0 walking through entry red suit

Continuing from Part 2: Epic Cinematography and Philosophy of 2001 Space Odyssey by Stanley Kubrick:

Download/Access all the files/composition/PSD/jpeg images

You can download all the images used in this series here on Google Drive (274 MB):

Download .ZIP: Ridley Scott – 2001 Space Odyssey Composition Cinematography

Lesson: Confuse the viewer by changing perspective

The part which also blew my mind: the confusion of perspective:

Dynamic angle

The next transition scene: note the epic tilted (dutch angle) dynamic angle composition of the camera.

And not only that, but note the curved perspective (outlined in pink):

Mundane scene

Then the nice mundane scene of “DAVE” (main character) heating up his food, while his co-pilot is watching a live ‘BBC’ stream of themselves on planet Earth:

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Lesson: To make a movie feel more ‘real’ put more ‘everyday/mundane’ scenes into it.

Switch-up of angles and perspectives

Then we have a nice switch-up in the scene.

First, you get a head-on shot of HAL (the computer) // (I also like the grid design layout of the shot):

Second, you see ‘Dave’ shot on the right side:

Here are the angles:

Third, you see Dave’s co-pilot mirrored on the left side:

Also angles here:

Lesson: Switch up the camera angles, and play with symmetry to make more effective visual-storytelling.

Also a fun note: I guess Kubrick nailed the concept of the ‘iPad’ watching-while-eating cultural norm!

Shifting perspective

Then you see a nice shot of the crew in their ‘hibernation pods’:

Note the orientation of the astronaut in the hibernation pod (quite horizontal).

This is important because in the next scene, the orientation of the astronaut in the pod changes:

Then a wider shot of the two astronauts on board, in their life pods:

life pods-1

Then a close-up of the UI of their life support (very important to pay attention to, when later on in the film something…bad…happens to them):

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And who is the benevolent individual looking over them? Oh, our trusty HAL computer:

life pods-1

Then this angle/perspective switch is great– you can “see” from HAL’s perspective, via his fisheye lens — looking (kind of creepily) at the crew:

This is great as a technique, because it ‘puts you in the shoes’ (or in the eyes) of HAL. You can see what HAL sees– which makes you (the viewer) more engaged in the movie.

UV RADIATION

Then a nice fun scene: you get Dave sun-tanning (I guess this is how you need UV/sun radiation while in space), while he is calling his family back home (his parents wish him a happy birthday), and mention about his “earth credits/salary being increased” — which is hilarious, because what is the point of earning money, when you’re alone in a spaceship?

Visually, I love the colors of the hyper-orange sun glasses, and the shifting movement of Dave in the seat (he also asks HAL to constantly adjust the height/seat of the chair):

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Color composition of the video call

This closeup of the video call terminal almost looks like a painting.

First of all, note the proportions of the squares (outlined in cyan and pink):

Even note the beautiful compositional proportions in the close-up of the family in the terminal:

Even see the negative space between the mom and father’s head from the background:

Now see it abstracted, in terms of the color combinations and the composition:

Color palette of Dave sideways

Love the aqua greens on the left of the frame, orange of his glasses, and the purple on the right of the frame:

Up, down, up, down, shift in perspective

Another masterful Stanley Kubrick shot.

First, you start with a high angle, birds-eye-view (looking down) at Dave, of him sketching something. Then as you pan out, you get confused with the perspective of his co-pilot (that is shot head-on). Then Dave changes his position, and sits down. Absolutely epic:

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