Setting Up Your Shots

by Jeremy Vineyard

  TECHNIQUES OF PERSPECTIVE

  Perspective is all about how we look at things. The world we see with our eyes is basic. Light strikes objects, returns to our visual system, and forms colors and shapes. But a filmmaker has tools at his disposal to alter an audience’s perspective. He can trick us, filter the world to enhance the emotional context of a scene, or even draw the audience into the subjective experience of a character onscreen. Movies are allowed to distort our perspective, and we welcome it in the name of entertainment.

  Directors have a variety of cinematic techniques at their disposal for molding the perspective of a scene. By skillfully blending any shot with imagery, composition, or shapes, the director can communicate unique and specific ideas in film. A number of cinematic techniques that can be used to affect the audience’s perspective are discussed here.

  POV

  What does it look like?

  POV stands for “point of view,” meaning that the audience sees exactly what a character in a film sees.

  POV can be used to increase the audience’s emotional attachment to the characters onscreen.

  Where can I see it?

  In Jaws there are sequences projected from the shark’s POV. Terminator 2: Judgment Day shows a computerized POV when looking through the eyes of the Terminator. In Natural Born Killers, a very intense POV is achieved by assuming the perspective of Mallory when she slams her head against the prison walls.

  Strange Days uses many POV shots in its virtual reality sequences. The Evil Dead series uses POV to show the movement of an evil presence through the woods. In The Exorcist, we see Father Karras’ POV when he falls down the stairs.

  POV

  INVENTORY POV

  What does it look like?

  Inventory POV is a variation on the standard POV technique. The character carries an object in front of his face — a knife or a gun for example. This object shows up in the frame and allows the audience to see what he is holding in his hands.

  Where can I see it?

  Inventory POV can be seen as De Niro points a gun out the window in Taxi Driver.

  Inventory POV is used in Evil Dead 2, La Femme Nikita, and The Fifth Element, as characters wield weapons during action sequences. At the end of Spellbound, we see an Inventory POV as the doctor points his revolver and turns it to kill himself.

  Inventory POV

  POV OBJECT,

  POV PROJECTILE

  What does it look like?

  POV Object takes the perspective of an inanimate object — an answering machine or a soda can, for example. When an actor reaches for that object or interacts with it, the audience sees the scene from a unique perspective.

  POV Projectile follows a projectile such as a bullet or an arrow to its destination. This allows the audience to “experience” the projectile and its effects.

  Where can I see it?

  In Sniper, we witness the path of the sniper’s bullet.

  In After Hours, the camera takes the POV of a key ring that’s thrown out the window. Robin Hood: Prince of Thieves and Army of Darkness both use the POV Projectile technique to show an arrow flying through the air toward its target.

  La Femme Nikita takes the perspective of a bullet flying toward its victim during a kitchen gunfight. The Color of Money gives us the perspective of a pool ball traveling across a table.

  POV Projectile

  TENSION AWAY

  What does it look like?

  Actors in a scene typically make eye contact while they are talking. This is natural because this is what we tend to do in real life when conversing with one another.

  However, the director has at his disposal the Tension Away technique. Actors might engage in entire conversations without actually looking at one another. They might be side by side in close-up, while staring into the distance, never sharing a glance.

  Alternatively, the actor might look away from the camera itself. When we see the back of their head instead of their face, it isolates that character in a scene. Tension Away can be used to create feelings of isolation or loneliness. When actors avoid eye contact, Tension Away might indicate hidden feelings or grudges.

  Tension Away

  Where can I see it?

  In The Virgin Spring, Max von Sydow cries out to God while looking away from the audience. In The Silence, when his wife describes her troubles, Jonas looks away from her. Another example from this film is a boy who looks away from the camera at the world passing by as he travels by train. In The Yakuza Papers, Hirono talks with his back turned.

  In Irreversible, as the character walks she’s turned away from us. We don’t see her face or her emotions. Evald turns away from his wife in Wild Strawberries, upon finding out she’s pregnant. In Witness, three characters sit, each facing a different direction. This technique is often seen in films by Kurosawa and Bergman. In High and Low, several characters have a conversation. Each character faces a different direction.

  TENSION TO CAMERA

  What does it look like?

  Actors within a film scene typically don’t look directly at the camera. The reason this is avoided is that it might imply to the audience that the actor is distracted by the camera, or is looking at the audience rather than the other characters onscreen.

  However, a director can use the Tension to Camera technique for specific effect. By choosing to have the actors look directly at the camera, it can make the audience uneasy or nervous. Alternatively, Tension to Camera can be used to draw attention to a specific shot or setup.

  Where can I see it?

  Many of the camera setups in The Silence of the Lambs involve characters looking directly into the camera. This technique is used to make us uncomfortable, particularly when Hannibal Lecter is staring directly at us. Tension to Camera can also be seen in The Manchurian Candidate (remake).

