2025 № 4 (55)
The Long Take and Camera Movement: The Aesthetic Potential of the Interaction
UDC 791.43.01
BBC 85.37
DOI: 10.51678/2226-0072-2025-4-748-769
For cit.: Bavykina M.S. The Long Take and Camera Movement:
The Aesthetic Potential of the Interaction. Hudozhestvennaya kul’tura [Art & Culture Studies], 2025, no. 4, pp. 748-769. https://doi.org/10.51678/2226-0072-2025-4-748-769 (In Russian)
Bavykina Maria S.
Applicant, S.A. Gerasimov All-Russian University of Cinematography (VGIK), 3 Wilhelm Pieck Str., Moscow, 129226, Russia
https://orcid.org/0009-0007-1941-7892
ResearcherID: LMQ-0715-2024
The Long Take and Camera Movement: The Aesthetic Potential of the Interaction
Abstract. The article is devoted to studying the aesthetic potential of the long take as an instrument of film language through the consideration of one of the components involved in the formation of the multilevel structure of the take, which is camera movement. This component is considered in inseparable connection with another one — accentuated duration, which allows us to talk about the expressive potential of the camera movement score, which acquires a special aesthetic touch in dialogue with the rhythmic features of the frame and the general drama of the film. The interplay of camera movement and duration can achieve different results: time can be levelled by movement or, conversely, deliberately emphasised by it and stretched even further, it can be condensed and magnified as if under a magnifying glass or compressed into a single metaphorical moment or event. The film examples selected for analysis in this article demonstrate a wide (but not exhaustive) range of methods for dealing with camera movement in the context of frame duration. The focus of attention is on films by directors belonging to different periods and trends in the history of cinema: M. Ophüls, K. Mizoguchi, B. Tarr, and S. Schipper. This choice of material for analysis allows us to approach the aesthetic potential of the long take as an instrument of film language. This makes it possible to speak of the long take as a special kind of take which, due to its accentuated duration in conjunction with other formative components, is capable of creating completely opposite effects: enhancing the visual appeal or plunging into boredom.
Keywords: camera movement, long take, film language, rhythm, movement score, temporhythm, M. Ophüls, B. Tarr, S. Schipper, K. Mizoguchi
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Received 18.04.2025
Accepted 11.06.2025
