War Of The Worlds - Cinematography

2005/Steven Spielberg/USA

Shot, Reverse Shot - In the two screen shots to the left hand side are a couple of close ups. They are first person shots as the camera acts as the characters eyes looking at the other character. This involves the audience and makes them feel part of the film. The close ups emphasise the facial expressions on the characters faces. They are obviously afraid/anxious about what is happening around them. The camera starts as the eyes of the girl and then changes to the opposite characters point of view; this is called a shot, reverse shot. By doing this it helps involve the audience. The camera is facing the light which is usually something the directors avoid; this creates a gleam on the lens of the camera which can also be found in the film ‘Elephant’.

Extreme Long Shot – Establishing shot sets the scene. Camera starts by following the characters as they leave the house then pans round following the son looking at the landscape. An extreme long shot is a way of framing a shot so that the scale of the main object/character is very small and the surroundings fill the majority of the screen. The shot sets the scene and creates a sense of distance and vastness. Although it’s used in a different context, this is similar to ‘Fargo’ in a sense that landscapes were also shown a lot in the film to create a sense of enormity.

Close up – Close up on the back of the character. Again similar to the film ‘Elephant’ as there were many shots from an ‘over the shoulder’ view in that film. Shows the surroundings and the character in clear focus, this means there is a deep depth of field. The character turns to face the camera as his father calls him. Another close up shows the look of disgust on his face

Shallow Depth Of field – The screen shot shows a close up of one of the characters faces in such a where that it has been framed so that the foreground is in sharp focus and the background is blurred. This is known as a shallow depth of field. By doing this the director has averted all of our attention on the character in the scene instead of our eye wandering around the screen. Again the close up shows the emotion on the characters face. Shallow depth of field was also used in the film ‘Elephant’ but to a different effect. In Elephant, instead of using this technique to direct the audience’s attention to a particular subject the director used it to create a mundane feeling. As the characters were walking down the corridors their surroundings were out of focus to create a sense of realism and normality; when we walk somewhere we walk on a regular basis we tend to take no notice of the surroundings.

Crane Shot – Establishing shot sets the next scene. Camera pans slightly to the left as the car drives past. Long shot creates a sense of distance.