[Robin_K2]

Forgive the wildly off-topic request, but after the eye-torture that is "Quantum Solace" this weekend, tonight I tried my first episode of "Downton Abbey." Both suffer the recent inane taste for jiggling camera shots. I thought it was reserved for action films and idiot TV, but now on PBS dramas?

I know why it's there. To draw attention to the swell director. A verite touch. I'm old school, and I think the best direction and cinematography do not draw attention. Plus, a locked-down camera does not make me lose my lunch. What, are we all at sea?

I have absolutely had it with wobbley cameras. Please stop poking me in the eye with your lenses.

[TheZookie007]

I've never watched a single episode of Downton Abbey before, but I've also never heard of anyone else ever complaining about their use of "shakey-cam".

[solvegas]

I hate the " shakey cam " also. I find it distracting and gimmicky and I frankly believe it is used simply because the Director can't figure a way to tell the story well. My $0.02.

[Palomine]

I watched the Downton Abbey premiere the other night and don't recall any noticeably excessive use of shakey cam... some hand-held shots to be sure, but I don't remember seeing/remembering anything where the camera was being intentionally jostled about as you describe (and as seen in every Michael Bay movie). Maybe I just didn't notice it... I dunno.

Back on topic: there's not enough T&A in Downton for my tastes dammit! Here's Jessica Brown Findlay, aka Downton Abbey's Lady Sybil Crawley btw:

[number3fac]

On a related note (to the camera-shooting techniques, not the T&A, sadly): it seems like ever since "The Office"--and other "mockumentary" style shows--took off, there's effort put in to the presentation of shows so that it looks or seems like it's being filmed by a hand-held camera that the viewing audience is peering through.  Things like the framing of the shot drifting around, zooming in/out and refocusing, that sort of thing...it probably originates with late-90s/early-00s reality TV, which The Office and many other shows then went on to emulate in style, because of their rampant popularity.

For myself, I find it annoying as well, though it's been around for long enough that I guess I've gotten accustomed to it.  I remember watching the rebooted Battlestar Galactica, and I think several of the spaceship-flying/fighting scenes are done in that style, presumably mimicing or suggesting some remote automated camera/scanner that's monitoring the action as it's happening.  I don't think they used those techniques for interior shots, though, so I never had a problem with it there.  But unfortunately, it's a style that has permeated the landscape of visual production so we'll probably be stuck with it for a good long while...hopefully it'll fall out of favor sometime.

[pedonbio]

As long as we are complaining about film technique, Russ Meyers's flash editing, which he introduced to get past censorship rules, drives me crazy. Unfortunately, other directors decided it was cool and it has become common in mainstream films.