Camera Angles, Shots, Movement, Composition In a Movie or TV Show - Blog Post

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    I watched season 2, episode 2 of Black Mirror, called “White Bear.” I will be discussing the various elements of camera angles, shots, movement, and composition. This is a dystopian series with elements of drama and horror. 

 

 

In the opening shot, we see a close-up of Victoria, which shows us her state of mind. We can see that she’s very disoriented and in poor health, evidenced by her squinted, glassy eyes, pale face, eye bags, and chapped lips. She seems not to know what’s going on, which helps introduce the main conflict of a character having no memory and working to figure out what’s going on. This whole scene is a series of close-ups, from a close-up of her face to a bandage on her hand, to a strange symbol on a TV, to pills on the floor, which all add up as the character slowly comes to and analyzes her surroundings, building the context of the story. 

 



 

Random movement is used throughout as Victoria attempts survival in her strange new surroundings. One specific example would be when she and the surviving woman she’s found have narrowly escaped their attacker and are making a run for it, just in time to see more attackers. This creates a more high-strung effect and adds to the action of the scene, elevating its drama and intensity. 


 

A low angle shot is used when Jem points a taser at Victoria, who is attempting to look at the phone she’s stolen from one of the brainwashed people. This helps show the power dynamic, where Jem has power over Victoria to get her to put down the phone or do as she pleases in general, which will come into play at the end of the episode. This also represents the knowledge that Jem has compared to Victoria and how Victoria is a pawn in the show.

 

 

An over-the-shoulder shot is used when Baxter is introduced. This establishes Victoria’s reaction to meeting him and her confusion at recognizing him. Using an over-the-shoulder shot allows us to read her responses to meeting him. This emphasizes her confusion, wariness, and uncertainty. It also helps to establish Baxter as an untrustworthy character since Victoria has such a poor reaction to meeting him.

 

 

The director uses triangle blocking in a scene where Baxter aims his gun at Jem. The making of a triangle with the characters is purposeful and aims to establish the relationship between characters. In this scene, Baxter is someone who preys on the weaknesses of other to get what he wants, Jem is the one being attacked by him, especially for failing to acknowledge her specific weaknesses, and Victoria is completely clueless as to what’s going on (both in this scene and in the storyline itself). However, in reality, the roles are switched. The use of three people in one shot also adds balance and makes the shot look much smoother and more streamlined.

 

 

 

A canted angle is used when Baxter forces Victoria onto the ground and yells at her to stop crying. The odd position of the camera shows his insanity and depravity, as was realized not so long ago by the characters. We are meant to see Baxter as someone crazy and dangerous, which the canted angle works to dramatize. 

 

 

 

The static shot as Jem runs away makes a point of showing that Baxter has not realized she’s gone. Tracking could’ve been used had Baxter noticed her run, but the use of a static shot was intentional to show Baxter’s unawareness of her fleeing. This gives hope to the audience but also builds tension as we wonder how long it will take until he notices. 

 

Balance is created in the scene where the truth is revealed. Instead of the rule of thirds or golden ratio, the director chooses to create a very symmetrical image, where Victoria is placed in the middle of two identical, equally spaced screens showing images of her fiancé. She is tied to a chair, and directly above her is the white bear symbol, which itself looks like a chair. This use of symmetry demonstrates the meticulousness of the show and its intentionality, showing that it was all organized against Victoria, with the meticulous arrangement of a symmetrical setting in this scene representing that. It adds to Victoria’s feelings of entrapment as she is inescapably being subjected to what is being played out. The unique symmetry of this scene is used as we learn the truth to tie everything together in a satisfying effect. 

 

 

 

 

 

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