Manchester By the Sea- Shot One (Essay Sample)

Manchester by the sea- Shot one
1 Dominant
The most dominant aspect of the shot is the focus on the two characters, Lee Chandler and Patrick Chandler. The dominance of light on these characters is because they are the center of the movie and the scene in particular. The camera focus thus brings the two closer and allows an audience to read other aspects of production such as body language and facial expressions that pass crucial information about the scene and about the two characters. By identifying that the two characters are the most dominant, the production tells the audience to focus on them throughout the movie alluding that various aspects of their lives will determine the direction that the film will take. Also, the focus allows the audience to read through the grief which is a dominant theme in the film and the two characters allow the audience to immerse itself in the grief with the aim of trying to understand it.
2 Lighting
There is high key lighting of the shot. Although the shot is taken at a cemetery during t, he burial of Joe, Lee’s brother, the overall brightness throughout the scene is perhaps an element of production but it assists in bringing out relevant subthemes of the movie such as kinship. The assumption is that the director used the high key lighting to bring out the dominant aspects of the scene so that they could enhance the audience’s comprehension of what was really going on. The lighting enhances visualization and creates an aesthetic effect throughout the scene.
3 Shot
The camera shot is a close shot. The faces of the two characters take up the majority of the frame thus allowing for their reactions and emotions to dictate the overall scene. As a result, they have become the primary focus in the shot thus helps an audience to establish a personal connection with them without any other background interferences. There is also an element of camera panning of the shot horizontally from side to side. The rotating camera movement is very important in this scene because it not only allows for the comparison of emotions of other minor characters but also creates a sense of place.
4 Angle
The angle of the shot is eye level which is a neutral angle that levels the subjects’ face thus allows for objectivity. The angle enables an audience to follow actions without manipulating their emotions, it creates a sense of focus on the most important aspects of a shot. It also gives dominance to the key items in a scene. The shot is that of a cemetery and it is important for people to understand the emotions of grief that dominate the scene. Therefore, the director focused on the eye-level angle to reveal the facial expressions and underlying emotions of Lee and Patrick.
5 Color
The prominent colors in the picture are black and white since they bring out the theme of grief in a funeral setting. Black stand put the most and the white complements it due to the help of high key lighting. An analysis of the entire scene reveals a somber mood and the colors used reveal the persistence of grief and the inability to walk past a tragic moment in life. Although black and white dominate the scene, the director manages to use them in a way that focuses on Lee and Patrick thus exposing the rather tense yet calm relationship between the two.
6 Lens
Since the camera used eye-level angle, the lens of the shot is a standard lens with a mid-range focal length. The lens produces an angle of view that is similar to that of the human eye that creates comfort in viewing. Through this, the director has been able to produce natural images that an audience can relate to. Also, the type of lens used allows the story’s heartbreak and grief to peep behind the camera shot in the process immersing the audience to the entire movie.
7 Framing
In this shot, framing is important since it determines what a viewer can and cannot see. The framing is intact an aspect that arises from the closed nature of the forms. There is little space between the characters and the camera thus creating an idea of minimal or no movement of objects in the specific shot. Also, the framing is intact because of the nature of the scene and the message that the director intends to convey using the scene.
8 Depth
Depth field is an important factor in film studies because it allows for the manipulation of focus in an attempt to achieve a specific desired effect. For instance, the shot used a selective focus that enables an audience to give specific attention to the subjects. The shot is deep because it gives focus to an entire frame by focusing on vitals such as camera’s focal length and distance.
9 Costume
Costume speaks volumes about a character and other details such as finances and character. The choice of costume in the shot creates reality as it points an audience to a funeral setting. However, using the dominant characters, Lee and Patrick, there is an overall difference in costumes that signifies their age and perhaps maturity in terms of grasping the idea of grief. Also, the costume colors vary with Lee’s coat being particularly darker than Patrick’s revealing a difference in their sadness and past baggage.
10. Character proxemics
The character proxemics is intimate because the distance of physical involvement reveals comfort between the two individuals. Although at first there is a tense relationship between Patrick and Lee, the director shows that they have got each other during the trying moment of Joe’s death and therefore they have to support each other during the grief. The characters are about a few inches away from each other thus negates the idea of detachment.