Notes On Continuity Techniques Used In The Pursuit Of Happiness

I have decided to analyse a clip from 'The Pursuit of Happiness' (interview scene) in order to demonstrate continuity techniques.
[I am analysing from 0:23]

The clip begins with a tracking shot of Will Smith (Chris Gardner) running very quickly. It is a medium close-up and profile shot. He is running down a busy street and this is shown effectively as objects wipe the foreground of the frame, which gives a sense of speed. Despite the fact that it is a busy scene, the camera always keeps the focus on the main character.

There is a good transition into the second shot, which also uses a tracking shot but changes to a long shot. The viewer’s eye is not disturbed as he is still running at the same pace and the area is still busy. This shows good continuity as the audience does not notice a change.

Towards the end of the second shot, it becomes less busy and therefore making it easier on the eye as it cuts to a medium long shot. This shot does not involve as many objects or people but due to a good cut, this goes unnoticed. This shot contrasts to the previous two shots as it is handheld and from behind the character, giving it a sense of urgency and realism. It places the audience in his situation. The framing in this shot is also done effectively, as the camera uses the wall and road to create a feeling of perspective, meaning he is going somewhere and there is a focus point. The lighting has also stayed the same throughout the three different shots, as the sunlight is in front of Chris Gardner.

All throughout these three shots, the feeling of importance and desperation is never lost. This is down to the timing of each cut and the continuity of the shots’ composition and contents. The use of cuts and match on action also add to the pace.

The next shot is a medium shot and despite the fact that he has a different pace, the frantic feeling is not lost. The people in the foreground and background walking at a normal pace emphasises his hurry. The use of a pan and tilt effectively follows his path up the stairs, leading to the building. This emphasises his destination and establishes a change of location.

The next shot is handheld and a medium shot. This is the first time the character and camera come to a stop, as well as the fast paced music. However, similar to the previous shots, this sense of urgency continues to be present. In the build up to this shot, the audience believes that the character has not stopped running. This flow and camera movement shows good continuity. Also the use of shot order throughout this part of the clip takes the audience smoothly through the narrative.

The sixth shot is a huge contrast to the previous shots as it is a big change. There are no props, different lighting, different camera movement and no sound. However, even though these have all changed, that sense of urgency is still conveyed through the use of a close-up shot, the camera tilt and zoom, and the character’s expression. The tilt up and slight zoom of the camera resembles the feeling in a lift. Also the tilt up shows he is still going somewhere and the close-up creates the feeling of pressure and stress. Despite this big change in mise-en-scene, the continuity is still successful from the previous shots.

The next shot is a long shot and contains no camera movement. This represents the passing of time. This contrasts to the other shots where there was the sense of speed and movement; however it still shows stress as he is waiting. This shows that it is still continuous but we have hit a point where he has done all he can and now must wait.

The shot at 1:05 is a close-up profile of the character and shows his expression and hand gesture clearly. The audience concentrate on him mainly, however when the door opens, the attention is diverted to the door which is framed in the centre of the shot and Will Smith goes out of focus.

1:14 uses a tilt up of Chris Gardner, emphasising the fact that he is rising to challenge and is on the move again. He walks towards the camera as a medium shot and exits the frame to the camera’s left. This matched cut changes the shot to an over the shoulder shot as the camera moves behind him; however the timing of the shot causes the cut to go unnoticed by the audience. This change in shot means the audience can see from his perspective as we enter with him and therefore the audience has the same feeling of apprehensiveness. This feeling has been built up by the previous shots which didn’t include much movement or action but have led up to this point and always kept the audience’s attention on the room.

The shot continuing from 1:16 uses a steady-cam. It is 15 seconds of camera movement, following the character as a medium shot. However he is slightly out of focus to draw our attention to the busy and hectic surroundings. Towards the end of this shot, the music becomes noticeable and creates a sense of achievement.

The next shot is a close-up, to show the expression of the character and his reaction to the previous shot. Now he is in focus and the background is out of focus, in order to divert our attention to him. The cut works well as it is a continuation of his movement through the busy place, using a steady-cam but in a reverse direction.

