Relationships Between Shots: Vantage Point
This scene from Vantage Point is an example of continuity editing. When Barnes (Dennis Quaid) and Taylor (Matthew Fox) are speaking to each other after the president has been shot, there is a clear use of the 180-degree rule. Every time one of the two men speaks, the camera flips to his face, without crossing the 180 degree line, which creates a smooth shot that maintains spatial continuity. The eyeline rule is also in place here; Barnes is slightly shorter than Taylor, so the camera accounts for this and has the camera a bit lower when the camera is pointed at Taylor and a bit higher when it is pointed at Barnes. Once it changes to a neutral shot and Barnes says, “We have to find him,” the camera flips to what they are looking at, which is the crowd evacuating except for Lewis (Forest Whitaker) talking to his family on the phone. Then, it flips back to Barnes and Taylor noticing him and Barnes starts to walk towards him, which is an example of a POV sequence; the actors looked at something, the camera flipped to what they were looking at, and then the actors’ reactions were shown.
When they get to Lewis and take his camera, there is use of the 20mm/30 degree rule. When Barnes is holding up the camera, the shots change periodically to different angles, which are far apart from each other; first on the far left, then the middle right, then the far left, then the far right, and finally the far left again. These angles avoid a sloppy jump cut while still giving us variation in the scene, and they jump to show the face of whomever is speaking in the dialogue. Once Taylor starts to leave and Barnes tries to come with him, a small POV sequence is shown; first it shows Barnes looking at Taylor, and then a shot of Taylor, although this clip does not show Barnes’ reaction. These shots in this scene are clearly organized to maintain a clear narrative and plot, and to move action along in the scene; there is also a lot of blurred bodies in the background in order to establish the sense of chaos, as well as having bodies running in frame between the characters. Having the camera move while Barnes and Taylor are speaking to each other in the beginning, and having so many jump cuts also establishes the mood: frenzied and rushed.
Comments
Post a Comment