Research on Film Clips

We were asked to watch film clips and identify the different shot types and answer why they were used in that particular scene and what impact they created. 

I chose to look at the final scene in 'The Blair Witch Project' as i find it very interesting and chilling and i feel the way the whole film is shot is very effective.

The entire final scene is shot using 'handheld' camera. It is used to create a sense of disorientation to make the audience even more scared as they don't actually know what is going on. We can only see what the person in the shot is seeing. It brings the audience into the scene and gives them a more active role rather than passive because they are seeing it through the characters eyes and therefore are taking the place of that character. It makes it seem as if everything is happening to them and bringing the whole scene into reality rather than just being fiction. This therefore creates more tension and suspense as they will be more frightened.

In the scene there are a lot of 'whip pans'. These are used to imitate the quick turn of the character as he has just heard or seen something. It makes the scene more chilling as a quick turn of the head is normally connoted as an impulsive reaction to something un-ordinary and the audience cannot see what it is either. They are only revealed things as the character moves. 

There are many 'tilts' and 'pans' to reveal bits of the scenery and setting to the audience and to give them a sense of what is going on and whereabouts the scene is taking place as they do not want to be too disorientated as they would lose interest. 

There are a few 'extreme long shots' to reveal parts of the scenery to the audience or to show what the other character in the scene is doing from a distance. We are still kept at a distance from the other character to give a sense of realism as if they have just walked into the shot of what we are seeing whilst still doing what they are doing. It lets the audience know what is going on but yet doesn't draw away from the realistic mood of the scene. It also allows the audience to see where the characters are in relation to their surroundings making it more meaningful but still scary. 

There are lots of 'close ups' and 'extreme close ups' of the surroundings e.g. trees, walls and floors. It makes the audience very disorientated as they cannot tell exactly what the camera is pointing at as it is so close and it makes the whole scene seem a lot more distorted and confusing. It makes the audience panic in a way as they are pushed into the unknown and cannot make sense of everything making it disturbing and unnerving. 

There are 'dutch angle tilts' in the footage to make the audience even more disorientated and to give the sense of realism as a tilt on a handheld camera would not be perfectly framed and shot. 

I then decided to look at the scene from 'Mean Girls' where there is a four way phone conversation. I find the whole framing of this shot very different and imaginative. 

There are many 'medium close up' shots of the characters so that we can see their reactions to what people are saying but yet are not too far away so that we cannot see that they are on the phone. It lets the audience know what is going on and really gives them a sense of what the character is feeling as you can really see their facial expressions clearly.

The screen is split in this scene so that you can see both characters whilst they are having a conversation with each other. It gives the audience a clearer understanding of everything and it is quite a fun thing to watch as the audience know what the other character is up to whilst being on the phone but the other characters are oblivious. It almost gives them an insight that the characters in the film are not able to possess. 

There are some 'pans' in the scene to show off what is going on in the background and draw attention away for a few moments from the main characters on their phones. It is establishing the setting at the same time as allowing the audience to still see what the main action is.

There are many 'mid shots' and 'medium long shots' to again establish the scene without

 retracting from the main action, the phone conversation. It gives the audience a chance to see the mise-en-scene but yet are still able to understand and keep up with the story. Also it gives them a chance to see what the characters are doing whilst being on the phone and where abouts they are which makes the story more clear and in some ways more funny as these shots reveal ironic and jokey things. 

Throughout the scene the main framing changes are from 'mid shots' to 'close ups' this is because it establishes the scene and then gets right in close to see the characters facial expressions and reactions to what the other characters are saying. This means the audience never have to miss anything as they are constantly being kept up to date with the action and movement within the scene. Also the changes in distance keep the audience occupied as they are continuously being made to change their focus and it makes the whole scene a lot more interesting rather than just watching each character from the same distance.

I then decided to look at the scene in Spider Man where he first discovers that he has turned into a spider.

There are many 'low angle' shots to make the buildings that Spider Man is climbing seem taller and to make it seem more dramatic for the audience. The audience get a distorted perspective of the scenery as it all seems a lot larger but this affect at this point creates more awe at Spider Man as he seems like he is achieving something better than he actually is.

There are 'high angle' shots too so therefore the audience can see just how far off the ground Spider Man really is and therefore establish the scene as we can really get a sense of where about he is in relation to the setting. 

There are a few 'pans' and 'tilts'. They are used to follow Spider Man as he climbs up the wall and jump off buildings. It lets the audience keep up with the action without having to keep cutting from shot to shot. It makes their viewing a lot smoother and more professional looking. Also these shots are used as establishing shots. They 'pan' to reveal more of the scenery without having to lose focus of Spider Man and what he is doing and the 'tilts' reveal things very slowing and gives it a more dramatic emphasis. It helps the audience get a clearer view of the scenery and makes them understand the scene a lot easier.

There are a few 'extreme close ups' of Spider Man's hands when he is turning into a spider. It draws attention to that part of his body, showing the audience that is very significant and showing them all the specific detail of his transformation. The closeness of the shots make the scene a lot more dramatic as you really get to see every little thing and it makes it seem quite scary, abnormal and disturbing. 

There are 'crane' shots as well during the scene. They were used to show off the drop from the top of the building as it would be seen from Spider Man's perspective. It puts the audience in Spider Man's position and creates a whole lot more suspense from the scene as it seems very scary and dangerous.

There are 'close ups' of Spider Man's face quite a lot. This is to draw attention to his expressions and really make the audience notice how he is reacting to his changes. It makes the audience know that his emotions are very significant in the scene. 

There are many 'tracking' shots used when Spider Man is running along the building tops. This is because the audience then get to see what he is doing from his perspective and really bring them into the scene. It puts them almost in Spider Man's role and therefore makes the scene more gripping as they really get a sense of all the dangers involved.