He does that just right.Auto Focus · 2002 — Chapter 5 of 16 · 3'28" · B1
Bob Crane's New Video Camera, Explained: light years ahead of
Bob Crane discovers a video camera and immediately points it at everyone around him. He is thrilled to be ahead of the technology curve, but the filming is also a way of keeping people at a distance. "Home movies," he calls it, while the people in front of the lens start to object.
What happens
Bob Crane gets a video camera and falls for it at once, filming the cast party, the women there and the crew. He boasts that the new technology puts them light years ahead, then complains that a colleague keeps trying to undercut him. At home, he turns the camera on his wife while she washes dishes and calls it home movies.
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light years ahead ofIt's him, or it's meperformance anxietyundercut someone
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Phrase of the scene
light years ahead of
far more advanced than someone or something
鲍勃刚用摄像机拍完就当场放给安妮看，她惊叹不用冲洗，他得意地说我们 light years ahead of everybody。
With this new engine, their cars are light years ahead of the competition.
Also in this scene
- It's him, or it's me
either he goes or I go; choose between us
- performance anxiety
临场紧张、被盯着就发挥失常的压力
- undercut someone
暗中拆台、削弱别人的功劳或权威
Everything marked in this scene
21 notes across 66 lines
You are so photogenic.I love that thing you do.Hold on, hold on. I gotta get that.I didn't want to freak you, give you, what, performance anxiety.I didn't want to freak you, give you, what, performance anxiety.Hey, I do my best work in front of the camera.Hey, I do my best work in front of the camera.Where have you been all my life?He tried out for the lead.Went to me, so he keeps snipping at me all the time, little Brit fag cracks.And always... always trying to undercut me.either he goes or I go; choose between us
It's him, or it's me.She's giving you head.We're gonna have to burn this tape.Wait'll you see it.It doesn't bite. Just don't touch these wires right here.Everybody give me a wave.All right, give me one more shot. Here we go. One, two, big dance!far more advanced than someone or something
We are light years ahead of everybody!It's like the Polaroid of home movies.Bob Crane's New Video Camera, explained
What's really going on
What looks like a man excited about a gadget is really the start of an obsession that will consume him. Bob points the camera at everything, and the footage becomes more important than the people in it. Even the apartment turns into a set: his wife objects, and he answers with a camera in her face and the words "Home movies," as if naming the thing made it innocent. The earlier scene at the party shows the same instinct, where he films women and murmurs, "Where have you been all my life?" The camera lets him watch without being seen, and that distance is exactly what he wants. It is a small domestic moment, but the film treats it as the beginning of the end.
Theme
DreamsA new gadget becomes an obsession, and the pleasure of filming slowly replaces the life he is filming.
MarriageHe turns the camera on his own wife and calls it home movies, ignoring that she has asked him to stop.
Where have you been all my life?A flattering line aimed at a woman he has just met on camera: charm used as a way of getting access.
It's him, or it's me.A blunt ultimatum to a colleague: choose between the rival and me, delivered without room for compromise.
We are light years ahead of everybody!His boast about the video camera: one step of technology feels like an entire era of advantage.
It's like the Polaroid of home movies.A comparison that captures his excitement: instant images, no waiting, the whole appeal in one phrase.
We're gonna have to burn this tape.A joke about footage too dangerous to keep, hinting that the camera is already recording things that should not be seen.
Hey, I do my best work in front of the camera.A cocky line that doubles as a warning: he is happiest when he is being watched.
Questions about this scene
What does Bob buy in this scene?
A video camera, a new piece of gear that needs no film processing. He is thrilled by it and starts filming everyone around him almost immediately.
Why does Anne object to being filmed?
She is doing ordinary chores and doesn't want to be photographed washing dishes. To her the camera is an intrusion, while to Bob it is just home movies.
What is the quarrel with Dawson about?
Dawson wanted the lead role that Bob got, and Bob says he keeps making snide remarks and trying to undercut him. The feud makes Bob demand that a colleague choose sides.
What does Bob's filming habit suggest about him?
He prefers watching to being close. The camera gives him a way to look at people, especially women, without having to meet them on equal terms.
Auto Focus · 16 chapters
All chapters →
Up next · Chapter 6clear enough for youBob Catches John on Tape
Chapter 1a career-killerLenny Pitches Bob a Sitcom
Chapter 2get the messageAnne Confronts Bob About the Magazines
Chapter 3always been my thingBob Meets the VTR Salesman
Chapter 4copaceticBob and John's Party Night
Watching · Chapter 5light years ahead ofBob Crane's New Video Camera
Chapter 6clear enough for youBob Catches John on Tape
Chapter 7pull a stunt like thisThe Demo Fails Spectacularly
Chapter 8what went downJohn Carpenter Repairs Bob's VTR
Chapter 9go around onceBob's Wife Accepts an Open Marriage
Chapter 10dead airBob's Party and Career Blowup
Chapter 11Run it by meJohn's Wild Idea and Bob's Big Call
Chapter 12word gets aroundLenny Warns Bob About a Scandal
Chapter 13a complete professionalBob Goes Too Far on Live TV
Chapter 14get in circulationBob Asks His Agent for Work
Chapter 15take it for grantedBob Visits His Son
Chapter 16lower the boomBob and Carpenter's Falling OutChapter 5 of 16 · about 25 min to go