Example clip analysis and commentary
This clip comes from the romantic comedy Before Sunrise (one of my favorites, by the way). In it, the two characters, Celine and Jesse, are just getting to know each other in a listening station at a used record store. Director Richard Linklater uses several techniques to underscore the shy and awkward feeling they have. Obviously, there is no editing, so we are forced to watch the pained and tentative glances. Editing would have undermined the discomfort of their darting eyes, sometimes watching each other, sometimes looking away. The camera, though mostly stationary, is in fact handheld, and the slight wobbles add to the eyewitness feeling that the audience gets. The low angle is actually an eyeline match for the record player, the "third person" in the room. The music is diegetic, but clearly comments on the tentative romance that is developing. Though there may be more room than we realize in the listening station, Linklater keeps Celine and Jesse confined in a medium two-shot, again underscoring that feeling of being trapped. Lighting is high key and natural.
PLEASE NOTE that I chose not to discuss topics like deep focus, costuming, makeup, sound effects, which were not relevant in this particular scene.
No comments:
Post a Comment