CSI Las Vegas cinematography / photography / visuals

Discussion in 'CSI: Crime Scene Investigation' started by GrissomFREAK, Jun 15, 2006.

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  1. GrissomFREAK

    GrissomFREAK CSI Level Two

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    I felt that this particular aspect of the show deserved to be mentionned -and I hope this is the right place.
    I believe that among the many reasons why CSI is so successful and appealing to viewers all around the world, cinematography / photography / visuals rank pretty high (after of course Grissom's breathtaking hottness :D)
    They're part of CSI's uniqueness. CSI is a synonym for beautiful cinematography IMO. Indissociable.

    Blame CSI for me being a screencaps maniac :D

    I mean, let's face it, it's such a pleasure to watch this show. It's fun, it's original, it's riveting, it's innovative, it's instructive ... and there's always this one shot that sticks with you, and all you can think of is 'whoa!' :cool:


    Here's a few aspects of cinematography that make CSI one of a kind:

    - 'blue scenes'. Blue has now become the landmark color of the show, as opposed to Miami's orange

    - (extreme) close-ups, or when facial expressions replace dialogues, and profiles (EDIT thanks happy_me_11 :rolleyes: how could I forget about the profiles?!)

    - CSI shots (another landmark of the show), or how to get a closer look at the world, and see things that you wouldn't normally be able to see

    - Aerial views of Las Vegas shown in between scenes to mark a transition (LV at night, when graveyard shirt starts, and at dawn, whe shift's over), sunrises and sunsets, traffic, The Strip ...

    - backlighting, shadow lighting, and the use of light in general.
    Love those scenes where the only light there is comes from the flashlights.

    - dark scenes (+ night shots). Darkness plays a major role on CSI. Almost as important as the characters themselves. Used to reflect the storyline, the mood the characters are in, and it gives CSI its unique atmosphere (haunting, creepy and oppressing)

    - angles and camera moves

    - contrast
    LV = neon lights, blinding, aggressive colors, warmth, 'yellow' desert
    Lab/interrogation room/offices = cold, dark
     
    GrissomFREAK, Jun 15, 2006
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  2. happy_me_111

    happy_me_111 Police Officer

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    happy_me_111, Jun 15, 2006
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  3. GrissomFREAK

    GrissomFREAK CSI Level Two

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    :lol: yeah, I can. Same way you could pbbly tell I love Grissom ;)
    Nice shots, btw.

    Remember that scene from Early Rollout when Catherine and Chris the guy who owns the club kiss? :D
    The colors :eek:
    Orange neons in the background ... backlighting, wasn't it?
    Anyway. Beautiful.

    Black and orange :cool:

    And profiles :rolleyes: :rolleyes: ;)
     
    GrissomFREAK, Jun 15, 2006
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  4. happy_me_111

    happy_me_111 Police Officer

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    Wow, those are great shots! :eek:

    For as dark as the lab is, outside shots are full of light!

    Oh, look it's a picture of Nick, go figure... :D

    Outside again...

    And one more for good measure

    Sometimes the darkness of the lab bothers me, but mostly I thinks it's cool. There are just sometimes where I wish I could see expression more on the screencaps, but I can't because they are so dark... does that make sense?

    The lighting in this one seems almost brown...

    Lab darkness and slight blueness...

    ETA: Good grief! You have just made my week with that collage of Grissom profiles! :) :) :) :) :) :D :D
     
    happy_me_111, Jun 15, 2006
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  5. GrissomFREAK

    GrissomFREAK CSI Level Two

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    hehe :D

    Here's a few examples of what I meant when I said 'yellow' -those caps are from season 3
    Gives an impression of extreme heat, and makes for beautiful shots ;)
    Maan, CSI is full of 'em! :eek:

    Yellow Nicky
    Desert
    Processing the scene
    Where is he going??

    Notice how yellow almost turns to orange in some shots ...
     
    GrissomFREAK, Jun 15, 2006
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  6. cofi_shot

    cofi_shot Captain

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    cofi_shot, Jun 15, 2006
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  7. happy_me_111

    happy_me_111 Police Officer

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    Yeah, I'm diggin' the yellow...

    Sort of yellow-ish...

    Strange yellowness...

    Here's one with an orangeish-yellowish background...

    more yellow desert goodness...

    All right enough yellow...

    Here's an interogation picture with blue and black...