The next shot is a point of view shot, therefore the audience can see what he sees and are placed in his position. The cut is timed well as he looks to the left, this POV matches his view. 1:35 uses another point of view shot. It is still the use of a steady cam but pans right matching his head movement which leads on well to the next shot which uses a steady cam and close up of the character.

There is another POV shot at 1:52 but this time is tracking to the right, which creates the effect of physical movement. This shot is different as there is a change in the setting. The continuation of the previous six shots, which used POV’s and steady cam, lead on well to this new setting.

As he enters the interviewing room, the shots show a conversation between Will Smith and four men. This part of the clip includes shot-reverse-shots, placing the audience in the action. It is also a conversation which is shot over the shoulder to allow both characters to remain in the shot. The 180 degree rule is also considered in this part and it matches on action, allowing the dialogue to flow consistently.

Continuity is good down to well timed cuts and the use of a combination of effective shots. These all create the ‘invisible’ editing which allows the audience to see the narrative clearly and establishes a plausible, professional scene.

Notes On Analysis Of The Departed Trailer

I have decided to analyse the film trailer of ‘The Departed’. It is effective as it uses varied shot types, with clips from the film.

The trailer begins by introducing Jack Nicholson using a tracking shot as he is talking. This shot is very sinister as it just shows the silhouette of him and the viewers are unaware of who it is.

After ten seconds, there is a medium close up of Matt Damon, ‘Colin’ as a police officer, just after Jack Nicholson, ‘Costello’ says “you become cops” and then it flashes to a shot of Leonardo DiCaprio, ‘Billy’ in prison and it pans to the right across the cell, as ‘Costello’ says “or criminals”. This is extremely effective as the shots that are shown quickly of the police officer and criminal relate to what ‘Costello’ is saying and this is seen later in the film. Therefore these shots help to anchor part of the plot of the film. The viewer believes that this clearly lays out the ‘goody’ and ‘bady’ in the film; however this is proven wrong later on.

As Jack Nicholson continues to talk, this effect is used again at 0:15, where we see a slightly low angle close up of ‘Billy’ looking worried, and it flashes to a close-up of someone cocking the trigger of a gun. Then as ‘Costello’ says “when you’re facing a loaded gun”, there is a whip pan shot reaching a police car, and then a medium close-up of a police man firing a gun. This is quickly followed by another close up of a gun being fired twice. These various shots help to anchor the line used by Jack Nicholson, and alerts the viewer of what’s to come in the film (confrontation between two sides.)

As the trailer reaches 20 seconds, the character of Jack Nicholson is revealed using a medium close-up of him saying “what’s the difference” with a slightly different tone of voice. This is related to the fact that there are the previous shots of both criminals and police officers using guns.

At 25 seconds, the viewer is shown flashes of various parts of the police uniform, including close-ups of hats, police badges etc. This is then revealed as medium close-ups of police men lined up, including ‘Colin.’

The next shot is a crane shot, behind a man wearing a suit. This shot is used in order to give a clear idea of the setting and viewers can assume it is the police department, as the shot is used with the line “this is the State police.” The next shot reveals the character from the previous shot with a medium close-up, who is ‘Colin.’

Next is a medium shot in a police briefing, which moves into a close-up of the main picture on the board. The viewers are then shown who it is with a medium close-up of Costello and are officially introduced to him as a character as they state his name. We are then shown a close up of an exchange of money, followed by a two shot which is a long shot of two bodies lying on the ground. This implies that ‘Costello’ set this up, and is therefore the reason that he is wanted.

These shots are followed by an introduction of another character, using an extreme close-up, followed by a tilt up of the character as a police officer. This is then followed by an arc and medium close-up of him pointing a gun (in practice.) In the next shot, it is the same character, but this time in an office. It is first a medium shot, followed by an over the shoulder shot, and then a zooming shot as he asks a question, this is used to get a better idea of his reaction and expression.

At 0:40 there is another pan to the right across the prison cell, containing the character that was just introduced to us, about to be released.

