"We're watching you" – The Refrigerator

January 10, 2012 8:21 AM

Breaking Bad Remix // POV Compilation You know those point-of-view shots from inanimate objects in Breaking Bad (e.g., pan, bathtub, pizza, shovel, floor)? As a fan of the show, I feel a bit ambivalent about these shots. Stylistic flourish? Representative of paranoia? A distraction? But I like this video.
posted by jacknose (17 comments total)

For the most part I love POV shots like these, and Breaking Bad uses them well. The only ones I have an issue with are ones where it would be actually impossible to fit a camera in, like the frying egg early on, or the shots from under a transparent bathtub that we know is not transparent. Those ones take me out of the fictional world where pretty much any other shot won't.

That shovel one is also a bit much, but I'm more willing to forgive that.
posted by yellowbinder at 8:28 AM on January 10, 2012

These kinds of shots always remind me of Coupon: The Movie.
posted by burnmp3s at 8:29 AM on January 10, 2012 [3 favorites]

I was getting kind of bored watching people handle money (though loved the roomba), so I skipped to the end to see if they put the best shit in at the end.

I was pleasantly surprised.
posted by soy bean at 8:31 AM on January 10, 2012

This technique is an homage to many of the grindhouse and B-movie of the 70s. Many of us are at least somewhat familiar with these tropes, and BB is just using them at various times to set mood and tension.

This is (part of the reason) why BB feels more like a film than a TV show.
posted by clvrmnky at 8:43 AM on January 10, 2012 [2 favorites]

Those are called "Film Schoolly Shots".
posted by cazoo at 8:54 AM on January 10, 2012

Love it. I will take more ambitious television over less ambitious television every single time.
posted by naju at 9:45 AM on January 10, 2012

Love that show like no other, but shots like the shovel POV and some of the others that don't add anything to a scene bug the fuck out of me.
posted by eyeballkid at 10:24 AM on January 10, 2012

I like their use of POV shots, but I also think they use them too much.
posted by LoudMusic at 10:58 AM on January 10, 2012

You ever imagined what it would be like to, like, be a shovel?
posted by Flashman at 11:31 AM on January 10, 2012

The only ones I have an issue with are ones where it would be actually impossible to fit a camera in, like the frying egg early on, or the shots from under a transparent bathtub that we know is not transparent. Those ones take me out of the fictional world where pretty much any other shot won't.

In what world do you live where cameras are in the laundry and toilet?

Love that show like no other, but shots like the shovel POV and some of the others that don't add anything to a scene bug the fuck out of me.

I likewise had the impression of being flipped upside down or losing my bearings and refocusing, which kinda mirrors the attention of the meth addict.
posted by mrgrimm at 12:52 PM on January 10, 2012

In what world do you live where cameras are in the laundry and toilet?

Well cameras don't generally follow me anywhere. But if you wanted to put one in my toilet tank, you could. The ones that could in no way actually be filmed are the ones that pull me out of the reality of the show.
posted by yellowbinder at 1:08 PM on January 10, 2012

I think it's all a setup for the big Season 5 reveal - there's a shadowy government agency that supercedes the authority of the DEA, and they've been carefully spying on Walt and Jesse for the past 4 years - they have technology that embeds tiny, edible cameras in frying eggs, among other things.
posted by naju at 1:39 PM on January 10, 2012 [1 favorite]

Yeah it's actually an Office spinoff.
posted by shakespeherian at 2:38 PM on January 10, 2012

Relatedly, Giancarlo Esposito (Gus Fring!) lets the internet ask him anything.
posted by kittens for breakfast at 3:54 PM on January 10, 2012

(Or, um, you could also get there from a few stops up the front page, I now realize!)
posted by kittens for breakfast at 5:58 PM on January 10, 2012

Holy crap, I just finished catching up on BrBa on Netflix and THIS AFTER AFTERNOON commented during the last episode (when they had POV shot of pouring some chemical into a vat in Fring's underground lab) that there need to be some compilation of this.

Also there needs to be compilation of all the times Jesse says "Bitch" or "yo."

Also, I am madly in love with the show's Writing, both its characters and plotting, it's acting has been a surprising delight, but yeah, the weak point for me has always been it's cinematography. Especially in comparison with my other favorites like Mad Men, Lost and Friday Night Lights, which are all really beautiful shows.

And the worst part is Albuquerque is a very interesting looking looking town, I feel the shooting of the show is good and they definitely capture the scenery adequately, but missing a lot of opportunities for brilliance.
posted by midmarch snowman at 12:00 AM on January 11, 2012

Also there needs to be compilation of all the times Jesse says "Bitch" or "yo."

bitch bitch bitch

the stupid bitch version

the complete BITCH! compilation

also see The Adventures of Walt & Jesse. more than enough bitch for anyone.
posted by mrgrimm at 12:54 PM on January 11, 2012