Michael Bay - What is Bayhem?

There are filmmakers we love and then there's Michael Bay. Even if you dislike him (as I do), Bay has something valuable to teach us about visual perception. This is an exploration of "Bayhem" - his style of camera movement, composition and editing that creates something overblown, dynamic and distinct.
For educational purposes only. You can donate to support the channel at
Patreon: / everyframeapainting
And follow me here:
Twitter: / tonyszhou
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For further reading/viewing, I recommend
Letterboxd user sydney's review of Bad Boys 2: bit.ly/1iZe7SX
Michael Bay watches West Side Story: nyti.ms/Vg7ErY
Werner Herzog Talks About Wrestlemania & Anna Nicole Smith: bit.ly/VfQ9Iu
Music:
The Sound Defects - Take Out
Leonard Bernstein - West Side Story Overture
Radiohead - I Might Be Wrong
Help us caption & translate this video!
amara.org/v/Ewss/

[@JVarley9001]

So Michael Bay's style is like cinematic caps lock; it takes something meant to be used for a purpose or for dramatic effect and just uses it for everything.

[@trinen975]

+Mr. Creazil perfect analogy, made me laugh

[@DestroyedArkana]

Basically yeah. IF ALL TEXT WAS WRITTEN LIKE THIS, THEN IT WOULD BE NORMAL. YOU WOULDN'T ASSUME I'M YELLING RIGHT NOW. Maybe one day people will realize that cranking everything up to 11 is meaningless if you don't drop it down sometimes.

[@raylast3873]

Arkana oh, but people do know. Bay may be fairly popular, but it's not like EVERYONE is into his movies. Probably not even a majority. And most good directors are much more subtle.

[@KenworthofRichfield]

Without bad, we don't know how wonderful good is. :D

[@shanefrey]

AUTOBOTS IM ON PURSUIT!! yup, seems about right..

[@HandsOfCinderblock]

"I make movies for teenage boys. Oh dear, what a crime." - Michael Bay Great quote, in my opinion.

[@HandsOfCinderblock]

Finlay Howard 15 might be too old. But 12-13 year olds love that shit. Also you know what, like, 63 people?

[@EricCartman-mx5wg]

+Hands of Cinderblock I even hated his work as a 13 year old. I'd say 6-10 is the right age for his audience...

[@HandsOfCinderblock]

Eric Cartman That's fine, it's your opinion. But you are one person.

[@EricCartman-mx5wg]

Hands of Cinderblock I know a lot of people on my age that hate him too. I have only one friend who likes him...

[@HandsOfCinderblock]

Eric Cartman Dude, these movies make millions of dollars. I'm not quite sure what your driving at. Bay's movies don't struggle to get an audience

[@LandonBalk]

'We are really visually sophisticated and totally visually illiterate." Fucking spot on man.

[@seanmittelstaedt9788]

+Landon Balk Soooo good. But I have a question. What is visual literacy? Its a term that is thrown around a lot, but rarely do we actually define it explicitly. I wonder if everyone who uses it is actually talking about the same thing.

[@LandonBalk]

Visual literacy is referring to the way we express subtext and meaning to the viewer through the editing, lighting, and camera angles. If you were light someone so they look scary and intense it's going to read to the audience that this is a scary and intense person. It's all about directing your audiences attention and manipulating them to think or feel a certain way. Visual literacy essentially is a means of communication through visual elements.

[@Topzapper2]

I feel like it's more that people don't understand why certain shots and movies are good or bad. Most moviegoers will something that entertains them and they will immediately think it's a good film. "It entertained me." Is the biggest Hobbit or Star Wars prequel apology I've seen, especially here on youtube. But if you look at something like porn, sure it's entertaining but nobody will argue that it's a good film.

[@jonnygraham5887]

When the point of a film such as Star Wars and The Hobbit is to entertain. The measure of how good it was is explicitly whether or not the audience found it entertaining. Everything else is just pretentious chin strokery.

[@Topzapper2]

Jonny Graham but you can be entertaining and smart at the same time. Like the lego movie or mad max

[@christians6164]

"Every shot is designed for maximum visual impact, regardless of whether it fits." This is a very interesting point, and I think there are a lot of parallels to music here. An equivalent of "bayhem" is the loudness war, where music is compressed more and more to seem louder and more impactful. While increasing impact of every part of the song, the dynamic range is reduced, actually making it seem less impactful. That means that the big hits don't hit as hard, and the small hits are brought up to where they shouldn't be. In a long form format like movies, I think dynamic range is even more important.

[@Redem10]

I sorta want to dare Michael Bay to do a movie with no orange or blue in it

[@neonatalpenguin]

Redem10 Apparently, the Teal-'n-Orange grade was first developed by Roger Deakins and the Coen Brothers for 'Oh Brother Where Art Thou?', in order to give everything that washed-out 1930s look. Not sure how it became standard blockbuster fare.

[@kellybeck4579]

neonatalpenguin I've heard that movies have to be color corrected after filming. Blue and orange are the most visually appealing colors to the human eye, so it gets overused.

[@ekuliyo]

It's taken over in the era of digital color correction because orange and blue are complimentary colors, meaning maximum contrast and therefore it looks inherently dramatic. There are other complimentary color pairs but they look too unnatural if the film is tinted that way. Orange-blue is a color set we're used to seeing due to lighting temperature in film (cooler light is orange, hotter light is blue) and in life (orange light from fire/incandescent lights/the late-day sun against the blue backdrop of the sky/water) so you can have that high color contrast without the audience really noticing it's there unless they learn to spot it.

[@ekuliyo]

I don't think it can be chalked up to adolescents. I don't see any evidence that it started with teen movies. It's just natural. From my own experience as a graphic designer toning photographs, in 9/10 photos a subtle boost to both ends of the hot/cool lighting spectrum is what makes it pop best. I try other things, but that's still the best. I have to make a conscious decision to use other methods (and I do, because I don't want to hate myself). Before color toning we shot during magic hour which basically accomplishes the same thing. I don't believe it's an intentional decision - the director just says "make it pop" and that's the best way. What we need is more directors making active decisions about the color palettes in their films.

