The scene is roughly 10 minutes long and comprises of a single long tracking shot following the antagonist through the game stage. Kojima, a notorious cinephile, has stated in interviews that the camerawork in MGSV was inspired by directors such as Alfonso Cuaron and the film Russian Ark by Alexander Sokurov, and that influence is showcased clearly here. Using one continuously long tracking shot makes sense in the context of a video game as video games are all about world building and immersion. If the camera doesn't cut away to another shot or a loading screen, the player is more likely to be in tune and immersed in the world of the game.
Monday 2 November 2015
Identify: The 'one shot' in Video Game Cutscenes
The Metal Gear Series earned it's reputation as one of the most polarising in gaming for it's emphasis on storytelling. Best described as the twisted love-child of anime, Tom Clancy and every anti-war film ever made, while the story may not be for everyone and while personally I rejoice in MGS's balance of sheer lunacy, god-awful writing yet genuinely inspired characters and philosophical themes, there is simply no denying director Hideo Kojima's unique directorial flair. Nowhere is this more apparent in the opening to 2014's MGSV: Ground Zeroes, which for my money is one of the most cleverly directed cutscene sequences in all of gaming.
The scene is roughly 10 minutes long and comprises of a single long tracking shot following the antagonist through the game stage. Kojima, a notorious cinephile, has stated in interviews that the camerawork in MGSV was inspired by directors such as Alfonso Cuaron and the film Russian Ark by Alexander Sokurov, and that influence is showcased clearly here. Using one continuously long tracking shot makes sense in the context of a video game as video games are all about world building and immersion. If the camera doesn't cut away to another shot or a loading screen, the player is more likely to be in tune and immersed in the world of the game.
With the camera being operated inside a virtual world, this allows for camera movements and direction which would be impossible or at least very difficult to achieve in live action, for example, when the camera pans out from the helicopter to Snake as he ascends the cliff or the way the camera focuses in on the XOF patches as they align with the FOX patch on Snake's arm. This is video game cinematography that makes use of the medium to great effect. What's most impressive is the context of this shot in relation to the game itself. The objective of the mission is to extract a prisoner from his cell, which is shown at the beginning of the cutscene and take him to the helicopter pad, which the camera tracks the antagonist back to. The direction of the scene is subtlely and simultaneously pushing the player in the direction of the objective while also effectively world building.
The scene is roughly 10 minutes long and comprises of a single long tracking shot following the antagonist through the game stage. Kojima, a notorious cinephile, has stated in interviews that the camerawork in MGSV was inspired by directors such as Alfonso Cuaron and the film Russian Ark by Alexander Sokurov, and that influence is showcased clearly here. Using one continuously long tracking shot makes sense in the context of a video game as video games are all about world building and immersion. If the camera doesn't cut away to another shot or a loading screen, the player is more likely to be in tune and immersed in the world of the game.
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
No comments:
Post a Comment