70's Grit

[E.C.]

Hey, can anybody help me on just what type of camera/film I should use to try and replicate the gritty look of such 70's films as "Mean Streets" and "Dirty Harry?" Any suggestions would help.

 

[Hill Dawson Kane]

I personally feel the gritty look really comes from the performances and themselves

 

[REDking]

I know that alot of those films had issues with the film stock deteriorating sort of like those old family pics we all have. So we never see the clean original. Scorsesse was big in forcing Kodak to address the issue.

 

[snap12789]

First of all, you can do pretty much anything by using a computer these days, so I'd just use a digital video camera (cheaper, and safer). Its easier to beat up good footage, then to make beat up footage look good.

for purists though, a lot of the 70's grindhouse films used cheap cameras like the 16mm auricon, which were originally used as WWII newsreel cameras. Even though cameras like the auricon are fun to use, there are many many problems with them.

 

[paul]

yeah, i dont think he meant in terms of acting, i think he meant more in terms of cinematography. it's a matter of playing with a good filmlook plugin and messing with the saturation. I've managed to replicate it on my PC. Once I get a free minute to play around in my NLE, I'll try to post a screen shot.

 

[Evan Kubota]

Hey, can anybody help me on just what type of camera/film I should use to try and replicate the gritty look of such 70's films as "Mean Streets" and "Dirty Harry?" Any suggestions would help.

Shoot 16mm or Super 8... Imitating that look with video will be immediately visible as just that, an imitation.

 

[joren]

wow, he wants suggestions on how to replicate the gritty look of some films from the 70's. You guys are brutal!

I would mess with over saturating it, over contrasting it, giving it a warmer (slight yellow/orange) tint, adding film grain, doing lots of extra wide and extra close shots, some zooms (I never thought I'd say that!), and camera pans but very little dolly/track/steadicam type shots. Plus, the editing style is probably slower.

my .02