Ashley Matthews- post #9

Ashley Matthews
4/20/12

The Endless Summer (1966)

Dir Bruce Brown

            There are several camera techniques used in “The Endless Summer.”  Although it could be considered an "ancient" documentary, the same types of techniques are used that we see in documentaries and movies today. 

            A red color filter is used in the beginning scenes to emphasize that it is morning and that the surfers are so committed that they will wake up at the crack of dawn for morning swell.  The camera is filming at a point of view angle on top of the surfboard in Hawaii.  This makes us feel like we are on the surfboard, feeling the water coming at us and the wind in our face.  When Wayne Miata is under a barrel wave, he is filmed right in the center of the frame to show that this is the ultimate goal of the surfer: to ride inside the barrel.

            When they surf in California, they are shown surfing during the winter when there is the most swell. There seems to be a blue color filter to contrast summer and winter surf. Ultimately, the surfers want an "endless summer."

            When Mike and Robert get to Dakar, Senegal, the little island with surf breaking on either side is shown in a well-composed static shot. The camera pans from left to right as though the viewer is looking at the waves from the balcony of the hotel.  Mike and Robert are so anxious to get out and surf in these never-before surfed waters.

            In between each travel destination there is a fade in/ fade out to indicate a passage of time.  In Cape Town, they are filmed going Table Mountain on a cable from a low angle.  This shows us just how high Table Mountain is.  When Mike and Robert drive away to find some secret beaches in Cape Town, they find Long Beach.  At Long Beach, the camera zooms out from them to show just how barren and huge the beach is and how small they are compared to the vast beach.  One of their last stops at Cape St. Francis had the longest waves.  The camera follows the surfer rather than having a wide angle shot of the entire wave to show just how long the surfer is on the board for.  Overall, The Endless Summer is trying to portray the exhilaration of surfing and the passion surfers have for their craft.