Automavision is a cinematic technique invented by Danish director

Lars von Trier Lars von Trier (''né'' Trier; 30 April 1956) is a Danish filmmaker, actor, and lyricist. Having garnered a reputation as a highly ambitious, polarizing filmmaker, he has been the subject of several controversies: Cannes Film Festival, Cannes, ...

. Developed with the intention of limiting human influence, in Automavision no

cinematographer The cinematographer or director of photography (sometimes shortened to DP or DOP) is the person responsible for the photographing or recording of a film, television production, music video or other live action piece. The cinematographer is the c ...

is actively operating the camera. The best possible fixed camera position is chosen and then a computer chooses framing by randomly tilting, panning or zooming the camera. In doing so it is not uncommon that the actors appear in the shots with a part of their face and head cut from the frame. With this technique then the blame for any "errors" are entirely attributable to a computer. Von Trier described Automavision as "a principle for shooting film developed with the intention of limiting human influence by inviting chance in from the cold (...) and thus giving the work an idea-less surface free of the force of habit and aesthetics." The principle was used during filming of the movie '' The Boss of It All'' (2006). Interviewed by ''

The Guardian ''The Guardian'' is a British daily newspaper A newspaper is a periodical publication containing written information about current events and is often typed in black ink with a white or gray background. Newspapers can cover a wide ...

'' in 2006, von Trier said, "For a long time, my films have been

handheld A mobile device (or handheld computer) is a computer small enough to hold and operate in the hand. Mobile devices typically have a flat LCD or OLED screen, a touchscreen interface, and digital or physical buttons. They may also have a physical ...

. That has to do with the fact that I am a

control freak The colloquialism control freak usually describes a person with an obsession with getting things done a certain way. A control freak can become distressed when someone causes a deviation in the way they prefer to do things. Control freak can als ...

. With Automavision, the technique was that I would frame the picture first and then push a button on the computer. I was not in control — the computer was in control." And in a 2008 interview with ''

The Daily Telegraph ''The Daily Telegraph'', known online and elsewhere as ''The Telegraph'', is a national British daily broadsheet newspaper published in London by Telegraph Media Group and distributed across the United Kingdom and internationally. It was f ...

'', von Trier said "If you want bad framing, Automavision is the perfect way to do it. It was rather pleasant to lose control. In this case, I wanted to lose control 100 per cent."

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* * Cinematic techniques Cinematography Photographic techniques Television terminology Lars von Trier {{filming-stub