Camera movements
In the opening scene to the Hobbit an unexpected journey, where bilbo is old and begins to write the letter to Frodo explaining his own journey. As he begins to write the camera moves backwards out of the room slowly probably on a Dolly. This symbolises him going back in time. It also shows that we are leaving his character behind for the rest of the story.
The zoom: In the Shining, when Wendy is walking up the stairs with her bat, she reaches the floor where there is a man in a bear costume in one of the bedrooms. Then suddenly there is a fast zoom into the bears face. This scares the viewer because of the speed of the zoom and the fact the bear is looking right at the camera which seems like it is looking right at us!
The pan: a pan is where the camera moves from the action and averts away from the main focus. In reservoir dogs this is used when Vega chops the cop’s ear off, after showing a little bit of brutality when Vega slashes at the cop’s face. He then holds his ear and the camera pans out to the top left of the screen. This is a great method because it tells the viewer there is no hope for the victim and what is about to happen is inevitable, as a viewer we are left with no hope or suspicion that the victim may have averted the attack (This method also saves a lot of time and money on CGI or screen play).
In this shot a Steadicam follows Danny around the corridors on his bike. While also being a symmetrical shot as Kubrick is known for doing it also adds to the story by creating tension and an erie atmosphere. This is done by a combination of the music used and Danny seeming almost worried about something behind him or around him, which with the camera following him it almost puts the viewer in the perspective of the thing Danny is scared of or running from.
The Shining (1980, by Stanley Kubrick) uses symmetry frequently throughout the film. This particular scene is intriguing because the actors are positioned at the center of the frame, serving as an instant focal point. They are the first thing that the audience see when they look at the scene because of the clever positioning. This would have a strange yet eerie impact on the audience, mainly due to the neat yet intense symmetry of the frame. Everything seems so neat and almost perfect, in terms of the framing and balance, which contradicts the riot and chaos within the narrative.
The twins are centered, which takes our focus away from the corridor walls. But when observing them, we can notice the similar symmetry within the hotel decor, which also furthers the creepy atmosphere within the setting. By showing similarities between the twins’ and the corridor walls symmetry; it is foreshadowed that the twins have become part of the hotel as well, as they are beginning to follow the strange yet intriguing patterns adopted by the ‘Overlook’. Their firm symmetric positioning suggests their role in the center of Danny’s horror. This foreshadow’s their later haunting and frequent appearances within his ‘shining’ ability, showing that they are indeed stuck within the hotel spirit forever
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