[@zoolanderinokripperino8662]

+Redem10 Fuck that

[@theFLICKpick]

This is probably the most fascinating thing I've ever watched concerning director Michael Bay. Though I still think the movie The Rock is 90's action perfection...

[@joshmciver4847]

always awesome to see a reply from a channel I subscribe to comment on another channel I subscribe to! ya'll both make great content!

[@LeoSkyro]

The Rock is one of my favorite movies ever and I loathe Bay

[@triple785srt9]

Shutup you hackneyed piece of garbage.

[@user-xd5lx2tx5l]

triple785 srt 4 years ago. A bit too late to the punch, there.

[@RZAODBGZA]

i totally agree, i'll go to bat for The Rock any day. nick cage and sean connery had great chemistry

[@williamcharron4683]

Its funny that critics loath Bay with fury, yet his fellow Hollywood directors, Spielberg, Cameron, Nolan and others hold him with respect.

[@guileniam]

Because it's hard to make shots look good. And Bay DOES do that.

[@hiilikemovies9787]

That’s because in Hollywood especially if yours director you can’t just say that you hate this guy because studios do (just look at how much money transformers made) and he will say me or him

[@90AlmostFamous]

Nah they are just being formal

[@williamcharron4683]

@@hiilikemovies9787 Spielberg produced the Transformers movies. He hired Bay to direct them.

[@Knickerson]

The thing is, you’ve named three directors that aren’t one-trick ponies. More importantly, they use cinematography to tell a story. Bay uses a “story” to show off his cinematography.

[@captainspirou]

I always detested his movies but this video makes me realize why. it's because he could be so much better. he obviously knows his way around a camera and how to compose shots. But he only cares about the technical aspects and discards story, dialogue and acting. he'd be better off as a cinematographer.

[@i-deni-i5138]

Cinematographer? His movies hurt my eyes literally. His famous from the bottom upwards camera perspective is just too much. The colours of his movies are oversaturated in a bad way and the lighting just hurts. Nothing about his cinematography is good.

[@DeathnoteBB]

I-Deni-I Isn’t that just confusing being a cinematographer with _directing_ a cinematographer?

[@i-deni-i5138]

@@DeathnoteBB While it is true that Bay sometimes likes to stand behind the camera himself, and it is clearly shown by his distinctive camera movement and angles, but it's the cinematographers job none the less to work with light and shadow, and his cinematographer is just average at it. I would even call it bad. And yes Bay is a very big influence on how he wants his movies to look like. Which would make him a bad cinematographer. I would recommend Janusz Kaminski who is in my opinion the greatest living cinematographer, or "a to be" greatest living cinematographer Bruno Delbonnel who uses deep shadows and very very soft light in his movies that makes his cinematography very very beautiful and original. Ofcourse there is also the famour Roget Deakins and while I agree that he is one of the best, his style actually hardly changes and that makes it a little bit repetitive for me. Anyways just a few examples for you to look at actually great cinematographers who exactly know what is important :)

[@franksonatra]

@@i-deni-i5138 I agree with you, that constantly moving camera is just no focus whatsoever

[@i-deni-i5138]

@@franksonatra I don't like the angles his movies are shot in and the colour palette is eye hurting. There is a little bit of praise to his style like that natural shaky cam when he's trying to portray the camera as a person watching something in action, but other than that his taste in cinematography is awful. I don't mind a moving camera when it makes sense, but in his movies it doesn't most of the time. And I never understood why someone wouldn't want his movies to look beautiful. Oh well 😂

[@SeanMcInnis72]

So Michael Bay is ruffly the equivalent to Chinese food, good filling and a half hour later your hungry again. This makes sense cause every Bay movie I've seen, you leave with the feeling you saw something epic. but not quite sure what you saw.

[@everyframeapainting]

Sean McInnis Oh no, you did not just diss Chinese food. Them's fighting words.

[@SeanMcInnis72]

Every Frame a Painting Maybe, I like them both, but I know I'm gonna walk out wanting more later.

[@dboy465]

A better food analogy may possibly be McDonald's perhaps? Or fast food in general. You feel like you ate a hearty meal but after an hour you feel bloated with no real nutritional value added to your diet.

[@demiusza]

It's the visual equivalent of composing a song comprised entirely of power chords.

[@ThePandoraGuy]

Sean McInnis Is that chinese food in america that bad? Here in good old germany, eating chinese, im full for the evening. When i want something to be half hour later hungry again i eat at McDonald's.

[@MagicSwordKing]

Michael Bay has always struck me as a rather talented technical director with nothing to actually say, nor any motivation to find something to say. His skill at assembling these sorts of shots and action sequences is undeniable, he just doesn't care much about doing anything other than the technical, be that directing actors, writing a coherent story, or recognizing the limits of his style's applications. If he has a choice between a scene that will serve the story or a scene that will serve his aesthetic, he will choose aesthetic every time. I'm vaguely glad his movies do well at the box office because there is a lot that can be learned from his hyperkinetic cinematography by other directors who are more well rounded and skilled at the aspects of storytelling that Bay simply doesn't care about.

[@ari1234a]

Yes, thats exactly what Michael Bay is and His style of making movies. I really like action movies and they all look amazing on screen. Always wondered what kinda movie would "First Blood" be, directed by Bay.

[@Kraigon42]

I just played The Beginner's Guide. To hear both the phrase "if you want to understand Michael Bay" and the focus on lampposts was rather surreal.

[@VitaliyMilonov]

Lord LunaEquie is me Oh, I get it now.

[@Kraigon42]

Алексей Майкин Could you explain it to me, then? Because I'm not sure I do.

[@IoEstasCedonta]

Wow... this makes me feel like Bay could be James Cameron if he could learn restraint.

[@rodeoboy11]

He's got some great shots, he just doesn't know how to tone it down.

[@getoverhere4465]

Maybe. "Avatar" was terrible.

[@alexandresobreiramartins9461]

Sorry, but... restraint? Cameron? He's just as bad as Bay. I mean... Independence Day, Titanic, repulsive Avatar, the Terminator series (except for the first one - what happened to Cameron after that? He showed so much promise...)

