13 Long Minutes
March 25, 2015 5:13 PM   Subscribe

 
Absolutely riveting. It's amazing that the cinematography of ordinary television is rapidly surpassing what Hollywood can deliver. I had to sit and watch the entire episode after seeing this take.
posted by LeRoienJaune at 5:37 PM on March 25, 2015


Very cool.

(Side note: "on a besoin d'backup"?)
posted by cotton dress sock at 5:44 PM on March 25, 2015


I had to sit and watch the entire episode after seeing this take.

Yeah, I should have included a link to the entire episode; the long take begins at 9:10.
posted by Alvy Ampersand at 5:47 PM on March 25, 2015


I've always ponders whether this kind of exposure increases human understanding/knowledge...or just creates more demand for it.

I'm generally for taking the mystery out of things. No one wants to be a cliche.
posted by Tell Me No Lies at 5:55 PM on March 25, 2015


Is "oner' Canadian slang like saying "two-four" for a 24-pack of beer? If so, that's delightful!
posted by JauntyFedora at 6:04 PM on March 25, 2015 [1 favorite]


This is amazing. And oddly unflashy for such a flashy concept. The camera doesn't do anything crazy. It prowls around at pretty much the same speed throughout, and that objective, casual feel really adds to the tension
posted by brundlefly at 6:14 PM on March 25, 2015 [1 favorite]


(Side note: "on a besoin d'backup"?)

Ouais, c'est cool.
posted by Sys Rq at 6:15 PM on March 25, 2015 [12 favorites]


Tangentially related: The Spielberg Oner - One Scene, One Shot
posted by brundlefly at 6:39 PM on March 25, 2015


"Oner" just means "in one shot".

This is good, although it's a lot less technically proficient than the True Detective one. I assume this show maybe has kind of a gritty, realistic look to it? That would explain the hard clipping on highlights and generally not very pretty look, but the SteadiCam operator is also not as good, there's a fair amount of pendulum movement going on, and his framing is not terribly precise, even with the fairly unambitious blocking they're working with.

So, good and realistic (except for the abrupt interpersonal conflict between cops towards the end, maybe), but not great camerawork.
posted by Joakim Ziegler at 6:41 PM on March 25, 2015 [1 favorite]


What I really liked about that scene/episode is that I thought it did a good a making the situation messy and chaotic. Information is scarce, they don't know the school layout so they're kinda lost, there's lots of confusion. Lots of shows just send the cop in and they're all just too efficient for the kind of situations they're in.

It was fairly representative of the look of the rest of the show, but with way more action.
posted by coust at 6:53 PM on March 25, 2015 [1 favorite]


I'd watch this show in the English version if it was on when I happened to be flipping, mostly because I like the Montreal background and the street interactions could be colourful, but last I tried to watch one of the main cops seemed to be involved in a murder, their direct supervisor seemed to be some of pedophile/procurer and the division head had perhaps damaged his daughter in some icky way. Maybe I'm not the best judge because I wasn't following episode to episode, but just too much story getting in the way of what the show does best.
posted by TimTypeZed at 6:58 PM on March 25, 2015


The Montreal Gazette talks to the director of the episode (both versions!) about some of the differences between the French and English versions of the show.
posted by chrominance at 7:24 PM on March 25, 2015


Vernon God Little
posted by j_curiouser at 8:08 PM on March 25, 2015


(Side note: "on a besoin d'backup"?)

Franglais
posted by feckless fecal fear mongering at 10:01 PM on March 25, 2015 [2 favorites]




Franglais

I know, it just used to be pas du tout ok (if cool) as far as I knew. I'd probably watch more Québécois stuff (which is excellent, by all accounts, thanks to their belief and investment in culture industries) if I could get over a residual fear of being clucked at.
posted by cotton dress sock at 11:40 PM on March 25, 2015


My belief is that Quebec TV is enough better than what we get in other parts of Canada that being clucked at is worth it.
posted by sneebler at 7:35 AM on March 26, 2015 [2 favorites]


It absolutely is, without a doubt (movies, too, especially). Hell, just look at the side-by-side in the FPP. The French one is far and away the better of the two -- and they were directed by the same person. It's as if there's pressure from the anglo film industry to make everything look like shit.
posted by Sys Rq at 7:53 AM on March 26, 2015 [1 favorite]


My immigrant mom, who likes to relax by flipping through movies on TMN, can identify a Canadian (anglo) film in less than 3 seconds by the production values and acting ("Oh, Canadian, next").
posted by cotton dress sock at 9:34 AM on March 26, 2015


So do the English uniforms look more blue and black, and the French uniforms more white and -- GAH. I'll stop.
posted by maudlin at 10:39 AM on March 26, 2015


(I mean, I know that anglo Canadian production values often seem maliciously hobbled, but I swear to God, the French cinematography, especially after they go into the caf around 1:40, is gold and white versus the anglo black and blue.)

Also also: don't ever let anyone tell you that blasphemy no longer drives Québecois swearing. I lost count of the tabernacs and the calisses in the clip.
posted by maudlin at 10:44 AM on March 26, 2015 [1 favorite]


(Yeah, Quebec cinematography tends to be filtered, to help set the mood with a chosen palette. In this case, that means no blue, ever. Anglo-Canadian cinematography, at least post-1990s, tends toward "realism," forgetting that the reality in question is that of actors on a set.)
posted by Sys Rq at 11:04 AM on March 26, 2015 [1 favorite]


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