When we talk about how films convey meaning we tend to refer to acting, music, dialogue, props and narrative developments, but often forgotten is the visual essence of a film itself, which is the cutting together of moving images – “motion pictures” – each one carefully tailored to meet a particular need or purpose.
Most films and many important scenes within them open with an establishing shot. Typically this shot precedes our introduction to the main characters by presenting us with the locale in which the scene’s action or dialogue is about to occur. Occasionally, however, a director will use an establishing shot with another goal in mind. An opening view of a thousand soldiers parading in synchronized fashion might have little to reveal about the film’s geography, for example, but it does inform the audience that ideas about discipline and conformity are likely to arise in the material that follows. In this way, establishing shots can also introduce a film’s theme.
After an establishing shot, most directors choose a long shot in order to progress the narrative. This type of shot displays the entire human physique in relation to its surroundings, so it is ideal for bridging the narrative divide between location and individual activity. A long shot is therefore often used to centre on a pivotal character in the scene. A film might begin with an establishing shot of bleak, snowy mountains and then cut to a long shot of a lone skier, for example, or a sweeping panorama of a bustling metropolis could segue into a street view of someone entering a building.
When we talk about how films convey meaning we tend to refer to acting, music, dialogue, props and narrative developments,
but
often
forgotten is the visual essence of a film itself, which is the cutting together of moving images
–
“motion pictures”
–
each one
carefully
tailored to
meet
a particular need or purpose.
Most films and
many
important
scenes within them open with an establishing
shot
.
Typically
this
shot
precedes our introduction to the main characters by presenting us with the locale in which the scene’s action or dialogue is about to occur.
Occasionally
,
however
, a director will
use
an establishing
shot
with another goal in mind. An opening view of a thousand soldiers parading in synchronized fashion might have
little
to reveal about the film’s geography,
for example
,
but
it does inform the audience that
ideas
about discipline and conformity are likely to arise in the material that follows. In this way, establishing
shots
can
also
introduce a film’s theme.
After an establishing
shot
, most directors choose a long
shot
in order to progress the narrative. This type of
shot
displays the entire human physique in relation to its surroundings,
so
it is ideal for bridging the narrative divide between location and individual activity. A long
shot
is
therefore
often
used
to
centre
on a pivotal character in the scene. A film might
begin
with an establishing
shot
of bleak, snowy mountains and then
cut
to a long
shot
of a lone skier,
for example
, or a sweeping panorama of a bustling metropolis could segue into a street view of someone entering a building.