    No, but what I wanted to post was that sometimes they have really interesting angle shots on CSI, like from different points of view...

    Crouched over...

    I already posted one similar to this one, but it's a good POV

    Lean over...

    Cool POV

    I love when they do half-faced shots like this... nice shadow.

    Peekaboo point of view!





    Wow, I'm way over the six picture limit...and I've come to the realization that all my photobucket pictures are of Nick (well, no duh). I have like forty of Grissom/Billy, but they are all photoshots...

    ETA: Dude, are cofi_shot and I on the same page or what? :eek:
     
    happy_me_111, Jun 15, 2006
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  8. GrissomFREAK

    GrissomFREAK CSI Level Two

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    Love those angled shots, cofi_shot :D
    Dig your yellow shots too, happy!

    Made me think of another very cool angled shot. This one, from Bite Me.
    It's a promo shot actually, but :rolleyes:
     
    GrissomFREAK, Jun 15, 2006
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  9. cofi_shot

    cofi_shot Captain

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    ^^^Yeah I particularly liked that shot cause almost all of them are there (except for Greggo) and they all looked pensive.

    LOL we are. I still can't get enough of the Nicky pics despite spending so much time in the ward.
     
    cofi_shot, Jun 15, 2006
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  10. happy_me_111

    happy_me_111 Police Officer

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    Actually thinking about it now, my pictures weren't really angled, but just from interesting POV's... anyway, who cares... and this is scary, I was just looking for that one from Bite Me when GrissomFREAK posted it... I'm serious... :eek:
     
    happy_me_111, Jun 15, 2006
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  11. GrissomFREAK

    GrissomFREAK CSI Level Two

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    How about this scene?
    One of the most beautiful night shots I've ever seen :p

    Cinematographers/DP's on CSI are just geniuses. They do an amazing work.
    They turned a TV show into a real 'oeuvre d'art'. Honestly. This is Art.
    Visually impressive and just plain beautiful show, full of eye catching shots (both indoor and outdoor) :eek: :cool:

    If there was an award for Most Visually Beautiful TV Show, CSI would win. Hands down :D


    Another great angled shot (from season 2 Burden Of Proof) :cool:

    Aahhh, neon lighting :rolleyes: With and without
     
    GrissomFREAK, Jun 15, 2006
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  12. GrissomFREAK

    GrissomFREAK CSI Level Two

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    Fell in love with this scene from season 6 A Bullet Runs Through It

    Great exemple of backlighting. And this long street -seems almost endless. Nice perspective.
    The light is absolutely amazing. You can almost feel the sun on your face, hot and blinding :D


    Season 3 ... colorful season :cool:
    Orange
    Orange + blue
     
    GrissomFREAK, Jun 17, 2006
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  13. Kal

    Kal Prime Suspect

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    i love the look of csi, it's a little dark, but that's ok for me. my opinion - miami is bright and well-lit because well, they're in miami. vegas, all the skyline shots are dark, at night (is it because they're graveyard shift? idk). i just love it.
     
    Kal, Jun 19, 2006
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  14. GrissomFREAK

    GrissomFREAK CSI Level Two

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    Yes, it is. Graveyard shift works mostly at night (sometimes it's dawn -near the end of the shift), so that's why there are so many night shots :)

    Anyway, I've heard people say that the show was too dark. I really don't mind. On the contrary, I love it. One of the many reasons why I love CSI so much.

    Maybe it's just me, but looks to me like it has gotten darker over the years.
    And the cinematgraphy has gotten better, too IMO ;)

    Butterflied. I do think that this is one of the most beautifully photographed episode of the series. Visually perfect. So many great shots in this epi.

    Perfect profile :p
    Shadows
    Killer look

    The whole scene where Grissom is in the bedroom, confused, looking at the butterflies, and the pictures of the young woman who was murdered -who reminds him so much of Sara, is great :cool: Very well filmed.


    Dead Ringer. The opening sequence was simply brilliant :cool:

    Race1 Race2 Race3
     
    GrissomFREAK, Jun 21, 2006
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  15. Adzix

    Adzix CSI Level Three

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    omg, those caps are just AMAZING. i feel like i'm on some kind of photographic exhibition or something :lol: just great.

    regarding to the darkness, i liked the earlier seasons when everything was brighter, and at first i also thought the present csi is too dark. but i got used to it and now i don't mind ;)
     
    Adzix, Jun 21, 2006
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