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I have recently just started watching the Netflix TV series, Russian Doll, which generally is about a character dealing with a broken timeline or series of resets, to be able to come to terms with herself on her 37th Birthday.

About 15 mins into the second episode, Nadia, whose trying to find another way to escape this scenario, chooses to do so this time by consuming a whole lot drugs and alcohol.

The scenes are filmed in such a way as to give the viewer the feeling of the substance induced effect that Nadia is experiencing, except that instead of the camera looking outward, like Nadia would be, the camera instead facing inward letting us watch Nadia's movements and facial expressions.

I was wondering then if there was name for this kind of reversed technique, where a viewer experiences a character's experience, but instead of just viewing like it's their experience alone, the viewer instead feels more like they experience the character's experience directly, while also watching the character's experience?

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    A pic would be really helpful, but a scene usually has more than one technique being employed
    – Victor T. Leal
    Feb 12, 2019 at 12:11
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    @VictorT.Leal I have been looking, but since the series is fairly new, I haven't found any from that particular sequence. However Morbo's answer seems spot on to what I was specifically looking for.
    – Darth Locke
    Feb 12, 2019 at 13:47
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    Alright, that series seems interesting tho I'll be sure to check it out.
    – Victor T. Leal
    Feb 12, 2019 at 13:51
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    I found a youtube video of it!! ( the first season was a lot better than I thought it would be. I love time loop stuff, but this was really nicely done IMO).
    – Darth Locke
    Feb 12, 2019 at 13:52
  • It kind of reminds of, if The Coen Bros., Woody Allen, and Charlie Brooker decided to remake Groundhog's Day together. XD
    – Darth Locke
    Feb 12, 2019 at 14:03

2 Answers 2

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There are many film techniques being employed for these kind of drug induced scenes, some being:

  1. Mixing focal lengths - to instill disorientation
  2. Dutch angles - more lack of orientation
  3. One could argue it's a Reverse angle being employed entirely - we see her from the point of view of the guests

With the updated youtube link in the OP, it's clear to see:

  1. A snorricam - for the tight focused view of her face in quick scenes, among other things.

As far as I know, there isn’t just one ‘drug induced camera’ technique, but I digress.

The specific technique you already mentioned actually, to view her experience through your own eyes (for which I argue the scene is filmed in), actually is the Reverse angle.

Wikipedia has a nice list of typical film jargon explanations.

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    Or, to be more precise, a SnorriCam.
    – Joachim
    Feb 12, 2019 at 14:20
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    I don't think there is any use of Steadicam, as Joachim said they used SnorriCam, and you can't use both shots at the same time, Steadicam uses wider and bigger shots with the camera standing still and the characters or objects moving within that steady shot. Also, the reverse angle is used for conversation (mostly), usually over a character's shoulder and focusing on the other character that's facing the camera. SnorriCam is kind of a mix of both and POV.
    – Victor T. Leal
    Feb 12, 2019 at 16:17
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    I suppose it depends on how one defines the use of steadicam and snorri cams, as both can be combined. However, I agree in this specific case, there isn't any steadiness being used with the snorri. I will edit.
    – DrMrstheMonarch
    Feb 12, 2019 at 16:20
  • @VictorT.Leal If I read on wikipedia, atleast, a snorri cam is a steadicam...or am I misunderstanding en.wikipedia.org/wiki/SnorriCam ?
    – DrMrstheMonarch
    Feb 12, 2019 at 16:25
  • @morbo they are quite similar in theory, you can find examples of steadicam on youtube, mostly it uses bigger shots and is either standing still or following/being followed by characters or objects, zooming in or out. A good example is the tricycle scene in The Shining, the camera follows the character, but clearly shows him moving. The SnorriCam is unmoving, it doesn't follow the character nor is being followed, it is a fixed shot that makes the character appear still and the background to be moving. In theory, it's confusing, but when you see them side by side it's pretty clear.
    – Victor T. Leal
    Feb 12, 2019 at 16:44
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Ok the video really helps and it's very specific, that's pretty much just SnorriCam. It's similar to the Helmet Cam used by Radiohead in the video for Jigsaw Falling Into Place, but it is mounted on your body, it creates that effect that you see.

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