Ripley - Above & Below - Cinematography Breakdown

In this instalment I analyse some of the Top down shots & Extreme Low angle shots in Netflix's Ripley.
These shots are peppered throughout the series, and I think more than any other shot they are ones that can be easily replicated without the need for many extra things to make them successful.
So to me that sounds like a great excuse to go out and shoot something in this style!
Also check out the other breakdowns on this channel!

[@EveElse-qv8yl]

I'm completely captivated by Ripley, and this analysis, coupled with the frames in frames breakdown, has truly heightened my fascination to boundless levels! 🤯 I eagerly anticipate more videos like this on Ripley. I'm thoroughly enjoying the depth of reflection!

[@alzibaba]

I got drawn into this series, and reflect that for me, many of these compositions add to the sense of uneasiness, augmenting suspense. Agreed about the grade and sharpness, though I still thoroughly enjoyed Ripley. Thanks for the breakdown Dale.

[@Dale_Campbell]

It would be fascinating to see a version in colour, just for comparisons sake!

[@alzibaba]

@@Dale_Campbell you read my mind! In fact I’ve planned a test shoot tomorrow to play with B&W and colour versions. That said I like the choice of B&W for this series, albeit its lack of texture and grain, and the highlights are sometimes very white.

[@waveland]

The compositions I find intriguing in this series, but the hyper sharpness and brilliant whites turn me off. My eye wants to see this as a film on celluloid and I literally got out of my chair while watching the first episode to figure out what was bugging me about the look. And there it was, hyper realistic lens choice, sharpening, and unnaturally white whites. Maybe they think that helps tell the story? Don’t know. All I can say is the grade pulled me right out of the moment and I haven’t watched since.

[@Dale_Campbell]

I had a similar feeling, I suppose I’m used to black & white be played for texture, grain and imperfections a lot of the time. This did have a feel of hyped sharp high resolution photography. My wife thought that maybe it was meant to represent more of how the world feels from Ridley’s perspective, (she didn’t like it). Overall I did find I was too aware of the cinematography in all the different ways I’m looking at in this series of videos to be fully immersed. The last one will be a look at Black & White and a discussion around it.

[@waveland]

@@Dale_Campbell It’s like they had a card catalog of classic set-piece compositions from early 20th century European cinema and they tried to shoehorn as many homage versions into the filming as possible. Anyway, always good to know I’m not the only one distracted by the look. Have a fabulous day!