Continuity Research - The Notebook (2004, Nick Cassavetes)

I have chosen to analyse the Ferris wheel scene from ‘The Notebook', where Noah (Ryan Gosling) asks Allie (Rachel McAdams) out. To watch the clip click here.
The first shot is a downwards tilt. This allows us to see the whole of the Ferris wheel and Noah walking into the frame.
There is then a MS of Noah looking up to Allie on the Ferris wheel, his eyes follow her as she goes around the top. We know this as the next shot matches his eyeline and shows us Allie looking at him. There is then a MCU of Noah. This shows us his reaction to her and is a shot-reverse-shot drawing us into the scene.
He then looks up again and starts to move to the right hand of the frame. There is then a MS of him running towards the Ferris wheel. This cut is seamless and we don’t even notice it has happened. To the audience it feels as if we are standing still and are watching him run past us towards Allie. We are then brought into the scene again with a VLS of Allie on the Ferris wheel and Noah running into the frame. We feel as if we are closer to the action and have a better view of what happens than if the camera stayed behind Noah.
There is then a matched cut of Noah jumping onto the Ferris wheel next to Allie. The position of the camera only moves slightly, just enough so that we can see the action more clearly, and so we don’t notice the movement. The camera then tilts up to follow them and then as they get to the top there is a MS of Allie and her date on the Ferris wheel and Noah sitting between them.
This MS allows us to see what’s happening more clearly and to see the reactions of Allie and her date.
There is then a HA shot of the Ferris wheel operator, Tommy (Jude Kitchens) shouting up at Noah and we hear Noah’s reaction to what he says.
We then go back up to the MS of Noah, Allie and her date. This allows us to see the conversation between the three of them and their reactions, clearer.
Then there is another HA shot of Tommy stopping the Ferris wheel and looking up at them. There is then a match on action shot, with a LA, ELS of it stopping.
After this there is another HA shot of Tommy shouting up at Noah and a LA shot of Noah replying to him.
Then there is a MS of Noah, Allie and her date. Noah moves to get up and the shot moves to a VLS in front of him, and then a LA, ELS. The shots stick to the 30 degree rule, and are better than one shot from one position as they help us to see what Noah’s doing, a lot better.
After Noah jumps up onto the rail and turns around, we see a shot of Fin (Kevin Connolly) and Sara’s (Heather Wahlquist) reaction. This is shown using a HA shot of them looking up to the top of the frame. There is then an OTS shot of Allie and her date looking at Noah. This shows us him looking down at his friends and then a LA, ELS shows him hanging off the Ferris wheel. This makes is look real as we can see him hanging off.
There is then a slightly HA, OTS so that we are looking at Noah when he talks to Allie. We then see her reaction to this with a MS of her and her date looking up at Noah with his body in the frame. Then we go back to the HA, OTS of Noah. And then back to the MS of her. This is a shot-reverse-shot, getting us involved into the conversation.
There is then another shot reverse shot with a MCU of Noah’s reaction to her saying no to him, then a MS of Allie with her date who replies to Noah and then a MCU of Noah. This again brings us into their conversation.
Again we have a shot-reverse-shot of the same shots but this time Noah talking to Allie again.
There is then a HA of Noah letting go with one hand. This allows us to see what happens clearer as we can see his hand swinging next to him. Following this is a MCU of Allie’s reaction to this. And then a HA, MCU shot of his friends’ reaction. We then go back to the HA shot of him. Then back to a MCU of her. Then to a MCU of him. Noah says ‘My hands slipping’ and the camera tilts up to show us his hand and then goes back to a HA, MCU of his friends’ reaction. We then see a HA, OTS of him and then back to the HA shot of his friends. These three shots are again a shot-reverse-shot.
The fast cuts add to the worried feeling that the characters have, that he may fall, and so makes us worried as well.
There is then another sequence shot-reverse-shot of eight MCU’s of Noah and Allie with Allie agreeing to go out with him. This draws us into the conversation and makes us feel as if we are between them and looking at each of them as they reply to each other.
After Noah holds back on with two hands the cuts slow down as the characters and the audience are now relieved, and feel more relaxed as they know he won’t fall.
There is a MCU of Allie’s reaction to what just happened in the scene, and a HA shot of his friends’ reaction to what happened. Then there is a MCU of Allie looking down to Noah’s friends and replying to Sara, and then of her turning around to Noah. There is then a MCU of Noah’s reaction to Allie starting to undo his belt and then back to a MCU of her undoing them.
At 1.52 there is a LA, VLS of her pulling his trousers down. This makes us feel as if we are watching with everyone else at ground level.
There is then a MCU of Noah, a HA shot of his friends and a MCU of Allie and her date showing their reaction to her pulling his trousers down. The final shot is an ELS of the Ferris wheel making us feel as if we are standing far away with everyone else. This shot helps lead into the next scene of the film as we feel as if we leaving the funfair.

