saerb.diplomaplus.net viewICONIC EXAMPLE: The opening of The Sound Of Music (1965). ... (Orson Welles) mouth as he utters the famous word “Rosebud” in Citizen Kane (1941).

Exploring Visual Rhetoric REVIEW of TERMS_____

PLUS ENGLISH (UNIT 1.11)E/T/P COMP__________( F / S )

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Shots and Framing

Shot: a single piece of film, uninterrupted by cuts.

ICONIC EXAMPLE: The opening of The Sound Of Music (1965).

Establishing Shot: often a long shot or a series of shots used to set the scene. It establishes setting and shows transitions between locations.

Again, it’s in the name – this shot is at the head of the scene and establishes the location the action is set on, whilst also setting the tone of the scene(s) to come.

ICONIC EXAMPLE: The infamous New York City diner – Tom’s Restaurant in Seinfeld (1989-1998).

Long Shot (LS) (also called a full shot): a shot from some distance. If filming a person, the full body is shown. It may show the isolation or vulnerability of the character.

It usually captures the environment the character is in, too. It’s typically used to establish the setting of the particular scene – so similar to the establishing shot, but focused more on characters and actors and the contextual relationship with their surroundings.

ICONIC EXAMPLE: When Jim Stark (James Dean) and Plato (Sal Mineo) first meet in jail and Jim offers Plato his jacket (with Judy (Natalie Wood) strategically in the background). Rebel Without A Cause (1955).

Medium Shot (MS): the most common shot. The camera seems to be a medium distance from the object being filmed. A medium shot shows the person from the waist up. The effect is to ground the story.

It also aims to capture subtle facial expressions combined with their body language or surrounding environment that may be necessary to provide context.

ICONIC EXAMPLE: When Jack Torrance (Jack Nicholson) and Delbert Grady (Philip Stone) converse in the bathroom in The Shining (1980).

Close-Up (CU): the image takes up at least 80 percent of the frame.

This is perhaps the most crucial component in cinematic storytelling and is arguably an actor’s most important moment on camera. This shot is usually framed from above the shoulders and keeps only the actor’s face in full frame, capturing even the smallest facial variations. As it eliminates any surrounding elements that may be relevant to the scene’s narrative,

ICONIC EXAMPLE: Opening scene of Alex DeLarge (Malcom McDowell) in A Clockwork Orange (1971).

Extreme Close-Up: the image is a part of a whole, such as an eye.

This shot is traditionally used in films and focuses on a small part of the actor’s face or body, like a twitching eye or the licking of lips in order to convey intense and intimate emotions. This unnaturally close view is used sparingly as the multiplication of the subtlest movements or details need to be justified in the dramatization and boldness of that particular scene.

ICONIC EXAMPLE: Charles Foster Kane’s (Orson Welles) mouth as he utters the famous word “Rosebud” in Citizen Kane (1941).

Two Shot: a scene between two people, shot exclusively from an angle that includes both characters more or less equally. It is used in love scenes where interaction between the two characters is important.Pretty straight-forward but can be pivotal in establishing relationships between the characters.

ICONIC EXAMPLE: Jules Winnfield (Samuel L. Jackson) and Vincent Vega (John Travolta) shooting Marvin in Pulp Fiction (1994). Yep, a two-shot of a two shots.

Camera Angles

Eye Level: a shot taken from a normal height; that is, the character’s eye level. Ninety to ninety-five percent of the shots seen are eye level, because it is the most natural angle. A fairly neutral shot.

ICONIC EXAMPLE: The moment Chief Brody (Roy Scheider) realizes his worst fears have come true when first seeing Jaws. Jaws (1975).

High Angle: a shot taken from above the subject. This usually has the effect of making the subject look smaller than normal, giving him or her the appearance of being weak, powerless, or trapped.

ICONIC EXAMPLE: Matilda walking up to the librarian for the first time in Matilda (1996).

Low Angle: a shot taken from below the subject. It can make the subject look larger than normal and thus strong, powerful, or threatening.

ICONIC EXAMPLE: The entrance of the monolith and the dawn of man in 2001: A Space Odyssey (1968).