Hello class,
Frantic, electric, and cluttered are some of the words this opening scene of Shamelessexpresses in my mind. Continuity carries this scene from shot to shot. A range of frames are used to convey the emotions of the characters and establish the setting for this show. Faces, shoulder-up, moving hands, following-shots, full-body, and jump cuts help to convey the scene’s energetic flow. Visually we can see the cluttered state of the house as the characters move, the camera following the woman for most of the beginning. The camera stays focused on the characters’ movements in this packed setting which adds the feeling of franticness for the audience.
The quick pace of the camera and characters also aids in the sense of energy. We see when the woman calls out for the bill, the camera pans to each kid as they reply with “electric”, which the word play also adds to the feelings previously mentioned. We as the audience follow these shots along with the dialogue to understand how this family works. On top of this, the quick cuts and transitions act like mini jumps in time. There are no pauses really, giving the sense to the audience that this scene is happening all at one time, one thing after another, when the cuts by the camera quicken the time between shots. Had this all been one single shot, we see no cuts to characters, the audience wouldn’t have felt the same.
The quick movements are held in place by the characters themselves and certain actions they do. The woman filling the jug of water, a break from chaos. The woman placing the shirt inside out and backwards on the boy, the boy tossing the phone to the woman, and the woman placing the chair in the washer/dryer to help it work. These scenes outside of the characters still include the frantic movements but take a moment out of dialogue and physical expressions to let the audience catch up with the action.
Thanks,
Caleb