176/365 Inspired by cinematography

I saw Elizabeth: The Golden Age for the first time a few weeks ago. (Tip: don't watch it without seeing the 1998 Elizabeth first, or you'll be totally lost.) Aside from the fact that it's a powerful movie, it marked a first for me: It was the first time I've ever been struck by the cinematography of a film.

Perhaps it's my growing love of photography, or my increasing list of movies on my "check" list, but this movie is absolutely stunning. Three main things particularly caught my eye:
1. Their manipulation/juxtaposition of foreground and background elements
2. The use of color (and lack thereof) to draw your eye into the scene
3. Filming through a foreground obstruction, like a fence or screen, to give the viewer both a sense of the lack of privacy Elizabeth had and also a more intimate feel

This trailer shows a bit of it, especially number 3 around 1:50:



Here's another good trailer, a bit shorter. Both of them give me goosebumps just watching them.

I find the movie incredibly inspiring. Ever since I saw it I've been keeping ideas in the back of my head for future use. It's the idea of number 3 that inspired me a bit here, a photo of the sunset through the rails of the front porch.


(The movie also makes me glad that I'm a woman of 2008, not 1585.)

Camera: Canon 40D 1/250s, f/5.6 at ISO 100 at about 8:00 p.m.