[@FangsFirst]

Independence Day was Roland Emmerich, who I tend to think is a tier below Cameron/Bay. (though, otherwise, I actually agree completely, as I love The Terminator and not a whole lot else of Cameron's)

[@miguelrivera5430]

Alexandre Martins Independence day? repulsive Avatar?? wtf

[@madmartigan21]

Michael Bay has perfect penmanship but is illiterate. He writes beautiful calligraphy that spells out gibberish.

[@kouhaisempai4800]

+madmartigan21 I very much like that way of putting it! xD

[@RegsaGC]

The equivalent of those goddamn Wolf Paintings you see on every art site. Often entirely breathtaking detail, but it just *had* to be another wolf.

[@vinniechan]

madmartigan21 more like a penman who uses font 60 for everythi g

[@milochanel9491]

Has to be the best KZbin comment I've ever come across

[@RZAODBGZA]

thats one of the most amazing and succinct summaries ive ever seen. 100% correct

[@KhailAnonymous]

This channel is amazing.

[@SafetyLucas]

Ikr. I just found it today and I'm already hooked! This channel is like peas and carrots with Film Riot too

[@endingalaporte]

You're right ! :)

[@2fast2game]

Indeed. Wow man, I wish you a trillion subs. Awesome videos

[@RDY2PWNU]

Great Channel, happy i found it!!

[@RagnarRoxShow]

I second that. It's literally the most fascinating youtube channel I've come across in a long, long time.

[@idylan505]

I miss this channel so much......

[@delrey874]

To be honest, I don't think Michael Bay is such a bad director. He's pretty good when it comes to popcorn movies. I think it's good to have a director like him and not every movie has to be art.

[@1draigon]

You just need to be either a young teenager, or pretty drunk

[@channingbloom7125]

100

[@comrade3186]

@@1draigon So you are a fan on f Captain Marvel ?

[@crashfan9997]

Exactly. He's like a more visceral version of John Woo in a sense

[@DrCornelius]

I think Bay is a better cinematographer than director

[@TUkrLad]

Ciro Kerman and a better general than writer

[@arthurdent6256]

Ciro Kerman He knows what sells I'll give him that.

[@somberlight]

Nathan C. perhaps a good AD ?

[@h4n5i]

+Ciro Kerman thanks for pointing out that, i think his cinematography is the reason he "sucks" at beeing director, like he is directing for the cinematographer. his epic is most epic so noone bothers with the flaws of his directing. everybody who hates him says it is because of the slaughtering of the og stories, he even makes writers work for him instead of working to resemble a story written, thats why he basically is the best cinematographer, he chose his nieche and well dominates the fuck out of it. i like the term bayhem :D

[@ekuliyo]

+Ciro Kerman I think he'd be good at editing trailers for other blockbusters maybe.

[@alexarias5717]

as the nostalgia critic put it "I'm gonna shoot everything like it's porn!"

[@invock]

PORN IT !!

[@alexarias5717]

invock hahaha

[@UncleJoeNeonCherry]

Right, because a whiny hipster nobody can make fun of one of the most successful and gifted directors of our time.

[@alexarias5717]

Uncle Joe I can't understand what you're saying with that punctuation and spelling

[@invock]

Alex Arias > Allow me to translate to the best of my ability : "Hurr durr dis guy's a nobody, he cant have an opinion on the work of a billionaire. Btw I voted Trump."

[@Knickerson]

You made Bay’s work more interesting just by laying down the “Westside Story” soundtrack to it.

[@Alastertheevilclown]

0:06 you can see the harness ropes for a split second.

[@jupiterjones3789]

It's crazy how much work is put into these shots and how lazy they are at the same time.

[@alejoparedes2388]

Now I can't unsee it.

[@glenncalzada1707]

You mean it's not real!!??? 😵 CRAP!!!

[@MachoMan_Vert]

@@glenncalzada1707 it's thr damn point. Making it to not feel fake. Michael bay is shit at that.

[@CrystalJupiter]

PLEASE do an episode on the Coens. They're some of my favorite filmmakers, and I'd love to see what you have to say about them.

[@vividhkothari1]

CrystalJupiter I vote this up.

[@matttennis]

CrystalJupiter The Coen Brothers-How to Do Black Comedy. I really want that to be an episode.

[@vonhaig]

+Matt Clark If you're into dark comedy I'd recommend Lenny Abrahamson. Particularly his masterpiece (IMO) Adam and Paul. He also made a fantastic straight up drama a few years ago called What Richard Did that is quite Coenesque in its sense of random cruelty and complete lack of tangible redemption.

[@matttennis]

Oisín O'Driscoll Thanks so much for the movie recommendations!

[@dinothegonzo]

+CrystalJupiter It's about time!

[@HeistEverything]

I personally believe that Michael Bay is by far one of the greatest filmmakers.

[@knightimer2]

You need to watch more movies my friend. A big budget and big explosions with epic shots don't equal great film making. Go watch Do The Right Thing or Grand Budapest Hotel.

[@PtAltmVansanTarr]

Agreed although I'm unsure whether u are serious or not

[@KarasuNoGoh]

Then I hope you're 12.

[@EmpireStateUtopian_Dystopia]

Then you are sadly misguided! He's one of the worst and most generic ever. His movies have become tired clichés.

[@HeartNotes3]

knightimer2 I think that for all the work that's involved, it's very unappreciated.

[@hatben]

TL;DW: It's so dense. Every single frame has so many things going on.

[@NormalLee67]

It's stylistically designed to be that way. We can't undo it, but we can diminish the effects of it.

[@KanjoosLahookvinhaakvinhookvin]

It's like poetry. You know? It rhymes. Every stanza rhymes with the last one.

[@seyfersnake]

Ahh Mr Plinkett's outstanding review of the prequel triology. To add another quote "I may have gone too far in a few places"

[@KanjoosLahookvinhaakvinhookvin]

+seyfersnake like explaining the joke?

