As we watched in class today this scene has a lot of meaning to the film. I believe the main subject in the frame is Lamar, but Laura still plays a role in attracting our eyes. Because Lamar is positioned along the very right grid line, our eyes are attracted to him and because he is positioned closer to the audience. I also think this shot plays with foregrounded and backgrounded shots in regards to importance of person. Lamar is the most important subject and is closest to the audience, followed by Laura and then Lamar's secretary behind Laura. Lighting also plays an important role in this scene. We can only see half of Lamar's face but what we do see is very well light by the natural light. This once again attracts our attention to Lamar. We can also only see half of Laura's face but it is not as intensely light by the natural light. This shot is a medium/long shot and its purpose is to capture all the characters in the scene. By capturing all the characters in the scene, we see who is most important because of their position on the screen and lighting. There is a mirror in the room which I think is very important and may be foreshadowing. This is a scene of realization and self realization so I think it is very interesting that Spielberg had Lamar looking into a mirror throughout the scene.
Sam, I really liked your comment about the mirror and how it reflects the realization of this specific scene-I don't think anyone thought of that. It's also interested that the mirror is turned slightly so that we can see the reflection within it, which grabs the viewers attention to it. Did you also notice how Lamar is standing directly on an intersecting line? That for me stood out the most about the framing of this particular shot. Superb work!
ReplyDeleteSam: Nice comment on the lighting -- I didn't notice that at first when we looked at this scene. Here's a suggestion: when you wrote, "I also think this shot plays with foregrounded and backgrounded shots in regards to importance of person. . . " talk more about this. Is this idea contradicted by the lighting in the scene? Could you argue that Anderton's wife is the most important person in this scene?
ReplyDeleteAnd one last thing: gotta take the pictures down of Ted and Ben -- can't post a student's picture on your blog; you can only post your own, if you have your parents' permission.