In this shot, the subject's face and bloodstained shirt draw the viewer's attention. His face falls on the upper horizontal, and the blood along the lower. These are emphasized by the legs along the vertical lines. The legs frame the subject, giving us little to look at in the shot, forcing us to look at the subject. This evokes a sense of being trapped, much like the subject is. he is trapped between not only the wall and the person in front of him, but he appears to be trapped between the other person's legs. The legs of the other person are dark and not well lit, making them dark and ominous for the subject. Having the shot be a medium close up allows us to see the subject's reaction to this ominous person standing over him, but it also allows us to see his blood on his shirt. We can understand why he looks so scared if we see that he has been shot previous to this shot.
Great observations, Sean! I like that you pointed out that the subject that the director wants us to view is not only trapped between Lamar's legs, but also the wall behind him. When I first saw this scene, I didn't pay as much attention to the background. Does the audience gain anything from this not only being a medium shot, but as one that is also at angle, shot from the floor? What do you think the director was trying to implicate using the slight angle?
ReplyDeleteSean: what do you make of Witwer's gesture here? He's reaching for his crucifix -- a symbol of faith -- while the "father of pre-crime" has just shot him. Any thoughts on what we might make of this?
ReplyDeleteGreat image choice, by the way.