  A gun is aimed directly at the camera in Intacto. Frank punches at the camera in 25th Hour. A character throws a glass in frustration in Killer’s Kiss and actually hits the camera, causing the frame to jolt.

  Tension to Camera

  BROKEN WALL

  What does it look like?

  Actors within a film are not supposed to talk to the audience. Movie characters are intended to exist within their own separate “cinematic universe,” not to interact with our own.

  When an actor turns to the camera and starts talking to us, the Broken Wall technique can be seen. This is taken from the terminology of the theater, where there would be three walls for the stage behind the players.

  The imaginary “fourth wall” is the wall that separates the characters and the audience. When the wall is “broken,” the realities of the story and of the audience are intertwined.

  Where can I see it?

  In Grindhouse, Kurt Russell turns and winks at the camera. In Funny Games, the strangers in the house turn and wink at the audience. Later, they ask the audience for their opinion on a bet. In Annie Hall, Woody Allen breaks out of a scene and talks to the audience. You can also see this technique in Down to You, High Fidelity, The Big Lebowski, Saraband, The Lonely Guy, and Alfie.

  In She’s Gotta Have It, Goodfellas, Ferris Bueller’s Day Off, and Cadillac Man, characters break out of their reality and talk directly to the audience. This has a jolting effect in Goodfellas, when Ray Liotta’s character explains himself in the courtroom.

  Broken Wall

  VOYEUR

  What does it look like?

  In a sense we are all voyeurs — spying on the private and intimate lives of the characters onscreen. Those characters don’t ask us to intrude into their existence. We simply oblige ourselves, and gorge our appetite for realities other than our own.

  A voyeuristic sequence may be specifically designed to make us feel that we are spying on the characters onscreen, rather than simply experiencing the story being told. A shot may be framed in such a way (through binoculars, from inside a closet) that emphasizes the voyeuristic aspect of the scene.

  Where can I see
it?

  Many detective movies, including Rear Window and Blue Velvet, contain elements of voyeurism. The detective spends his time spying into other peoples’ lives. The voyeuristic element can be subtle, or it can be very direct.

  DARK VOYEUR

  What does it look like?

  Dark Voyeur is the classic horror and psychological thriller gimmick. The technique is used to evoke feelings of the characters in a film being watched, usually by someone or something with malicious intentions.

  This technique works by framing the characters in the scene through the bushes or from inside the closet. This gives the impression that someone is watching them, but doesn’t want to be seen.

  Where can I see it?

  Dark Voyeur is used when Michael J. Fox is followed in camp in Casualties of War.

  Friday the 13th is a good film to watch for the Dark Voyeur. We get the shark’s perspective in Jaws, as it looks up at the swimmers. Many horror films use this technique.

  Dark Voyeur

  MASK,

  VIGNETTE

  What does it look like?

  A Mask is an area of the screen that is blacked out to represent what we would see if our field of vision was reduced. Examples of Masks can be seen in films where a character looks through an object such as a pair of binoculars or a keyhole.

  A Vignette is similar to a Mask. The difference is that a Mask is always a blacked-out area. A Vignette, on the other hand, may have some shape or form. For example, looking through a hidden camera might show the rounded edges of the camera lens surrounding the screen. Because the masked area has color and form, we refer to it as a Vignette.

  Where can I see it?

  In Branded to Kill, a Mask is used as a man looks through a keyhole at a woman. Several Masked shots are seen in The Age of Innocence as two characters share an intimate moment after a play.

  In Das Boot, a Mask shows the submarine captain looking through binoculars at a destroyer. The Truman Show contains many Vignettes. Each one represents a hidden camera in Truman’s world.

  Mask, Vignette

  SCREEN

  What does it look like?

  Screens are simply objects that act as filters for a scene. When we watch a sequence as framed through venetian blinds, through a stained glass window, or through a substance (such as water), our perspective of the scene is filtered by the Screen.

  Screens are useful tools to set the mood of a scene, and can be used to give insight into a character’s mood or feelings.

  Where can I see it?

  A sex scene in Monster’s Ball is filtered through a birdcage. In The Virgin Spring, we see a fight sequence Screened through a patch of flames. In The Seventh Seal, Antonius Block goes to confession. We see his confession through a grid of bars.

  In Rabbit Proof Fence, heat ripples in front of the camera and distorts the actors, creating a natural Screen. In The Treasure of the Sierra Madre, flames build up from a campfire and fill the screen. White bed curtains and wire grids are used as Screens in The Hunger. A scene is viewed through a chainlink fence in Klute.

  The fogged glass of a telephone booth is used as a Screen in Last Tango in Paris. In Havana, we see cards being tossed down from underneath a glass table. In Sanjuro, a scene is viewed through a grated window. We see an alien through a glass of water in Signs, a hint to its weakness.

