The Morning Watch: Wes Anderson's God's Eye Shot, 'Finding Nemo' Storyboard Comparison & More
The Morning Watch is a recurring feature that highlights a handful of noteworthy videos from around the web. They could be video essays, fanmade productions, featurettes, short films, hilarious sketches, or just anything that has to do with our favorite movies and TV shows.
In this edition, a video essay explores how director Wes Anderson uses what is referred to as the god's eye view shot. Plus, watch a storyboard comparison of the jellyfish forest scene from Pixar Animation's Finding Nemo, and listen in as Godzilla: King of the Monsters stars Thomas Middleditch and O'Shea Jackson Jr. sit down to take a lie detector test.
First up, a video essay from Beyond the Frame takes a look at how director Wes Anderson uses the overhead shot, sometimes referred to as the bird's eye view or god's eye view shot, giving the audience a neutral perspective intended to convey the idea of watching over the characters and what's happening. This essay explores how Wes Anderson uses the shot a little differently, often creating more of an emotional connection than a general disconnection from the characters and settings.
Next, see how Pixar Animation's storyboards for the jellyfish forest sequence in Finding Nemo compare to what ended up in the final cut of the movie. It's fascinating to see how the artists evoke the aesthetic of a scene meant to have hundreds of jellyfish in it by using moving paper elements, pink tinted paper to signify being surrounded by the jellyfish, and more.
Finally, this weekend you can see Thomas Middleditch and O'Shea Jackson Jr. in Godzilla: King of the Monsters. But before that, the two each sat down to take a lie detector (via Vanity Fair) test and answered some very personal questions. Does Middleditch think the geekiest thing about himself is going to Renaissance fairs? Was Jackson Jr. more popular than his father Ice Cube in high school?