Stanley Kubrick: Use of the camera and viewfinder

As organized as Stanley Kubrick was, he also used a Director's Viewfinder in order to find the exact shot required. He also looked through the lens in order to ensure that he had the shot that he required, based on the lens that would provide the effect he required. He was not afraid to use fisheye type lenses to create certain effects, telephoto or zoom lenses. He even threw a camera out of a window, destroying it, to create the effect of Alex jumping out of a window in A CLOCKWORK ORANGE.

Stanley Kubrick: Unique approaches

Hopefully these various illustrations of Kubrick's work will demonstrate his unique approach to filmmaking. They should also suggest simple ways that filming can be approached, either at his level of obsession or a more basic approach.

Illustrated here are examples from the Maze scene in THE SHINING, which can be seen on Youtube. Notice in the sequence how effectively the steadicam is used to create tension. Notice the maze floorplan which suggests how the steadicam sequence will be shot. No doubt the model of the maze which was used in the film was also used in the planning of the sequences with the maze.

Stanley Kubrick: Perfectionism Demonstrated

In this annotated photo is listed all of the relevant details, including the lens size, (18mm), the Aspect Ratio 1:1.85 (with note "Obviously you compose for that but protect the full 1-1:33 area"), and shows how some trees can be used to cover up poles. He also further emphasized by noting that "THERE IS NO OTHER WAY TO DO IT/REPEAT NO OTHER WAY excercise the greatest care as the compositional effect of a different path might be BAD BAD BAD"

The end result is shown as well. Notice the path and the trees that are hiding the poles efficiently.

Stanley Kubrick: Obsessive Perfectionism

Stanley Kubrick made some of the greatest films of the 20th Century. Many of his films defined their generations and spoke about the times that they were made in. Films like PATHS OF GLORY, LOLITA, DR. STRANGELOVE, 2001, THE SHINING, A CLOCKWORK ORANGE and FULL METAL JACKET provided a sense of the societies that they were made in.

Stanley Kubrick started originally as a 16 year old still photographer working for LOOK magazine, and then proceeded to work as an independent filmmaker throughout his career. Stanley Kubrick controlled every aspect he possibly could in his films; from script-writing, location finding, set construction, cinematography, editing and even distribution. His obsessive perfectionism suggests a true "auteur" which may be bordering on autism.

A glimpse into the Kubrick mind can be seen in the documentary "Kubrick's boxes" which talks about his thousands of boxes in his home, as well as the book "The Stanley Kubrick Archives".

We will examine some of the aspects of the Kubrick approach to filmmaking which may provide some insight into the filmmaking process.