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).
Throughout this film the director, Stanley Kubrick, chose to shoot a lot of scenes using a Steadicam. This was new technology at the time, and Kubrick’s ideas helped to develop the camera even more. One example of a Steadicam shot in The Shining is towards the end of the film, when Wendy is running up the stairs, trying to find Danny after Jack has gone insane.
Here, the Steadicam shot helps the audience to understand Wendy more, as it follows her the whole time without cutting away. It increases her sense of panic, because the shot is sometimes very close to her face which allows the audience to clearly see her emotions and how she’s struggling with the situation that she’s in. Also, the Steadicam shot makes the scene more tense, as the smooth movement seems unnatural to the audience. This immerses the audience, and makes them feel like they don’t know what will be around the corners as Wendy climbs the stairs. The shot lasts for quite a while – longer than what audiences would typically expect from a film. Again, this gives the scene a sense of something not being quite right, which fits perfectly to the story behind the hotel and the strange things that the family have been seeing while living there.The camera does cut away at the end of this scene to focus on the man and the bear in the bedroom, reminding the audience of the weird things that have been occurring throughout the hotel.
In The Shining, Kubrick also focused on making many scenes symmetrical, where the audience’s gaze was directed towards a vanishing point at the center of the screen. This can be seen in this shot with Jack and Grady in the bathroom during the party scene.
The two men in the center of the shot are symmetrically placed, so that they mirror each other. Kubrick has specifically chosen to place the actors here as it creates a slightly unnerving effect due to the symmetry of the whole scene. The walls of the bathroom reflect each other, because of the nearly identical decoration that they both have – red walls and either sinks or urinals coming out of them. There are many others ways that symmetry is used in this scene, which comes together at the vanishing point in the middle, behind the two characters. Using such a symmetrical set has the effect of the audience feeling like something isn’t quite right, as real life isn’t normally structured in this very organised way. It also makes them start to think about how Jack is beginning to copy Grady’s actions, as they are standing in similar poses, and how he might go on to copy him in other ways. With the dialogue used in this scene, it helps the audience to realise that Jack is turning insane, and that he wants to kill his family – just as Grady had done years before. Kubrick has also used a deep focus lens, which means that everything in the scene is in focus at the same time. This makes the audience unsure of where they should be looking, despite the two characters directly in the center.
True grit 2010 (Ethan Coen, Joel Coen) close up of Josh Brolin, Showing the audience his dry skin and injuries which gives the film a sense of context and shows off the minor details in the film. It also allows the audience to emphasise with the character because of the emotion in his face.
This close up runs through all the iron man and avenger films, these shots help the audience to appreciate Tony Stark as being a person not a machine, and to remind us there is an actual human inside the suit.
Long distance shot in Dunkirk (2017, Christopher Nolan) of a man walking into the sea. the long shot emphasis him leaving the beach behind.
This is a medium distance shot of Katniss Everdeen (Jennifer Lawrence) This shot involves getting not all the body in the frame but most of it to get a sense of what the character is doing. if this was a close up we would have no idea that she is holding a bow but a long shot wouldn’t capture her emotion.
A “Crab Left” camera movement means for a handheld camera operator to walk sideways (like a crab). The technique is often used to follow a subject that would otherwise leave the frame such as an actor or vehicle in motion. An example of this is in a behind-the-scenes video of “Grey’s Anatomy) (2006), and is presented in this scene:
“Zooming” in film-making and television production refers to the technique of changing the focal length of a zoom lens (and hence the angle of view) during a shot. An example of this is in the movie “Ratatouille” (2007).
A “Pan Down Shot” is when you rotate a camera on its vertical or horizontal axis in order to keep a moving person or object in view or allow the film to record a panorama. An example of this is used in the film “Psycho” (1960). In the shower scene in this film, the director has used a pan down shot to show Marion’s death.
