Winning countless amounts of independent awards and having two Oscar nominations, Beasts of the Southern Wild, is one of my favorite movies from 2012, if not all time. This film started as an independent flick from a small group of filmmakers that call themselves Court 13. While Zeitlin played such a major part in the filming of this great film, the Director of Photography (Cinematography) is Ben Richardson.
Richardson knew that he needed a unique way to portray this film, so he decided that digital video was not the way to go. He not only decided on 70mm or 35mm film, but he shot in super-16mm film which gives the film such a raw look that no other movie can get away with. This film was shot with the Arriflex 416 which specializes in Super-16mm film.
The Super-16mm film gives the the grainy feel to each scene, with some shots more than others.
According to nofilmschool.com’s interview with Richardson, he also states that he chose this camera because it allows shallow depth of field and exploratory focus. He further explains that the film was shot with only a couple of lenses, a 35mm and a 50mm. What makes this so remarkable is that it allows the viewer to get the sense of Hushpuppy’s world. Hushpuppy is a young girl that focuses on the smallest details of everything in shot, so Richardson’s use of tighter lenses makes the audience truly take in each aspect of this Southern World known as “The Bathtub”.
Shallow Depth of Field Shots acquired with a wide aperture on the Arri 416.
Being that this is Zeitlin’s first feature film, he has been quite successful, but he has created many short films with the Court 13 crew. My favorite short by him was his 2008 film Glory at Sea. This film was definitely an influence behind Beasts of the Southern Wild. This 20 minute short film can be watched directly from the video below.
Zeitlin’s Other Short Films:
The Origins of Electricity Egg:
Click image to watch short film
Click image to watch short film
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