This Movie Was A Technical Breakthrough...A "Cinematic Masterpiece".

Rating: Null/10 (30 October 2002)

The Shining was the very first movie to make extensive use of the Steady Cam, a camera attached to a special device which acts like a balancing beam that allows the cameraman to run and jump and make quick, jerky movements while filming, all while keeping a super-smooth shot. You will see the Steady Cam in action if you watch the "Making the Shining" if you bought a newer release of the movie.
Besides the introduction of new cinematic devices, the film also was the first ever to make use of the Moog Synthesizer. This electronic keyboard was used for the duration of the movie to produce it's eerie sounds. Did you think that the music in the movie was that of an orchestra? Well, it is not, as I found out in one of my physics classes. It was an electronic synthesizer capable of producing thousands of different sound effects. (All thanks to the musician Wendy Carlos who adapted composer Bela Bartok's original movements and performed them on the Moog synthesizer).
The Shining is probably best known for the blood spilling out of the elevators, which was most likely produced by building a small model of a room, and filming blood pouring out of the model at a high rate of speed. Thus, when the film is played back at normal speed, the action appears to be happening at normal speed, but is actually replaying at slow speed.
I love this movie because I praise it for being innovative and ground-breaking.