[@seyfersnake]

Kanjoos Lahookvinhaakvinhookvin George Lucas said that after watching his cut of Episode 1

[@ahaakefgwefguwe5617]

You may hate Bay's films, but you've got to admit he's an amazing cinematographer

[@thomasraahauge5231]

he's a brown stain on the unwashed shorts that is 21st century cinematography and as amazing as shitting yourself during your lame attempt to light a fart with a lit candle in a drafty room.

[@kevinzhang3313]

@Ishmael587 Chill the fuck out, you know what he means - he directs makes the best choices amongst what the cinematographer has to offer.

[@peachylady]

@@kevinzhang3313 If anyone needs to chill it's you.

[@saisameer8771]

I don't know about that. All the actions scenes in bayformers seem like piles of garbage and scrap metal rolling over each other. Really hard to understand what is even happening on screen.

[@BlownMacTruck]

You don’t know what cinematographers do, do you?

[@ballotresults2672]

The thing about the ending to Pain & Gain is I'm pretty sure Bay is aware of the irony. It's his most self-aware film, usually bordering on self-parody (see that fantastic shot where the three leads walk away from an explosion without looking back, except The Rock winces. A great moment of visual comedy similar to what you ask for in your Edgar Wright video). This is the world of Michael Bay, where the idea of the little things IS a multi-million dollar house by the ocean and Pain & Gain ostensibly is his version of Fargo. Except jacked up, with even dumber criminals reaching for even bigger stakes. So it makes sense that instead of a quaint touching ending, you get his sleek bloated style.

[@TomboTime]

Micheal Bay definitely overcompensates in his cinematography. Especially in that one scene of Transformers 2 where Shia and Megan are just talking while holding each other and for some reason the camera just won't stop spinning around them, it's not still for even a second. It was super jarring.

[@PrinceMandal]

"Shit just got real." That dialogue hits me everytime.

[@kaylubproductions4517]

I feel like Bay is pretty much a nerdy guy who likes blockbusters but doesn't know anything about film, but is given a camera and a lot of money and makes what he thinks looks cool. Looking at it that way, he's one of the most "organic" directors since he makes films that he would want to watch and doesn't follow rules of cinema. His films aren't my type, but I have to give him credit - he does want he wants and that's why we're still talking about him.

[@cHeStEr5434]

Michael Bay, like any other director in Hollywood, did work hard to get where he is now and making the films he wants. He spent years years making short films, music videos, and commercials before landing his first feature film deal with Bad Boys. He also studied under Jeannine Basinger (head of film studies at Wesleyan University, who also taught Joss Whedon and Zack Snyder), so he clearly knows a thing or two about filmmaking and work behind it, and most of people would have constant anxiety attacks trying to do what he does, given his work load and the people/places he needs to be in charge of. And despite how simple his style might appear, it isn't that easy to replicate. As stated in this video, even Peter Berg the director of Battleship (who is normally a better director than Bay) failed to achieve the 180 degree circular angle shot Bay is known for in said movie.

[@austin12923]

He does have a good eye for creating cinematic action sequences. I just wish he wasn't obsessed with the close ups during the fight scenes. His camera work for Bonecrusher transforming on the highway is neat, but it is just to close.

[@UnbelievabIeMontages]

+Austin i just wish he isn't obsessed with slow motion shots

[@UnbelievabIeMontages]

+Austin i just wish he isn't obsessed with slow motion shots

[@guileniam]

@@tonimashdane33498 Denis yes but Sam Mendes? Did you watch Spectre? It was truly awful. And Skyfall was garbage. Haven't seen 1912 maybe that's good

[@guileniam]

@@tonimashdane33498 Skyfall is fucking toilet paper wrapped in diarrhea. The fucking shadows fight, climax where Bond does Home Alone? Not to mention blatantly ripping off the Dark knights "villain gets himself captured to fool the protagonist" twist that was done to death at the point (avengers too) The poorly written Severine character where Bond takes advantage of a sex slave. Which of course lead to the garbage sequel. What a piece of shit. He's not worshipped because he's not on that level. Frank Darabont only made two really good movies too, and even they're HIGHLY overrated. Coppola, John Huston,PTA, Scorsese, Kurosawa, Howard Hawks, Bergman, Billy Wilder, Welles, Kubrick fuck even Rob Reiner. Guys who've done more than one masterpiece these guys are the OGs

[@guileniam]

@@tonimashdane33498 Kubrick wouldn't have touched it coz he knows he wouldn't have made a bond movie hence he didn't try. Mendes is a good director. He's not on their level but good. Skyfall is shit. Its not a bond movie. Its not a good movie. Its a truly truly awful excuse for an action film. Look at action films from Hong Kong and how they're staged. Fancy lighting and Arty shots doesn't mean greatness. You use your tools in service of a story or eccenuate a style. Any credit for Skyfall goes to Roger Deakins who is a GREAT not Mendes. Micheal Bay legit does better action than the fool Mendes

[@toufexiselias]

This channel may be my favourite thing on the entire internet.

[@shadowasmr7759]

ITS YOU AGAIN, ADAM JENSEN

[@karu6111]

I didn't ask for this.

[@Crowborn]

Great video! no prejudice against Bay, and showing that we have something to learn even with the directors we dislike

[@TheAlienGangster]

I think Michael Bay would be great as something like a director of choreography or (if this exists) an action coordinator. He has a knack for making very cool scenes, but they rarely have much substance behind them. If anything, he basically just designs scenes that look good in marketing. If he had a smaller role that was still important, I think it would allow for his visual choices to still be visible without his influence leaking into more critical aspects like storytelling and mood.

[@RSG_TheMonster]

Actually yes, especially now that action coordinators are becoming film directors (Chad Stahelski, Sam Hargrave etc.)

