Ned Kelly Movie Camera Techniques

Films About Ned Kelly

There are several beloved films about Ned Kelly, one starring Heath Ledger (2003), another featuring Mick Jagger (1970), and several TV movies. One of the oldest feature films in memory is entitled, "Ned Kelly & His Gang," dated 1906; today, only minutes of this Australian film remain. These films have employed a variety of camera techniques, including dollying and tracking, crane shots, and close-ups to emphasize different moods and moments in Kelly's life.

Pre-production is the time to plan camera techniques with a process called "story-boarding," i.e., where shots and cuts are planned out in advance in drawn pictures, so as to enable a smooth shoot. The director and director of photography plan out the film's shots, and the d.p. then organizes his set-ups with his crew on the day of shooting. This sort of advance planning of camera techniques is critical, for it saves time and money for the production.

This sort of planning would be especially necessary for a film about Ned Kelly, as it would undoubtedly be shot in the Australian outback, a place where there are few hotels, less power to run camera and other equipment, and less water, thereby making water consumption expensive.

Once production was started, early, revelatory scenes could introduce Kelly in intimate close-ups, reaction shots that show his father being taken away to jail; these would demonstrate Kelly's character-building. Contrasting wide shots of the Australian outback would show the desolate nature of Kelly's upbringing.

During the action scenes, dollying, a.k.a., tracking shots could be used to run alongside of Kelly and his henchmen as they run from the law--this is a technique facilitated by mini-tracks being laid down on the ground so that the camera can move smoothly and quickly.

In the final scene, a crane could be used for the Kelly hanging--crane shots show a bird's eye view of the action, and in this scene, would infer that Kelly was going on to meet his maker. Interspersed, medium, ground-level shots and close-ups of the crowd in tears, and the action at the jailhouse could help infuse the film with the feeling that Ned Kelly was a hero who will be missed.

In post-production, the film is edited and scored; it is here that missing shots are often discovered. Re-shoots of this film could include shots where the actor playing Kelly didn't land off his horse properly in a desert scene; inserts could include shots of Kelly's hands praying with his Bible before being hanged.