A Bird’s Eye View is a camera angle used to view an object or a person from above, with the perspective as though the audience were a bird. An example of this is in a scene of the 2017 drama film “To The Bone”, where the main character Eli who suffers from Anorexia, experiences a dream in which it reveals to her how sick she really is and that she needs to accept the help she needs. This is revealed to her by, in the dream, the male protagonist tells her while they are both in a tree, only for Eli to look down and see her naked self on the ground revealing how fatal her disorder has become and what she looks like that she can’t see in real life. This is shown in a bird’s eye view as thought we were Eli looking down at herself.
A canted camera angle is a type of camera shot where the camera is set at an angle on its roll axis so that the shot is composed with vertical lines at an angle to the side of the frame. Canted angles are frequently used by film directors such as Tim Burton, and an example of one is used in the film “Edward Scissorhands”. This is used to represent disorientation and drug psychosis.
A high-angle is an angle that looks down on the object/person in order to make them seem vulnerable or powerless. An example of this is used in The Lord of the Rings franchise, specifically the scene where the ring is falling and Frodo is trying to catch it on his finger. This scene shows desperation and hopelessness.
Depth of field is the range of focus in a shot – whether the whole scene is in focus or if the camera if only focused on one part. A shallow focus, also called a small depth of field, is when only one part of the scene is in focus while the rest is blurry and unfocused. A deep focus uses a large depth of field, so the whole of the scene is in focus for the audience.
An example of a small depth of field is in The Circle (dir. James Ponsoldt, 2017).
In this scene, only Mae is in focus, while everyone else sitting along the row is blurred. The director has chosen to use this shot so that the audience know that they should be focusing on her. This shot emphasises that she is the main character. It causes the audience to pay close attention to her face and her facial expressions, so they understand how they should be responding to the scene. This type of depth of field is used by directors in scenes when one character is important, and the audience need to be directed to look at them. It is useful because any irrelevant things that are happening in the background can be out of focus, so the viewers don’t look at it. If the director had wanted the audience to look at everyone in the scene equally, then he would have chosen to use a larger depth of field, so that they would all be in focus. This kind of depth of field is often used to show characters who all have equal importance in the scene. This means that the viewers will look at everyone rather than just focusing on one section.
A long Shot is used to place an object or human figure in some relation to its surroundings. For example, in the 1939 film The Wizard of Oz, a very wide shot is used that keeps all the protagonists on screen with the Wizard’s palace in clear view. This captures the importance of their surroundings because they have finally reached the destination they’ve been searching for the entire movie, therefore revealing the full palace to the audience with the characters looking up at it highlights their amazement.
A close-up is a technique used to tightly frame a person or object in order to put the audience’s full focus on it. An example of this is used in the 1980 horror film “The Shining”. During the infamous scene of Jack breaking through the door with an axe and reveals his face yelling “Here’s Johnny!” in order to terrorize his wife, the close-up on his face captures the psychotic-ness within Jack’s mind and shows how he has truly lost his mind influenced by the ghosts.
A medium shot is a camera angle shot from a medium distance. They are typically used to film the dialogue of a group of people in order to show the audience a partial view of the background, the character’s facial expressions and the context of their body language. An example of this is the scene in “My Sister’s Sister” (2011 comedy film) where Hannah reveals to her sister and her sister’s friend (the male protagonist) that she wants to become impregnated, despite being a lesbian, after drunkenly sleeping with the male protagonist. This scene is filmed with a medium shot so the audience is shown each of the character’s reactions and also the background of the woods so we are aware of the atmosphere.
The scene from “Charlie and the Chocolate Factory” in which we are introduced to Willy Wonka’s childhood is a great example of diegesis within a film. This is because it is an narrated explanation to Willy Wonka’s behaviour such as his hate towards families and confusion when Charlie chooses to stay with his family rather than going to the chocolate factory. It also explains his obsession with candy due to strictly not being allowed it as a child, even on Halloween. It also explains his sociopathic tendencies due to lack of sympathy when each of the children suffers from his factory and his lack of understanding when each of the parents shows concern towards their bratty children. Overall, it is an explanation for the entire plot and it turns the movie into not only an artistic creative “wonderland” type of movie but it also turns it into a family movie when Willy Wonka re-unites with his dad and finally gets to understand the importance of family.
