Wednesday, 24 September 2008

How is camerawork used in this excerpt of Shameless

The TV Drama 'Shameless' uses many different conventions of film language such as shot types, sound, framing, editing and more. However shot types are vital in this excerpt as they convey important but subtle emotions or events that need to be brought to the audience’s attention.
The first scene is a two shot however the character in the background is out of focus. This is to show that the character in the foreground is more important and is going to be more significant in what is going to happen. The character is then seen to be isolated in a room. This is a high angel shot that depicts his inferiority. The camera also jumps to a medium close up shot that expresses his emotion. In this case the emotion is of anger and frustration, which is made clear by his facial expressions.
The next scene starts with a long shot that tracks a car. This implies that the characters in the car will be of some important. Also the long shot shows the setting of the street. The street is completely deserted which could imply how late at night it is. There is also a static shot at the top of the stairs in the house as the character leaves the room. This is to give the impression of speed and urgency. As the character walks towards the car, the camera tilts down to reveal a can of petrol. This also represents an imminent threat. The camera then jumps to a low angel shot which just shows the characters feet walking towards the car. This puts the audience in the perspective of the couple in the car and enforces the idea of danger.
When the character is pouring petrol over the car, the camera jumps about and looks unstable. This is to represent how unstable the characters mentality is and how unpredictable his actions may be. The lighter is almost constantly in the picture, but out of focus. This is to represent the constant threat. The camera also keeps changing back to the master shot, which shows what everybody is doing. There is also a vast amount of over the shoulder shots as the characters talk to each other. This is to help the audience empathize with the characters and what’s going on. Eventually as the tension reaches its peak, there is an extreme close up of the lighter. This is to show that this item is the main subject of the buildup. The camera also takes a close up shot of the cigarette to imply that it will be significant and so that the audience’s attention is brought to it. Finally the pans around when the character looks at his car. The camera follows what he is looking at. This is so that you can know what the character is thinking as you are looking at the same thing.
Camera shots are used to keep the audience’s attention on what needs to be noticed. Also shot types are used to portray different emotions and feelings that the characters may have. When put together the different shots can create a buildup without the audience noticing.

1 comment:

Mr Shaikh said...

Good to see that your blof is up to date Pip - liking the retro computer game design too!

Feedback on your 'Shameless' analysis is on the hard copy - all fine so far!