For this assignment I chose the scene where our main character is stopped at the train and the antagonist pulls up behind him and starts forcefully ramming his car closer to the train in hopes to cause the protagonist to crash into the moving train. I chose this scene for the chaos and consistent frame changes. This section of the film is made up of primarily empty frames and match on action shots. This scene is highly intense and is a pivotal moment for our main character as he realizes this guy genuinely is out for blood and it’s no longer just dueling leap frog down the road like previously.
When the truck first pulls up behind the protagonist it uses a shot reverse shot to present the scene as if the viewer is right alongside the main character by showing us exactly why his car is being rammed as he figures it out at the same time. This use of shot was a good way for the director to make the audience feel as if they ARE the main character. This helped rope in viewers for the building intensity to come as the scene continues to ramp up.
Next is a series of empty shots showing the gravity of the situation and how dangerous it will be if the truck driver is successful in his attempt to push the car forward. These also help the viewer get a clear image of the surroundings and further build the image in our heads as if we were really there!
There is also many match on action shots of zooming in and out from the character, to the full view of the car, then to the front wind shield, to the full front view of the car, and so on. This framing helps set the scene and build a detailed view of the entire situation from all angles and the viewer is able to better understand the intensity of what’s taking place.
There is so much movement of the angles and frames. it helps build the intensity of this scene by going back and forth between so many different shots of the wheels then the train moving then back to the wheels and BACK to the train moving to inflict a sense of urgency and danger on the viewer. I think that this constant frame change makes the scene seem super quick as if “it all happened to fast” which is a common emotion we feel after being in an intense scenario such as the predicament our protagonist is in.
Thank You.