[@HalcyonSerenade]

See, this is what I like. We all hear negative criticism of Michael Bay's stuff, with how it's constantly so over-the-top ("explosions!" gets tossed around a lot, despite the Bayhem style involving a lot more). But this is a great analysis of the concrete principles and building blocks of the style rather than a general statement of its feel with a criticism tacked on. It's good to know what works--the incredible depth of his shots and how he achieves it, for example. And it's good to know what doesn't work--overuse of the "epic" shots that provide no contrast and ultimately distract from the literary aspects of the movie. Really, all of the Bay clips looked amazing, but it's easy to forget that this is out of context of the rest of the shots from their respective movies, which all have pretty much the same stuff. As a budding animator, it's great to learn how to achieve the "epicness" of Bay's signature style while also learning its limitations to avoid his mistakes. Also, interesting that you say that the one who loses out the most is Bay himself. I suppose the idea is that the audience will likely be entertained by the explosions and action regardless, but it's the author's story that gets lost and untold. (using "author" as a catch-all term for the one with creative control over the given subject)

[@logansandoval5052]

"We are really visually sophisticated and totally visually illiterate." realest shit

[@mrKWJones]

I wasnt thinking 'Why are you talking about this guy' - I was thinking, 'Why is no one realizing he is amazing'

[@MrLense]

We need people like Michael bay no matter how much critics and audiences bash him for his style. Cinema would be too boring and pretentious without him

[@Wired4Life2]

"I swoop low with the telephoto. No Bruckheimer, I work solo. If there's one thing I've learned, bitch, This game is about MOTHERF#%KING MONEY!!" -- Michael Bay, "Steven Spielberg vs. Alfred Hitchcock", Epic Rap Battles Of History

[@sunnydong9069]

BlueFox94 Did you know that in Steven Spielberg vs. Alfred Hitchcock, there's a shout out to this channel's name, Every Frame A Painting?

[@Wired4Life2]

Sunny Dong I have a feeling that phrase had been ingrained in cinema long before this great man's blog came into existence. Then again, perhaps not. A need for confirmation is in order, methinks.

[@sunnydong9069]

BlueFox94 Yeah, I just found a ERB comment on one of these videos, in which Nice Peter said they put a reference in their rap videos. I rushed over there and found it.

[@Wired4Life2]

Sunny Dong Nice. ^_^

[@DrShaym]

It's like the visual equivalent of "purple prose"; it's good if you know a lot of big words, but you shouldn't use unnecessarily verbose or florid language to describe things when you can get the point across in one or two sentences. Otherwise, it just comes across like you're trying to impress by calling attention away from the content of the writing to the writing itself, ultimately detracting its impact. Similarly, Michael Bay tries to make everything in his movies look big and epic even when it isn't called for, overloading the scenes with unnecessary motion and detail, making the scenes that _should_ be big and epic seem less so.

[@1.4142]

underrated

[@Betito1171]

The transformers movies are my guilty pleasure movie. I know they're shit, but I still enjoy them

[@getoverhere4465]

As long as you know they're shit

[@TheBiddofslayer58]

well i think they are epic movies come at me bro!!

[@anshmahafilms]

Betito117 Same

[@clorasmcsmugger2653]

Betito117 My rating TF: 10/10 TF2: 8/10 TF3: 9/10 TF4: 5/10 TF5: TBD

[@DanielSelk]

I know, right? They're terrible but we still watch them anyway cause somehow they're kinda fun and entertaining enough. And they make good money from the audiences apparently...

[@awenindoe]

Can't believe Herzog's even heard of wrestlemania :P

[@shivzzi]

Herzog's heard of everything. The man's always reading...

[@MrConstantine02]

I do believe that Werner Herzog secretly watches wrestling shows every night in his home, wearing a worn-out baseball cap and with a can of beer in his hand, screaming at the TV for the good guy to hit the bad guy with a spinebuster and "KILL THAT SUM'BITCH!"

[@awenindoe]

But a Herzog docu on entertainment wrestling would really be something...

[@broudwauy]

It would start off documenting the actual wrestling and then pan over to gauge the reactions of the agents, backstage wrestlers, extras, and pyrotechnics. The whole thing would then be an exercise in finding passionate humanity outside of the obvious excess of the show and its fans.

[@bornholm55]

So the problem with Bay is not that he is bad at making action scenes, but that he does them too often. To be honest, i thought some of these shots were really cool.

[@gamesAVALetsPlays]

Yeah, he just needs to use these shots at the right time

[@Gilroben]

He's like ACDC! Very good at one thing! But nobody could live only listening to ACDC.

[@HeistEverything]

Michael Bay creates amazing films, and is an incredible visionary director.

[@gc3k]

He's not a bad director. He directs low-brow entertainment, but he's pretty much the best at what he does. He has a great eye for scale, depth, impact and layers, and he exploits what people want to see from those kinds of movies. For epic-scale action, only Hollywood directors I'd chose over Bay are Spielberg and Cameron (who both absolutely outclass Bay)

[@Gilroben]

Yeah, got you.But it seems he makes things like "pointless motion" or useless close-ups.

[@chuckledell4859]

You know what? I like Bayhem! Not every movie has to be perfect, sometimes it's ok to just have some fun.

[@Muppet567]

How about racism and sexism? That is also the Bay way.

[@frankiephish8103]

His scripts and allowance of ad libbing is atrocious. He’s like the Tyler Perry of big budget blockbusters. However, I love his style as a director. Everything doesn’t have to be uniform. It’s his style. At least he is a trend setter.

[@CheersMate-]

@@Muppet567 Its a movie bruv

[@Muppet567]

@@CheersMate- so you would be okay with a movie that has blackface? Just because it's a movie and not real life? This isn't an argument.

[@CheersMate-]

@@Muppet567 What do you even mean by that lmao.What the fuck is a blackface in a movie

[@adamtetreault6151]

"the past with a bit of stank on it" is a great and hilarious way to describe Bay's cinematography

[@fisicaentodaparte1106]

I have been enjoying this channel for a week or so, but this is the firt time i understand how the verbal speech of Tony is syncronized with the audiovisual speech of the video; here we see how the rythm of the video is wild and bayhemnish in the beggining, and how the pace change gradualy passing for the funny music of "East side Story" till the final scene of the couple in their bed, quiet and even without music. This final gave us a sense of calm and fullness in the end of the video, that are in stark contrast with the final sense any Michae Bay movie has let me. Great work!

[@JS-ue2si]

Compare Bay's attempts at the "epic scenes" and Nolan's during the docking scene in Interstellar. Nolan's gives us all the eye candy, makes the eyes pop out of their sockets, and awes, but we know what's going on, there's an aesthetic to it, and he uses practical effects.

