I just watched Alex Honnold's movie "Free Solo", the documentary about him free solo'ing El Captian. No ropes. No safety. 3000ft "wall". Absolutely stunning videography.
But, why do I feel cheated? It's not his achievement, it's the videography.
They repeatedly use shots with no horizon or reference and skew the angle of the slope to look more vertical. I want to see him do it again with a plumb bob hanging.... just joking
You know what I mean, whether you have watched the movie or not, you will have seen "epic" climbing scenes, but... all too often they just rotate the camera to make the "wall" look vertical.
Don't get me wrong, there ARE genuine vertical sections and overhangs, but a lot of the dramatic verticality is imposed by the videographer, possibly even in post after a committee meeting with the film marketing people.
The lower section is a good reference. A lot, not all, of the footage shows this as vertical, but it's more like an 60* slope when you catch a shot with horizon reference.
Other shots literally rotate the frame until the rock is plumb vertical, but behind it you only have blurred trees. Suspicious.
Still all in, a brilliant watch. I had to have a few wines and needs a fan or towel to keep my hands dry.. my feet still tingle. Worth braving though.
Note, I have paraglided thousands of feet up in a harness, but you wouldn't get me more than 10ft up El Cap without a top rope and belay and not about 30ft even with.
Spoiler: He lives and when the scanned his brain... he's a little different.
EDIT: Even though you know he makes it or the movie would be very different or not exist at all, but you still can't NOT imagine him falling constantly. It's also hard watching his climbing buddies. Reducing hard men free climbers to tears hiding behind the sofa, not watching.
But, why do I feel cheated? It's not his achievement, it's the videography.
They repeatedly use shots with no horizon or reference and skew the angle of the slope to look more vertical. I want to see him do it again with a plumb bob hanging.... just joking
You know what I mean, whether you have watched the movie or not, you will have seen "epic" climbing scenes, but... all too often they just rotate the camera to make the "wall" look vertical.
Don't get me wrong, there ARE genuine vertical sections and overhangs, but a lot of the dramatic verticality is imposed by the videographer, possibly even in post after a committee meeting with the film marketing people.
The lower section is a good reference. A lot, not all, of the footage shows this as vertical, but it's more like an 60* slope when you catch a shot with horizon reference.
Other shots literally rotate the frame until the rock is plumb vertical, but behind it you only have blurred trees. Suspicious.
Still all in, a brilliant watch. I had to have a few wines and needs a fan or towel to keep my hands dry.. my feet still tingle. Worth braving though.
Note, I have paraglided thousands of feet up in a harness, but you wouldn't get me more than 10ft up El Cap without a top rope and belay and not about 30ft even with.
Spoiler: He lives and when the scanned his brain... he's a little different.
EDIT: Even though you know he makes it or the movie would be very different or not exist at all, but you still can't NOT imagine him falling constantly. It's also hard watching his climbing buddies. Reducing hard men free climbers to tears hiding behind the sofa, not watching.
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