This film that I attended for this assignment was the 1984 rock mockumentary "This is Spinal Tap". The film portrays a fictional British heavy metal band called Spinal Tap. The movie satirizes the wild personal behavior and musical pretensions of hard rock and heavy metal bands. The film was directed by Rob Reiner. This is Spinal Tap parodies the rock documentary in part through an imitation of its methods. The film employs familiar cinematic techniques like handheld cameras, zooms and reverse zooms, rack and follow focusing, and swish pans. The film also depends heavily on the filmed interview. This is Spinal Tap successfully imitates this documentary technique, staging individual and group interviews that appear throughout the film. The structure of the film alternates between scenes that follow the band on tour and the interviews of the band. Spinal Tap is portrayed as a veteran group that has been around for many years. .
There are many camera movement and lens operations used by the cameramen in this film. One of them is zooming in and out. This is used a lot when the band is performing on stage. For example, when the guitarist goes into a guitar solo the cameraman will zoom in right on his hands to show the virtuosity of the musician. Doing a quick zoom in on the guitarists hands will also give the shot a dramatic effect. Not only does the cameramen zoom onto the guitarist's hands, they also will use these zooms for the drummer when he's taking a solo or when the keyboardist does a fast lick. This technique satirizes the hyper-masculine theater of heavy metal performers. The cameramen will also use close-up shots the band when they are performing. For example, when the singer is belting a lyric the cameraman will get a close-up shot of him to add to the intensity of the performance. The close-up shot is also used on the musician's hands/fingers when they are playing or performing a solo.
