CSI Las Vegas cinematography / photography / visuals

The cinematography is one of the things I love best about this show. It's done with such a masterful eye for the effect a visual has, whether it's one of those great overhead Strip shots or a close-up toyed with in an artistically appropriate and perfect way. Kudos to the behind-the-camera heroes!
 
this is in response to the "Cinematography - CSI trademarks" poll.

I chose OTHER! It is to bad that I couldn't select more options because I think the overall product is neatly done. I love the lighting, camera angles, profiles...everything, but why I say other is the intense/amusing facial expressions and body language of the different CSI's and Lab Techs! I think in most scenes, it really compliments OR completes the scene.

"Interesting Camera Angle"

docdavecamangle.jpg


"Body Language"(could even add it under facial expressions...lol...cath) :lol:

general001.jpg


"and Facial Expressions" (especially from, who I think, is the master of the facial expressions on CSI)

hodges001.jpg


One thing I think the show has improved on over the different seasons, are the arial views of the city of L.V. I really like this thread, it was a neat idea to discuss this side of the show. (watchin' csi now, and really noticing the multiple camera angles.....several already, and only 20 minutes in to the show)
 
absolutely. im an artist so i looove stuff like this. it is, hands down, the best show on television. imbeccable art and music direction, not to mention the lighting. all of the lighting stuff creates the perfect mood for all those eerie crime scene shots, and also the desert scenes. they definitely know how to capture that *scorching heat in the barren desert* feel.
 
I was looking at the different DPs that had worked on the show for the past 8 years, and I noticed that 3 of my favorite episodes -and I am only talking visuals here-, Butterflied (412), Committed (521) and Gum Drops (605) had been directed by the same man, Richard J. Lewis.

Michael Slovis was the DP on Gum Drops and Pirates of The Third Reich (615), which Lewis also directed.

Slovis was also the DP, among others, on Time of Your Death (622), A Bullet Runs Through It (607) and Werewolves (611) -on which Lewis was a supervising producer.

ANYway, this is the first part of a little tribute to some of the directors and DPs who left their imprint on CSI by greatly contributing to the show's unique and compelling visual style over the years.

I'll start with a few shots from some of the episodes on which Michael Slovis worked as a DP:

Bullet street shot
Gum Drops sun
Gum Drops Sara
Pirates Interview room
Pirates flashlights
Werewolves glasses

It would be interesting to analyze each of the DPs work for patterns / trademarks.
 
Directors usually have a very precise vision in their head of what the episode is going to look like based on the script, and the DP's make it happen on the screen, playing with angles, camera moves, lighting ...

I think one of the most interesting aspect of the show's visual style from a cinematographic standpoint is lighting, and how that cold blue tinting that is virtually present in every single shot doesn't only look pretty, but serves the narrative as well.

Here's a few examples. From DP Nathan Hope, who worked among others, on Killer (614), Formalities (507), Bad To The Bone (418) and Dead Ringer (420)

Bad - art of framing 1
Killer - art of framing 2

And last but not least, that mind blowing sequence at the beginning of Dead Ringer
1 2 3 4
 
I swear GrissomFREAK you are destined to work on CSI, your writings, and now this.. amazing, send your resume, immediatley :D how cool these are, fantastic that you notice all of this, and make other fans more aware!
 
Thanks, Des! :lol: ;)

That's just one of these 'little' things that I guess will never cease to amaze me about the show, because however disappointing the storyline might be -and let's admit it, it has happened a few times, well, there's always the visuals to hang on to, you know? I mean, that's something I know I can always count on, something I know will never ever disappoint me. One of the show's constants.

Have you noticed how CSI has evolved visually? Comparing the first three seasons with the rest, it is obvious -when you pay attention, that the show progressively developed a style of its own, which then became a trademark -and I am not talking about the 'CSI shots' here, but everything else that you might see on your screen during the course of an episode.

I'd say the cinematography has grown bolder, but also darker and more colorful at the same time -and yes, bluer :D

I mean, cinematography is an art. Compositing shots, finding the right light ...

Take Living Doll (724) for example ...

Evidence room
"Sara?"
Face

And the sepia tones of Grissom's flashback
1 2 3
 
Colorful shots and interesting angles are some of the visual treats that Frank Byers offered us in episodes like Early Rollout (415), XX (417), What's Eating Gilbert Grissom (506) and Viva Las Vegas (501).

Frank Byers was also the DP on an episode that has since then become a favorite among William Petersen's fans, Jackpot (406) :D

ER boiling senses at the club
Making light of what happened
Rearview - vision
Viva Las Vegas, dancing lights and shadows
Prison - view from the inside
Extreme close up
 
Law of Gravity was on Spike tonight at 8. Watched it, of course -not especially for Keppler, but rather -faithful to my Bearded Griss Obsession- to get a glimpse of The Beard :D
This said, something else caught my attention -I was very likely too hypnotized by that bushy beard to have noticed it the first time around (lol) ...



Isn't this shot just awesome? :cool:

It's amazing how, even though the murders and different plots that unfold during the course of an episode could have taken place just about anywhere else in the US, they (the directors, cinematographers) always manage to include Vegas in the story, notably through visual cues -like these omnipresent neon lights.

Plus, in my opinion, this, combined with the usual darkness of the show gives the whole thing not only a beautiful look but also such an eerie feel, you know what I mean?
 
Here's something that I read today in "Reading CSI: Crime TV Under the Microscope" (p.164), and that happens to be relevant to this thread -giving a little insight into CSI's unique visual style:

Executive producer Ann Donahue describes the gestation process of an episode as such: "One of the things we did at the beginning that was unique was that anytime Danny [Cannon] wasn't directing, we'd drag him into the writers' room and tell him 'Talk to us about how we can visually tell this story.' And he would sit there and fill in us writers; that spurred us to begin to write visually, which isn't necessarily what TV writers are trained to do at all." (Richmond 2006)
Click to expand...

It all starts with the writers ( --> without them, television is dead -the ongoing WGA strike and the ensuing fiasco make this very clear), and only then does the DP enter the picture, transcribing the writers' vision onto images.
 
Comparison shots to get a certain understanding as to how certain aspects of the cinematography might have evolved (or not) over the years.


The following shots feature the ever present neon lights (symbols of Vegas, and law enforcement -police cars- and rescue teams -ambulances, firefighters) that very often serve as background.

First shot is from season 1, "Sounds of Silence", and second shot is from season 6 "Spellbound".



Overall, brighter colors, the consequence being (IMO) that whereas in the first shot the eye is naturally attracted to Grissom's face, in the second, it is more likely to kind of wander/linger in the background.
 
Thank's again, I really never paid that much attention to this, till you pointed it out.. very vivid colors and stunning Grissom :p
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top