At 0:45, there is a two shot with a slight arc, followed by an over the shoulder shot, and another two shot of the characters in the previous shot. This shows the audience that they are quite important in the film.

0:53 is a bird’s eye view of the character that has just hurt his arm. This gives the viewers a full view of what has taken place. This is followed by various two shots and medium close ups of characters.

1:03 is an extreme long shot of offices with the two main characters in the centre. This gives the audience a wider view and helps give a better idea of the setting.

1:10 is an over the shoulder shot, which shows us that there are two characters, however it gives us a better view of the one that is talking and her expressions.

1:24 is a low angle shot, and makes us feel as though we are in the shot, as the actor is looking directly into the camera. This adds realism to the shot.

At 1:36, it is a slow tilt upwards and gives us a clear view of the character’s expression as he looks anxious.

1:42 is a forward track, following a character that is running. This also makes the shot seem realistic, as we feel present in the scene.

1:45 is a crane shot, giving us a wider view of the setting and showing us the direction that one character is moving in.

1:46 is a reverse track, moving along with the character, and again feeling as if we are there.

Extreme long shots are used in many places to help us see the action taking place in the film clearly over a wider range; 1:51, 1:53, 1:59, 2:02, 2:10.

1:52 is a low angle shot, as one of the characters is about to punch another. This gives us the point of view of the character that is about to be punched and helps us feel fear for them.

2:01 is a high angle shot, directly above the character, as he looks up straight into the camera.

2:17 is a close-up of Matt Damon holding a knife, which immediately alerts the audience of his intentions, and then tilts up to his face, with his poised expression. The next shot of him stabbing a man is less of a shock as we are warned before that he is ready to do it.

This is followed by an extremely fast-paced sequence of various shots and ends the trailer with the same character that it started with (Costello).

Analysing Horror Still Shot

1. Describe your shot and identify in what way it could be seen as representing ‘horror’
This shot that we created could represent horror, mainly for the use of lighting and expression, which are key elements in the genre. The medium shot includes a boy (victim) in a dark room who is extremely scared of something, however we do not show the audience what that is. It is left to the audience’s imagination to identify the second character; however we did use a claw/monster hand created in a shadow to add to the horror element of the shot. The positioning and size of the hand is quite distorted to look unnatural, which immediately connotes something scary and something to be feared of. The reaction of the boy, with his action code and facial expression add to the fear. The shot is also quite tightly framed and dark, in order to create the shadows, however it is still clear enough to see the character.

2. What did you actually do to achieve the effect?
To achieve the effects, we used different techniques. For the setting, we found a dark area and plain wall to place the actor against. We then shone one light from underneath the victim and one from further, on the right side. This light was used to create the shadow, which was created with someone’s hand in a weird position, to make it seem larger and distorted. The actor then made a scared facial expression and hand gesture to add to the effect of horror.

3. What is successful about your shot?
In representing horror, I think our shot is quite successful. It creates the feeling of fear and apprehension within the audience, which is important in horrors. The expression of the actor clearly represents this feeling, which immediately shows the audience that they are scared. As well as the expression of the actor, their action code and hand gesture also shows the fright. The use of low key lighting means shadows could be cast on the actor, adding to the sinister atmosphere of the shot. Also the fact that it is a dark room brings in the element of mystery and tension as the audience are unaware of what will happen next. We also created a shadow in the shape of a monster hand, which the audience would identify as the enemy, and the man in the shot as the victim; therefore there is a sense of two characters. The shot is also quite tightly framed, which connotes entrapment and the feeling of claustrophobia. All of these points help the shot look scary and contribute to the elements of the genre of horror.

4. What would you do differently in hindsight?
In hindsight, I would make some changes in order to improve the effect of the shot. I would have used more lighting, or more powerful lights on the face, in order to create a stronger contrast in light in the shot. Increasing the lighting would have also made the shot slightly clearer and therefore easier for the audience to see the character’s expression. This would have made the shot more intense. I would have also liked to make the setting and character slightly more dramatic by using make-up and props. I also could have changed the angle of the shot to make it more distorted and unusual.