Blog Post #6

      One film that contains excellent representations of the different shots we spoke of in class is The Shining. The film's director, Stanley Kubrick, was known for being extremely meticulous about every aspect of filmmaking, and the camera shots he chose to use were no exception.
      When I think of a classic example of the use of a Closeup shot, the classic "Herrreee's Johnny!" scene immediately comes to mind. The scene is so chilling, and the effect it serves within the film is to show the audience the full extent of Jack Nicholson's character's descent into madness. In that moment, the audience feels the malevolence, and sheer insanity of the character. The scene also serves to give the audience a glimpse into the unwaivering terror that the other characters responding to this situation must be feeling, thus allowing the audience to empathize with them, and be sympathetic toward their plight.



      A good example of a medium shot in The Shining is when the two characters, Jack and Grady, are conversing in the bathroom. The medium shot, or "information shot" is often used when characters are talking in a scene. In this particular movie, the medium shot within this bathroom scene conveys the awkwardness of the conversation through the characters' body language and facial expressions. The lingering shots without dialogue act to further the awkwardness. ("I corrected them, Mr. Torrance.")
      No film would be complete without making use of long shots, or, "orientation shots." Without them, how is the audience supposed to know where the following action is taking place? Or appreciate the extent of a characters' isolation/loneliness, etc.? A vital long shot in The Shining is the sprawling shot of the hotel where all the action in the film takes place, The Overlook. Showing the audience the entirety of the massive hotel elicits a sense of foreboding and isolation of its mere three occupants inside.