[@horaciosi]

"and he uses practical effects." Impliying that Bay only uses CGI: kzbin.info/www/bejne/maKZoIObfb-WZ9km38s

[@Nazareadain]

I think now would be a good time to ask you, before your channel blows up with subscribers: Since you have an interest and understanding of film, why - inside and outside of that context - do you choose to remain just a voice and not show your face in these videos? (Especially given that, unless I've been lied to, the most popular channels on youtube are personality driven, and whether or not you're interested in that aspect, you have to push your channel to push your videos.)

[@fuckenps3]

Fuck that. I'm not here to survey ugly mugs or get personally acquainted. KZbin should be about content, focus on the content.

[@willhannan6350]

nah

[@ZebraJess92]

I guess because he does video essays and not vlogs... You wouldn't make a scrap book without photographies but you also wouldn't write an essay and attach lots of selfies to it ;)

[@RayramAureanBlue]

Nazareadain Personality driven they may be, but not all of them have to show their face to have personality. For example, there's Howtobasic, and Critical(aka penguinz0).

[@FirefoxisredExplorerisblueGoog]

Nazareadain You can be personality driven and not show your face. Check out Lirik on twitch, he refuses to use a facecam and has become very skilled in expressing personality through voice. His live streams pull in a consistent 30-35k viewers at any time.

[@beatfanatic9438]

I love your videos. I'm a musician / beat maker and I constantly play movies on mute (ones that I've watched enough times to have an idea of the dialogue obviously) when I create and you basically put what I feel about these films into words. I never went to film school but i've picked up techniques and mannerisms of film makers throughout years of creating the way I do and i must say I really appreciate your channel. Please upload more videos - your study on Kurosawa, Scorcese, and Fincher is a must see for anyone who claims they love movies. Thank you.

[@romanr9883]

bay is perfect example of sticking to what your good at and doin what worked in the past for you again and again. and i guess to some extent there is nothing wrong with it. after all his films are making billions of dollars.

[@Jets1713]

I guess so, I’ll just call him the greatest director trend hopper in history

[@paulallen8109]

"after all his films are making billions of dollars." So are McDonald's. Doesn't mean eating their food is any good for you or your body. Cigarette companies makes billions monthly from people smoking. Is smoking good for you??

[@johntthompson3687]

@@paulallen8109 Eating at McDonald everyday aint good, but once in a while with your family is good fun. Cigarette should be illegal. But the thing is, what harm does watching a stupid movie do? If people are enjoying it, let's them be. I had fun watching Bay's movie with my friends, we ain't there for the story, we were there for the visual, for the fun of it. I couldn't get why people hating on others just because they're watching a movie they don't like.

[@johntthompson3687]

@daAnder71 Grow up.

[@davidlean1060]

Funnily enough though, his college professor remembers him as being keenly satirical. She thought that was the direction he was about to go in, but like his characters in Pain and Gain (an unintentional confessor in my eyes) Bay just doesn't have it in him to develop anything below the surface.

[@D.M.S.]

The Problem with Bay is not just his cinematography. It's the stupid plot! His movies (Pearl Harbor, every Transformers) are just plain stupid.

[@benpodvia5744]

genuinely curious, what do you think of bad boys (1995)?

[@OnyxosStein]

Something about Quentin Terrentino :D PLEASE xD

[@annonymousmaniaciii]

Jon Snow *Tortellini

[@jakmanxyom]

annonymousmaniaciii I UNDERSTAND THAT REFERENCE

[@ZedsDeadXO]

Pray to our God, the master of all speeches.

[@FrumpyDucks]

Onyxos *Bieber

[@CMontgomeryBurns09]

I've been a fan of the Coen Bros' work for years, but hadn't seen *Fargo* (1996) until this spring, and it may be my favorite movie of theirs. Watching this video and your later Shot/Reverse-Shot Video finally pushed me to see it. It's a wonderful contrast to typical Hollywood or blockbuster-schmaltz, and Frances McDormand and John Carroll Lynch's thematic representation of "the little things in life" was so genuinely sweet.

[@trentc2392]

Amazing video; you hit the nail on the head with that comparison to Fargo at the end. I will always love this channel; hope you’re doing well, Tony!

[@AxelReigns]

Your videos are very good indeed, the way you deconstruct the visual and audible storytelling of great directors (or in this case not-that great) are really well structured and thought out. I like the way you edit the video and include various scenes from various movies to further contrast the purpose and understanding of what your talking about. I just have to say well done i am so glad i subscribed to you.

[@olivergross6359]

this was shown at my nyu college course thank you!

[@kaiceecrane3884]

I stumbled upon this and now this is my all time favorite channel. OMG amazing videos!

[@holaco448448]

OMG this video is exactly what I’ve been looking for for more than 20 years , I was always overwhelmed by Michael Bay’s Camera circled movement and it was only me was noticing this in all his movies amongst my friends!, and I was actually watching MB’s all movies to enjoy watching this thing! As well as his painting frames it was like a museum.

[@nathanieldrew]

Michael Bay gives me motion sickness.

[@1.4142]

yes

[@1.4142]

youtube algorithm just moved this comment to the top

[@ohdigeydoc]

The conclusion, the difference between endings in Pain & Gain (I think?) and Fargo really outline the importance of critically thinking about the story you're trying to tell - in every regard "tell" can mean. I'll take thoughtfulness over flashiness any day. The Coen brothers, and Christopher Nolan, are excellent examples of directors truly exploring the dimensions of storytelling. That attention to detail is an endearing quality.

[@whygrace]

Having the West Side Story score in the background was a nice touch - clever!

[@darnellvincentford4782]

Yo i love your channel! I never had any interest in film making, but hearing you talk about the many levels and layers of film makes watching movies 1000x more interesting! Thanks!

[@cokecan6169]

Try One Punch Man for epic animation. I think they control their camera angles pretty well for the fight scenes. Animations don't try to make everyday scenes epic, either.

[@dragoniraflameblade]

shadowlink dth Mother's Basement did some OPM scenes. And the opening.

