How Different Camera Techniques Forced Breaking Bad Viewers Into a Godlike Sense of Detachment

The always excellent film and television analysis platform ScreenPrism took a look at four different and unique camera techniques used throughout the series Breaking Bad that allowed viewers to remove themselves from the intense storyline and keep their distance for a little while. These specific techniques include wide aerial shots, timelapse, object perspective and “wide and closed”, each of which offers a simultaneously comforting godlike sense of detachment and a disturbing feeling of insignificance within the world.

Overall these four types of shots are powerful examples of how cinematography shapes storytelling and tone by making us see that what’s happening is inevitable. They allow us even force us into a degree of impartiality. …the characters of Breaking Bad think they can change things about their lives about who they are – but we know better, because from our vantage point we can see that what’s happening to them is about as inevitable as the Sun rising and setting or a chemical reaction running its course. And there’s nothing we can do but watch