Dutch Tilt /Angle ... why ?

[bribrius]

I think effects like this can work when used for a specific purpose and not done excessively. The term supposedly came from use of the technique in German (Deutsch) films in the '30s. It's been used in some of Orson Welles' movies.

Scroll down to see stills (by the way, 'Touch of Evil' is on Turner Classic tonight, so is 'The Lady from Shanghai' which has a cool funhouse mirror scene near the end, but that's getting OT...). Dutch angles and The Third Man plus film preservationist Grover Crisp The Lumi re Reader

Seems to work in this clip, gives a somewhat off balance feeling to the man being followed and near the end I think seems to make him seem closed in on.
Film Language Glossary - Canted Angle Dutch Angle

good read, nice frames

 

[FITBMX]

Does anyone have some "good" photos of Dutch Tilt?

I've seen some good examples. I don't have any of my own. Here is one I took just last week done on purpose. I made the extreme tilt to;

1. get the long table in
2. emphasize the ants
3. diminish the background

I zoomed in looking for real ants, until I saw the faces on those table things lol

I did the same thing! I was looking, "thinking what ants, I don't see anything!" Then I looked up at the table!

 

[unpopular]

As said in the first, it's used to create tension.

Tilting to straighten subjects relative to the background is not really a "dutch angle". According to wikipedia:

"The Dutch angle, also known as Dutch tilt, canted angle, oblique angle or German angle, is a type of camera shot where the camera is set at an angle on its roll axis so that the shot is composed with vertical lines at an angle to the side of the frame, or so that the horizon line of the shot is not parallel with the bottom of the camera frame."

 

[bribrius]

As said in the first, it's used to create tension.

Tilting to straighten subjects relative to the background is not really a "dutch angle". According to wikipedia:

"The Dutch angle, also known as Dutch tilt, canted angle, oblique angle or German angle, is a type of camera shot where the camera is set at an angle on its roll axis so that the shot is composed with vertical lines at an angle to the side of the frame, or so that the horizon line of the shot is not parallel with the bottom of the camera frame."

people should stop thinking it is a fad. I has been around a long time. works best in narrow frames though. I think they article above mentioned the start of cinema-scope, pretty much killed dutch tilt.

 

[Big Mike]

I really don't care for 'labels' when it comes to art, but I think there is a misconception of the concept here.

Tilting the camera because it allows you to fit something into the frame, be it a table or two people etc....is not what I would consider a 'Dutch Tilt'. That is simply choosing your composition.

The idea is not just that the camera is tilted, or even that you are intentionally tilting it....the idea is that you are adding or creating a sense of unease, through the technique of tilting the camera away from what 'looks normal'.

 

[unpopular]

people should stop thinking it is a fad. I has been around a long time. works best in narrow frames though. I think they article above mentioned the start of cinema-scope, pretty much killed dutch tilt.

I think it's more of a cliche than a fad. But when it's done well (Hitchcock, Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas) you hardly notice it.

Wonky angles in photography is a bit harder to pull off though since we have more opportunity to absorb and analyze the frame. As a result canted angles are much more obvious.

 

[bribrius]

people should stop thinking it is a fad. I has been around a long time. works best in narrow frames though. I think they article above mentioned the start of cinema-scope, pretty much killed dutch tilt.

I think it's more of a cliche than a fad. But when it's done well (Hitchcock, Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas) you hardly notice it.

Wonky angles in photography is a bit harder to pull off though since we have more opportunity to absorb and analyze the frame. As a result canted angles are much more obvious.

very true. i shoot dutch occasionally. But after this thread i watched a couple old bw movies myself again. Gave me a new appreciation for it. Now i am thinking of working on it in my photography. Not the cliche crappy kind. To see if i can pull it off well.

 

[chuasam]

I'm seeing more and more photos with a Dutch Tilt.

When I look up a description of it

A Dutch tilt is a camera shot in which the camera angle is deliberately slanted to one side. This can be used for dramatic effect and helps portray unease, disorientation, frantic or desperate action, intoxication, madness, etc.

from Dutch Tilt

Just lately here I've seen
a picture of a tree at an angle. I simply didn't understand how a tree at a 40 degree angle would portray like this

a wedding photo - "unease, disorientation .. intoxication" ?? think that would not be good.

and car racing - I can see the unease aspect except it may look weird if there's people in the photo at a 45 degree angle.

Does anyone have some "good" photos of Dutch Tilt?
Better description .. when to use, etc ?

lazy photographer who doesn't know any better.

 

[thereyougo!]

There's a toothpaste ad in the UK done with a constantly changing dutch tilt. It makes me want to throw a doorstop at the tv. So annoying...