[@emojidevil129]

shadowlink dth That boros fight tho...

[@cokecan6169]

woohoo

[@RyMovieGuy]

Despite flaws and all, I have an appreciation for Bay. There are definitely elements to ridicule, but the amount work placed into each shot; and attempt to catch one’s attention is fascinating.

[@beyondthepeel_]

We need you back, Tony! Cinema needs you!

[@Emil241f]

I have never been able to explain what I think of bay, but u did it with ease!! You are great and have awesome insight, i am so happy i finally found your channel!

[@TeamQuabs]

"I make movies for teenage boys. Oh, dear, what a crime."- michael bay i dont like his movies that much but you can't really blame him for knowing his market

[@Dakota_kody]

TeamQuabs I am teenage and I still don’t like his movies.

[@DAOzz83]

There's nothing inherent in this style that should appeal particularly well to teenage boys. The same amount of guns, robots, and machismo, filmed by a more coherent director, would be an objectively better movie. In short: Teenage boys deserve better.

[@saisameer8771]

@@DAOzz83 The MCU?

[@Hoganply]

I think he's hiding behind stereotypes to excuse juvenility.

[@kef0205]

The way Bay frames men in general and teenage boys in particular makes me think that he doesn't make movies FOR teenage boys. He makes movies AT them, using his own sensibilities. I don't know if every teenage boy loves a low angle shot up a woman's skirt for literally no reason, but Bay sure as hell does.

[@WisteriaBerlitz]

Like you said in the video, Michael Bay loves his own style of directing, to make shots/scenes "epic". The problem is by doing so, there is never a set-up, and bam it just happens and your mind can't process as each scene zooms by for a few seconds. Just watched the David Fincher video where he saves the close up. Etc. after a situation intensifies and the close up is used for the hard-hitting/impactful lines. In Bay films; he would close up at anything. Product placement car arrives. CU. Guy steps out, CU. He stares to the distance, 360 CU. Begins to talk, CU. Makes me wonder if the wide shot did something to him

[@Pixxeria]

Hitting the nail in the head. The bigger problem with Bay, in my view, is that when you try to make EVERYTHING in your story big and epic, you quickly get overwhelmed and then there's no epicness any more, but monotonous explosions - in the actual sense of "same tone". It's like if you want to underline what's important in a text book, but you think everything is important so you underline the entire book.

[@aguywhodoesntexist]

MARC OSS The moral: You don't make a movie out of set-pieces. P.S. Has anyone tried to pick apart the other aspects of production in Bay movies to see what's really going wrong instead of instantly pinning it on Bay?

[@Pixxeria]

aguywhodoesntexist Yes-man screenwriters.

[@sureshot234]

keep it up with these videos. You explain things amazingly and explore ideas I've never seen in these.

[@tessakerrichwalker]

This is so great ... this is the most informative youtube video I've ever watched. Smart, accessible, good length, packed full of content and great examples. Just - fucking congrats and thank you.

[@SirGeeeO]

Bay knows what he's doing. He is literally laughing his way to the bank as people complain about him, then pay to see the movie, then complain about it. The masses go to see a movie for fun. They sit there and watch it happen with no in depth critique or search for deep meaning. Bay's constantly swirling images mean the crowd doesn't have time to check their twitter

[@gtguy181]

Whos complaining?

[@majorjoca6259]

gtguy181 Way too much people T_T

[@saferah]

Of course people go to see his movies for fun! of course Michael Bay knows what he's doing! nobody said Michael Bay is a fool. This video is just pinpointing the director's limitations. I mean, it's art.It's up for discussion. It's like when you watch the movie 2012(directed by Roland Emmerich) and watch the death of most of humanity done in the most bombastic way. I hated it but most people enjoyed it. To each their own.

[@gtguy181]

Oh I nutted to that part.

[@saferah]

hahahahahahha.Nice.^

[@Phaota]

Did I just see "Bad Boys" (0:32-0:48) ripping off one of Jackie Chan's best film stunt scenes in his career from the 1985 movie, Police Story, just with added explosions? WTF?

[@IansUToob57]

This was like attending film school. The West Side Story Connection blew my mind, but is so obvious when pointed out. And yes, like a guitar player who has this one trick, he uses it in every song regardless of what the song needs.

[@HeyItsCettefille]

The Transformers scenes with the West Side Story soundtrack is GOLDEN

[@TjipzPK]

I find myself coming back to these videos.

[@apollion888]

Tony knows his shit and how to share it

[@_gouda7928]

0:06 you can acctually see the wires.

[@UnitZER0]

I think there's one thing this reviewer is missing: Bayhem is essentially pure chaos. So when as an audience, some complain that the scenes depicted are "too fast" or "muddled" or "incoherent", they're missing the point. Those scenes are Supposed to be chaos! Picture this: You walk out of your house one day, and step right into a Transformers battle. It's impossible to track everything. All you're trying to do is not end up blown up, or squashed underfoot. That feel is visceral, and in the mayhem, you won't notice the sign on the store across the street, or how that one woman scooped up her Chihuahua, as she ran for cover. Both of those elements were present, but your were caught up in the action. That frenetic, Adrenalin-soaked, heart in your mouth feeling is precisely what Bayhem is intended to evoke. Not only are the scenes depicted "Huge", but they are also dynamic, and frenetic. That's what makes them great. You never put a static shot in an epic, in-your-face battle. That having been said, sometimes dynamic shots really should give way to static, establishing ones. But Michael Bay wouldn't have his signature style otherwise.

[@Eidlones]

I don't find that thrilling though, I find it irritating and confusing. During that fight with Optimus in the forest, at one point he has his blade out, and the next it's a red hot hook. Did the blade get superheated and bent? Is it an entirely new weapon? What is happening? I see nothing but motion, at which point nothing happening matters to me because I don't know what's happening.

[@UnitZER0]

Eidlones But that's the entire point. It doesn't matter what configuration the weapon is in, it doesn't matter how it got that way. The only thing that matters is that Optimus is about to take a decepticon's head off with it! The details don't matter, only the direction of the scene as a whole.