“The Blair Witch Project” is a great example of intra-diegetic gaze because it is filmed as a “documentary” and we are constantly put in the character’s peripheral and point of view. The scene where the main character is exploring the house and is being chased by the witch causes a feeling of panic for the audience as we are experiencing what the character is experiencing.
“Fight club” is an example of breaking the fourth wall as the character broke the fourth wall and spoke to us, meaning they ignored the imaginary “wall” that keeps the actors from the audience. It is used to engage the audience and focus the attention onto specific character traits.
A crab left camera movement is when the camera moves left, showing the audience more of the scene. In this clip, the camera does a crab left movement at 0:28-0:32, when the camera moves over all four of the girls firing their proton guns. The director has chosen to use this movement at this moment to show the first main use of the guns in the film. It is a very powerful shot, and works very well with the rest of the scene, as it makes the audience feel like the girls have a new sense of power. If the camera had stayed fixed on the Ghostbusters instead of moving along, then it wouldn’t have given the same effect and wouldn’t have been as impressive to the audience.
Zooms – Shaun of the Dead (dir. Edgar Wright, 2004)
This scene uses a number of quick zoom shots, which each focus on a different thing. These shots give the audience a brief but specific glimpse of how average Shaun’s life is. It helps them to understand his character more, as the shots focus on more simple tasks in his morning, rather than anything majorly significant. It also creates a lighthearted sense to the film, as the audience wouldn’t expect a serious drama to use shots like these. These shots come near the beginning of the film, and they help to set the comedic tone that the rest of the film has. They also help to establish Shaun’s character to the audience, so that they understand the actions that he takes later on in the film.
Ped down – Psycho (dir. Alfred Hitchcock, 1960)
A ped down shot is when the camera moves down in the scene. In the famous shower scene in this film, the director has used a ped down shot to show Marion as she’s dying (1:24-1:30). The camera tracks her as she slides down the wall after being attacked and murdered. This shot has been well thought out by the director, as it emphasises her death for the audience, and makes it seem more real. It also helps the audience to sympathise with Marion and to be fully immersed in the scene. This shot follows her face as she falls down, which makes the audience feel like they’re experiencing the scene with her.
A bird’s-eye shot is when the scene is shown from a very high place, as a bird would see if it was watching. This particular scene is one of the most significant in the whole film, as Ellen realises what her body has started to look like because of her struggles with anorexia. The director’s choice to have a bird’s-eye view show this scene where she looks down at her body is very effective, as it reflects the out-of-body experience that Ellen is experiencing. This shot emphasises the shocking change in appearance that she has gone through in the film, and serves as a pivotal moment towards Ellen’s recovery.
Canted – Inception (dir. Christopher Nolan, 2010)
A canted angle is made when the horizon isn’t level, and it often gives the sense of something not being quite right in a scene. Inception uses a number of different shots in this famous corridor scene. The canted angle is created as the corridor tilts around, which is caused by the characters’ bodies swaying around in the real world. This shot helps to create a dream-like effect, which works very well in this part of the film, as it emphasises that none of this scene is really happening. It also increases the audience’s sense of confusion, as this shot makes the already weird scene ever stranger.
High Angle – Back to the Future (dir. Robert Zemeckis, 1985)
A high angle is a shot when the camera is tilted down, looking at the characters below. The use of the high angle in this scene is powerful as it shows the similarities between Marty and his father. From this, the audience can clearly see that it is his father, even if they weren’t aware of it yet, because of the way they are acting so alike. This angle also gives the audience a good look at the 50’s diner, so they can be fully immersed in the film. There are many details in this shot that help with this immersion – including the costumes, the style that the diner is decorated in, and the car outside of the window.
