Shot Zero

Here’s #LegendsofTomorrow using shadows to depict an alien eating a human, for maaaaany thousands of dollars less than any other way they could do it.

Just a stunning shadow swish shot from Spike Lee in the opening sequence of his basketball drama #HeGotGame.

2/2 buff.ly/MxxQLw0

Our short shots this week are full of shadows, and our longread also examines how Alice Rohrwacher (Happy as Lazzaro, La Chimera) adds to her eye imagery in Le Fil Rouge by making eyes out of stark lights, silhouettes and shadows. 1/2

Is subtlety overrated? John Carpenter sure seems to think so, and the man is almost always right. In THEY LIVE, his shots force us to see behind the masks, and asks what we’re willing to do about it.

The light at the door (0:02-0:21) is carefully calibrated to enable Mundt (Michael Shannon) to transition between faceless shadowy shape, to muddled expression, then back to shadow. Longer breakdown of how this scene uses light and shadow on our Substack, next week.

This shot starts on the shadow of a canary bouncing between the paws and mouth of a painted panther, before showing the canary in context of Irena. Irena isat the beginning of her transformation into the titular Cat Person - making this quite-literal foreshadowing.

give that camera operator a raise

Wondering what that #KPopDemonHunters bit in the #Oscar intro was all about? We have you covered: shotzero.substack.com/p/the-eyes-hav…

Today we look at the stark shadows, stage-like curtains, and absolutely audacious filter swings, of 1947's Quai des Orfèvres (aka Jenny Lamour). No subtitles needed; we're concentrating on how the raw images make us FEEL. buff.ly/uEZqYNy

#Locke 2/2 In this scene, because the man on the other end of the line is anxious and frenetic, the image is as well. Check out our Substack next week for a more thorough breakdown of what makes the constant, different movements in this scene so effective.

The entirety of #Locke (2013) happens within a car, in real time, meaning the actor (Tom Hardy), director (Steven Knight), and editor (Justine Wright) have to find ways to keep the flow of performance and story. 1/2

We’re gearing up for a miniseries to look at every. single. scene. transition. in an episode of #ThePitt. What do you most want to know about how / when / why The Pitt shifts from scene to scene?

Rake uses a classic split diopter for a shot which would be COMPLETELY different if only one character was in focus, or both were in the same seat. This arrangement displays the power dynamic: Kirsty in the driver’s seat and in control; Cleaver powerless, symbolically a child.

2/2 Our breakdown of this Cuba Libre scene - buff.ly/6eDJnnm

Just like all our short shots this week, our longread is about characters in cars . . . in this case, how super-low-budget made-for-TV-movie and cult film Cuba Libre makes the most of three shots for this pivotal roadside cafe scene. 1/2

This shot from #TheCrow stages three characters along different planes: back left talking on the phone, middle centre lost in thought, front right smoking and driving. They may be occupying the same car, but the blocking and framing shows they’re in completely seperate worlds.

#SummerofSam 2/2 The constant-but-often-minor reframing every time the scene cuts to a single, and placing them in unexpected places in the frame, is fittingly discombobulating for a movie which is about how nobody knows who to trust.

As Ritchie (Adrien Brody) and Vinny (John Leguizamo) chat in #SummerofSam, Spike Lee highlights their disconnect by showing them mostly in seperate frames. 1/2