Shots and Scenes

My favorite movie of all time is The Piano, which is a film by Jane Campion. Perhaps one of  the most important shots in the film is a close up on Ada (played by Holly Hunter) as she leaves the piano behind sitting on the beach. Actually the first shot is that of the piano sitting on the beach, this is a long shot that works together with the close up on Ada's face. The long shot gives us the sense that Ada is far from it, and establishes the piano as something of great importance not only to Ada, but the entire film. As the shot goes from long to a close up of Ada we then become intimate with the character and through that intimacy we feel and understand her pain of having to leave behind her precious piano. Below is a video that displays the two shots. The shots go from minute 2:05 to 2:43.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hEf6CD7azCE

While the two shots I talked about in that particular scene from The Piano are long and close up shots, another movie like Revolutionary Road (another favorite of mine) uses middle shots to relate to the audience. Most of the film is shot in middle shots, which help us relate to the characters. These shots are used to show how simple the live of the characters are which in a way is what the entire film is about. Both Frank and April Wheeler are trying to live interesting lives which seems impossible in suburbia where every day is the same as yesterday. In a particular scene after Frank reveals to April that he had been having an affair, they are having dinner with visitors in which most of the scene is in middle shot. This show how common and simple having dinner can be, and even though there is some conflict we still relate to the characters and their frustration due to the fact that we are on the same level as them. Below is a clip of the scene.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8I-56Xyr0Bw

While shots alone can convey several meaning in film, the angles can also make a difference. For example in horror films angles are probably of monumental importance on their effect. One perfect example is a shot in Halloween (1978 version) in which we see Michael Myers look down at his victim from the rail of the second story of the house. The angle of this shot is effective because it gives the monster in this film (Michael Myers) power and therefore makes him much more scary that it otherwise could be. Below is the shot.