Stanley Kubrick

Stanley Kubrick

Stanley Kubrick (July 26, 1928 – March 7, 1999) was an American film director, screenwriter, producer, cinematographer, and editor who did most of his work as an expatriate in the United Kingdom. He is regarded as one of the greatest filmmakers of all time.

Stanley’s films were typically adaptations of short stories or novels and they were renowned for their ‘unique cinematography, attention to details to achieve realism and an inspired use of music scores.’ Stanley’s films covered a wide variety of genres such as : War, Crime, Romantic and Black Comedies, Horror, Epic, Science Fiction and Thriller.

Stanley started out as a photographer in New York City, where he taught himself all aspects of directing and film production. He started with just making low budget films, which was then followed by his Hollywood blockbuster ‘Spartacus’, after he moved back to the UK and carried on his career living and filming there.

Stanley was well known for his‘s Steadicams’s smooth motion effects’.

‘Steadicam is a brand of camera stabilizing mount for motion picture cameras that mechanically isolates it from the operator's movement. It allows for a smooth shot, even when moving quickly over an uneven surface. The Steadicam was invented by cameraman Garrett Brown and was introduced in 1975.’

He first used these effects in his well known film ‘The Shining’ Stanley said why he liked the Steadicam and why he wanted to use it:

‘The Steadicam allows one man to move the camera any place he can walk – into small spaces where a dolly won't fit, and up and down staircases. . . . You can walk or run with the camera, and the Steadicam smooths out any unsteadiness. It's like a magic carpet. The fast, flowing, camera movements in the maze would have been impossible to do without the Steadicam’