  Venetian blinds are used as a Screen in Stray Dog.

  Screen

  REFLECTION

  What does it look like?

  A Reflection is enigmatic and philosophically interesting. Instead of seeing the world as it really is, we see a reflected image. This forces us to see a reality that has been distorted for a brief period of time.

  There are many different ways that we can see reflections. Mirrors as well as shiny metal objects are common examples.

  Where can I see it?

  In Signs, we see an alien Reflected in the TV screen. A major sequence occurs in a house of mirrors in The Lady from Shanghai. Alva finds Robert Redford in the reflection of a park fountain in This Property is Condemned.

  We first see the police in High and Low, then we see the kidnappers’ Reflection in the river. Conversations occur as seen from a mirror in Picnic at Hanging Rock. A small hand mirror reflects part of a woman’s body in Mishima.

  In Jurassic Park, we see the T-Rex’s Reflection in the jeep’s rear view mirror as the characters speed away. In Blue, the image of a doctor is reflected in Julie’s eyes, as he tells her that her husband and daughter have died. In Duel, Reflections in car mirrors represent the film’s road-centric theme.

  Reflection

  PORTAL

  What does it look like?

  A Portal is a way of looking at reality as it is filtered through some kind of device.

  Looking at a television set is seeing reality, but what you are seeing is not physically real. It is merely an imported representation of someone else’s perception — a Portal into another person’s existence.

  Where can I see it?

  Much of Videodrome is experienced through Portals. The characters witness a new kind of reality through their TV sets.

  A stakeout is viewed through monitors in Mission: Impossible.

  In Numero Deux, Godard shows the entire film through two television sets which act as Portals into the characters’ lives. In Blue, Julie views her family’s funeral through a small video monitor from her hospital bed. In The Truman Show, Truman’s entire life is viewed through hundreds of hidden cameras. Each camera is a Portal into his life.

  Portal

  SHADOW

  What does it look like?

  A unique representation of reality, a Shadow can help a filmmaker who wants to show a scene’s action indirectly.

  Shadows are useful when it is difficult or undesirable to show what is actually taking place in a scene. For example, instead of showing us a character being beheaded, the director shows us a shadow that represents this action.

  Shadows may also be used to “soften” a film’s rating, by only indirectly showing something that, if projected explicitly, would cause concern.

  Where can I see it?

  We see a scene in Shadows in Femme Fatale as Laure watches two men fight over her affections. Giant shadows are used for eerie effect in The Lady from Shanghai.

  In Evil Dead 2, we see Ash’s Shadow as he decapitates a possessed corpse with a chainsaw. In M, a Shadow shows a child killer approaching his newest victim. In The Good, the Bad, and the Ugly, a Shadow is used as Clint Eastwood arrives at the graveyard.

  Shadow

  SILHOUETTE

  What does it look like?

  A Silhouette is created by placing film characters against very strong backlighting so that the characters’ features and expressions become darkened or even completely black.

  This technique can be used to contrast a character with his surroundings — a man silhouetted against a blazing sunset for example. Silhouettes are often used for artistic expression.

  Where can I see it?

  A fight scene is viewed in Silhouette in Kill Bill: Volume 1. As Lena and Barry meet for a kiss in Punch Drunk Love, a kid runs past with a flag, in Silhouette.

  In Heaven and Earth, a priest is seen in Silhouette. We see a character in Silhouette as he stands at the window in Last Tango in Paris. We see Melanie in Sillhouette during a childbirth scene in Gone With the Wind.

  In Full Metal Jacket, we see the Silhouettes of soldiers as they train in boot camp. We see this in Unforgiven, when Clint Eastwood rides on horseback across the plains. In Jaws, Roy Scheider’s body is photographed as a Sillhouette on the fishing boat at night. In Kickboxer, we see a Silhouette of Van Damme as he trains in the temple ruins.

  Silhouette

  SUBJECTIVE

  What does it look like?

  The Subjective technique involves strapping or connecting a camera to an actor’s body. When this is done, the camera becomes a part of that character’s subjective experience. When the
character moves, the camera moves with him. The camera usually faces the character’s close-up to connect even further.

  Where can I see it?

  In Babel, we see the Japanese girl’s Subjective perspective as she sits on the swings. Subjective is used in Seconds, as the character travels through a train station.

  In Mean Streets, the camera is strapped to Harvey Keitel, following him as he stumbles through a party. In The Exorcist, the camera is strapped to a psychiatrist and we fall backward with him after Regan attacks.

  In Strictly Ballroom, Scott Hastings stands on a platform that spins around as he spins. The camera moves on the platform, inside his subjective reality. In Jacob’s Ladder, Subjective is used to intensify Jacob’s nightmarish experiences.