Breaking Bad Cinematography

I watched all of Breaking Bad this summer 2 weeks before the final episode. It was amazing, and one of the reasons I think it worked so well was the dynamic camera work and unsual angles used to either add to the surreal feeling, or utterly real feel of a scene. It especially shines at poignant moments that are made all the more effective by the use of interesting angles and movement. I haven't seen a tv show that uses cinematography to this effect and degree and it is one of the reasons that BrBa is such an amazing show.

From here on out there will be spoilers so don't read or watch the films or look at the pictures of you haven't seen the whole series.

 This scene for me is the best of the entire series. The tension of Hank dying (especially because he was my favourite character) is awful. The camera work is relatively normal, with the camera looking up at Walter and Uncle Jack, and down at Hank, to show that he is weak and they are strong. And then the gun shot, it changes to views of the stoic scenery as the bang ripples out into the surroundings. The best part is the way that Walter falls. His position of power is gone, the camera looks up at him, but he falls right at it, and then the camera follows him down all the way to the ground. It continues to zoom in on his face as he cries for Hank.

This sort of camera work is very rare because it's incredibly hard to do, but it brilliantly shows the emotion of the scene and the symbolic destruction of Walter and his control on his life and those around him. It is a special shot for a very special scene.