockbuster by which all other blockbusters must be judged. Amazing to think that he was simultaneously making this and Schindlers at the same time.

[u/rhoded]

What a cool analysis, I wanna watch Jurassic Park now!

[u/PsyanideInk]

Any one got more recommendations for videos on cinematography like this? I absolutely love watching analysis of visual story telling that's explained in this way.

[u/-PlayWithUsDanny-]

There are some bits of misinformation in this video. First what he refers to as CinemaScope is just in fact anamorphic shooting. CinemaScope is a specific type of anamorphic shooting that was popular in the 50s and 60s, and is not really used anymore except by some pastiche filmmakers like Tarintino.

Also, he says that spielbergs flat (1.85: 1, spherical) aspect gives more vertical space compared to the scope (anamorphic) aspect. While there is some procedural truth to this it’s not technically true. Instead a scope (anamorphic) frame gives more horizontal space than a flat aspect. For instance, if you take two 40mm lenses, one anamorphic and one spherical, both frames would have the same top and bottom edges but the anamorphic lens would capture further left and right than the spherical lens. I hope that makes sense.

So while his point about the flat image allowing for a more vertical emphasis is true, his technical reason behind it is a bit off. Otherwise, good video

[u/GustoMilan]

Subbed!

[u/RothkoRathbone]

Some really great insight. It seems like this kind of thing should be communicated to the director and dp of the sequels. It goes to show what a young medium it is, that it isn’t.

[u/dangil]

Or because we have Sam Jackson in it.