Shot Analysis - Fast and Furious: Tokyo Drift Directed By Justin Lin (2006)

At 0.07 there is a forward track. This makes us feel as if we are walking into the scene. It also introduces the viewer to the concept of the film, as we are taken in between two cars and we hear engines revving.

At 0.17 there are two whip pans, one towards the right and then one towards the left. This highlights the speed of the cars that are about to race. It introduces the two sides which implies confrontation.

At 0.21 there is a backwards track to give a wider view so we can see the two cars as they are about to start racing.

At 0.25 there is an OTS shot with an object moving into space. The shot also has a frame within a frame with the phones. This shows the intensity/significance of the race in the film, as it is being recorded. This again highlights that this is going to be a main focus in the film.

At 0.26 there is a TS. As they are alone this shows that they are important characters in the film. They are away from the chaos of the race at this point, and there is nothing in the background (they’re in a lift) so our attention is focused solely on them.

At 0.31 there is a HA. This helps us to see what the car is doing. It also gives us a feeling of being distant from the scene, although straight after we are brought back in.

At 0.33 there is a CU of a hand on the gearstick, and then there is a LS to show what the effect of the gear change. This brings us into the action and makes us feel a part of it.

At 0.35 there is a CU of his foot on the accelerator and then at 0.35 a forward track as if we are in the car. This again makes us fell a part of the action rather than as if we are watching it from afar.

At 0.43 there is a HA of the city. We have been shown what they film is about, so now the HA is used to show where the film is going to be set.

At 0.47 there is a LS, MS and then a CU. This draws us into the character. It also shows us that he is important as he is shown as the most significant person in a very large crowd of people.

At 1.07 there is a CU of the two characters which draws us into the confrontation. It also gives us both of their reactions to the confrontation.

At 1.22 there is a HA shot of D.K (Brian Tee) and a LA shot of Sean (Lucas Black). This shows us that Sean is down and that D.K is standing above him, and again draws us into the confrontation.

At 1.52 there is a CU of Sean with a gun. This ensures that we see the gun and that we know who is holding it. The shot wouldn’t have been as affective as a LS because we would not be able to see his expression.

Horror Still Shot Analysis

1- Describe your shot and identify in what way it could be seen as representing horror.

- The shot is a LA, CU with low lighting. The lighting used way artificial. It is a shot of a white female teenager grabbing onto a metal fence. The shot has a frame within a frame, with the use of the fence. There is a shadow behind her of someone. The back ground of the shot is a white wall.

- The shot represents horror as it shows evidence of entrapment. Also the low lighting and expression on the girl's face, which is highlighted by the light, helps represent that the shot is a horror shot. The fact that the light is unnatural makes the shot feel unnatural. The light also exposes what's going on behind her and so creates a feeling of fear. The whites of her eyes are highlighted and so the fact that she looks scared is highlighted. The fact that the light is shining on her, and we see a shadow behind her, emphasises that she's the victim. Her unnatural, distorted position and her hands grabbing hold of the fence make us feel uneasy. The shot overall feels unnatural, which is disturbing and so represents horror.

2- What did you actually do to achieve the effect?

- We found an enclosed space, above the ground with a metal fence surrounding it. The actress (Alice) went inside while the person taking the shot (Matt) stayed on the outside. We cut out all light except one with we shone upwards from below the camera. We took the shot from a LA and did not use flash as it revealed too much of the background.

3- What is succesful about your shot?

- The shadow created from the light is successful, as is the low lighting which helped create the shadow. The angle of the shot works well as it seems unnatural, as it is a LA and is at a slightly distorted angle. The enclosed spaced was good, as it highlights the feeling that she is the victim. Also the distance works well, as it ensures that we can see the characters expression.

4- What would you do differently in hindsight?

- Looking back I think the shot needs more light focused on the hands so we can see them grabbing on a lot clearer. There is also a bit too much going on in the background, and too much of the white wall is showing. It also would have been better had the actress looked a bit more like a victim through the use of make-up, props and costume, for example if she had a bloody nose or cuts on her face. Also it would be better if we could see more of her face so that we could see her expression even more clearly.