Tom Pearson's Multimedia

We recently had a seminar on visual grammar. It really got us to think about how shots are composed and that they are not just poised random elements. Everything is setup in a certain way. And as the classic saying goes "everything is said for a reason in film". Here are some shots from a film (not exactly sure what film but any comments below would be appreciated if you know), I'll add the notes I made in class so you can see what I picked out. I'm not going to edit my notes into something flouncy because when I was writing quickly the main most important factors that stood out to me were jotted down. None of the fancy writing, just raw visual perception and the words that accompanied my feelings:


Eye drawn from him along the wire to the hole of light. Possibly symbolic - hope, because of the way the shot is structured e.g. high contrast with a dark background and white, god like foreground light.


Lighting makes the two prisoners stand out. Very focused on those two. At first you see foreground prisoner but then drawn to background convict due to same colour. Colour proximity. Also a shot of power due to height of the guards in relation to prisoners. Sterile environment - crude / horrible / bleak place to exist.


Camera slightly above eye level. Somewhat gives impression of weakness & depression, looking down. The two shadows on the face makes one think about what character is thinking, e.g. confliction.


Character proximity - legs are almost overlapping, could mean are close but by the way they are sitting (outwardly and away from each other) means there could be some tension. Table segregates them like a barrier. Symmetry of other tables they are not full, just two people in shot. Does not feel restricted. Dullness of the colours - serious feel.


Bigger to smaller eye movement. Slowly drawn to background character - where are they looking? Background golden. (Didn't really feel much from this shot)


Man is on a tilt. Over the shoulder shot - feeling restraint from the man in black, probably to do with script and theme of a prison.