[@ChucksSEADnDEAD]

One, it's entirely possible to depict chaos without making the picture unintelligible. If you're shooting an action sequence where I can't even see the action then you're doing a bad job. There's fast paced videogames which are absolutely chaotic but you can see everything that happens, and you need to see what's happening. When you can't see what's happening, you lose. That's a negative thing. This is a major gripe I have, I'm not asking for action sequences to be shot static but modern martial arts sequences have such care for the choreography but muddle it in jump cuts and shaky cam, so I'm actually wondering if they're trying to hide something. Two, there's also no giant robot vehicles in real life. If your point is that I can't track everything in real life then Micheal Bay shouldn't have done Transformers movies either. You see how obtuse that argument is? Movie is real life without the boring parts, if we can take the liberty to insert a clearly ficcional kids' toy in the movie then we can also pretend that it's possible to track everything. What's wrong with giving the audience an omniscient view of the situation? Three, look at the Hard Boiled long take in the hospital. No, it's not static, but the camera work shows a chaotic, dynamic, in-your-face battle in a simple third person view following the protagonist. Look at the static work in the famous Odessa steps scene. It sure as hell screams chaos to me.

[@athenapictures]

This video helped me figure out how to direct my musical so thanks, Tony

[@MrDawnRise]

I think there is an interesting echo between this study on Bay and Nerdwriters critique of Zack Snyder.

[@Inkpuddles19]

Dude this is GOLD keep doing this!! btw do you have a blog where you also write stuff? I'd love to read

[@glenncalzada1707]

Just subscribed. This is the 3rd movie breakdown of yours that I've watched. I'm in. I'm a cinemaholic and I enjoy your analysis. Please do some of the old classics( pre 1960 ), like film noir favorites. Some of those are true gems.

[@FlickHouseStudios]

That low angle-looking up circular shot was something that i first noticed in Bad Boys . Pretty cool

[@tjt6071]

Never really dove into Bay's style like this before. I agree he makes dynamic scenes all the time, and struggles with centering on the emotional sides of his characters and stories

[@busywl69]

Bay's success speaks for itself. Love his movies. Watched 6 underground again a couple days ago. Glad he doesn't listen to his critics.

[@busywl69]

@Little luke Sure was.. Guy has like 7 billion in box office gross. I don't think he hears the complainers.

[@josegaray7640]

Bro, your analysis are so complete and awsome !!!!

[@joelpeters4959]

God I love your work Tony. Just killer every single time. I've watched most of your videos several times. Keep up the excellent work.

[@elijahfordsidioticvarietys8770]

Personally, I love Michael Bay's aesthetic. I get how it can be a bit too much sometimes, but it looks so cool. He makes stuff look awesome. Even the boring stuff looks kind of awesome.

[@aniket385]

Tony Scott ripoff

[@ajose1070]

Please do a zack snyder one please

[@hannibalburgers477]

+Radyachman Radyan thats it. it snyder.

[@Chromwel-A]

Snyder's movies are just about slow motion, lol. Just kidding, I'm not a critics, so I won't know how to debunk or deconstruct someone's piece, haha.

[@sergeantpickles4202]

Ayyub Jose I wouldn't say Snyder has a particularly unique style, I mean he uses interesting colour grading and (unlike most) I'm actually quite a fan of how he slams into slow motion to really sell a moment. His shot composition is quite orthodox though (not like bay, who seems physically incapable of filming anything in any other way except AS EPIC AS POSSIBLE FUCK YEAH).

[@tiawilliams5690]

Snyder has a similar problem to Bay. He spends a lot of time trying to get that epic shot in almost every scene. The problem is that the plot often gets lost is his quest for epic-ness and he does have plots. As an example, there's an epic looking shot of Clark and Lois kissing after the fight in Metropolis. It's a beautiful shot that really shouldn't be there narratively but it looks great, so in it goes.

[@handsomebrick]

I would love to see Zack get diagnosed in this way, because he baffles me. But I notice that Tony prefers to look at original things which stand on their own, which Zack is sorely lacking (his first movie is a remake, and his reputation is built on adaptations of graphic novels and high-profile DC superheroes), compare that with Michael Bay who was already huge before he did Transformers. Zack could be an idiot who got lucky, but Bay has real credits.

[@nielskivioq1168]

I applaud your editing and making of this here video

[@IbsaUtube]

I have never been so thoroughly impressed with a content on KZbin.

[@royjones8312]

He has put some images to film that I will never ever forget. Some movies were good, some trash, and a couple are classics in my opinion, but through them all every movie had at least a handful of stunningly gorgeous shots.

[@JediKnightmare]

His movies remind me of 90’s commercials/product placement lol

[@georgegarcia566]

Fantastic perspective. You’re a gifted storyteller.

[@radioboyatl]

After nearly six (6) years, this holds up well. Nice work.

[@ShopTalks]

I love Michael Bay's shooting style.

[@bulman07]

I feel Michael Bay is much better at TV, with programmes like The Last Ship and Black Sails

[@JonasTheBonas]

Wait he made black sails? I like that show lol

[@TropicalChris]

Now I see why the Last Ship has so many wide angle, 360 degree shots

[@clurkroberts2650]

Chris Gd

[@ilikeceral3]

Andrew Bulman did the last ship get another season?

[@bulman07]

ilikeceral3 S4 is coming this year, and S5 next year 👍 🚢

[@jerkchickenblog]

Excellent, this level of insight is why I subscribed. Well done.

[@zacharyantle7940]

Huh. I now have slightly more appreciation for Bay now. Weird. Thanks! :)

[@comedyman4896]

me too. if only his movies had plot lol

[@lflee]

That's just how "pop" movies are made. People buy it, the director gets paid. Just like the music industry, there must be some teen pop songs. You think they are garbage, but they still selling well.

[@supastar25]

The comparison of the two scenes at the end really makes everything clear...

[@felixcatora4105]

WHOAH! Is that The Sound Defects I hear in the background???? Tony, I love your choice of music. :D

[@quad9363]

I would love to hear your thoughts on Snyder's juxtaposition of what you're seeing vs what is really happening in his shots.