Christian Holmes- General Topic 4

Another topic of film that I have found myself pondering in this class is how camera angles effect what we experience in the films we watch. There is certainly a psychological element to camera work and how the audience encounters the story through the eye of the camera. For example, locked cameras can give more of a separated, observational perspective. This allows the audience to distance themselves from the scene at hand, sit back, and see what happens. However, with a more mobile and shaky camera that is closer to what is happened, it forces the audience into whatever is happening. They see things through a "third eye" and are thrust deeply into the events at hand. Another example: wide sweeping shots like those from The Way give the feeling of large scale, vastness, and grandeur. This works well for a film about a five hundred kilometer pilgrimage trail. However, when the cameras are more mobile, up close, and shaky, it forces the audience to step into that actors "comfort zone" (if you will). Eternal Sunshine is a great example of this. There were dozens and dozens of tight and close up shots under sheets, in cars, close ups in tight spaces. These kind of shots instilled both a general claustrophobia, and a hurried and rushed feeling in the films pace. In these ways, the camera work better emphasized the tones of each film.