Category: Uncategorized

This clip contains a lot of movement and energy, a lot of stuff is happening but is also quite easy to follow because it starts off with Fiona opening the fridge and grabbing the milk gallon. This milk gallon appears in the following shots as it is being passed around, and returns back to Fiona as we see her fill it up with sink water. This hints (without knowing the context and story of the show) that this family isn’t in the best financial situation, and is supported by the fact that the family is sharing money to put in a box to pay the electric bills. This box was also passed around like the milk gallon, with each character in the show saying the word electric so we can follow what is happening easier.

A lot of the framing in this scene manages to show a lot of what the background characters are doing. For example- when one of the kids throws Fiona the phone, the camera angle flips the next shot and we see her catch it, while also getting to see the others eat their cereal/do whatever they’re doing as they’re hurrying to get ready for school. So even though it was kind of a chaotic scene in the episode, the camera framing and continuity was easy to follow and understand.

https://www.youtube.com/@jaxonswove7466

I feel like the scene is showing something along the lines of organized chaos since there is so much going on at once after the shot of the note on the fridge. It has a sort of feeling that despite everything going on at the same time there is a form of synchronization between all the family members who manage to fluidly follow the previous person that was being interacted with. Visually, it looks like another day of breakfast with a seemingly too large amount of people. There’s also the details like the washer shot and the filling the milk jug so everyone has enough for their cereal.

The continuity is set up to be at the kitchen table and the areas around it which include the kitchen itself and the washing machine. It sets up how the room is laid out and helps the audience get a view of how the family lives. As said before, there is a certain amount of synchronization between everyone as they go about separate things at the table while also paying attention to each other at the same time. It’s something that likely takes practice and time to get used to. Some anchors of attention are the milk jug and the box for the electric bill payment. The milk starts out the sequence and is then followed by the box for the payment, it guides the scene along and gives something to focus on with all the chaos happening in the ‘background’.

The scene demonstrates what I feel is the peak form of multitasking, something which is fairly hard for some people to do and easier for others. I find that for myself I’m better at multitasking with certain things and not other things which has helped me figure out what works and what doesn’t. Having music in the background while doing almost anything helps me focus more on what I’m doing rather than getting distracted by other things while cleaning or working on homework. Even when I read books I’ll sometimes have music going just to block out other noise, when on long car rides or road trips and sometimes at home but more rarely.

The scene I picked is the train one where the truck is pushing the car closer to the oncoming train seemingly out of impatience.

The arrangement of shots makes a believable space by utilizing the cut-in/match on action form of editing in order to give context to the scene. The space seems to be large since we get all kinds of angles, low shots, backwards(in relation to the main character) shots, and close-ups of the main character while in a panic and slightly angry that the truck is trying to ram him into the moving train.

The framing focuses attention to narrative detail by switching from varying shots and angles rapidly which helps keep the tension of the moment high. Emphasizes both panic and stress from the main character as the truck pushes him closer and closer to the moving train. 

The role of sound in supporting the spatial relationships made in the cuts is done well to have the car’s struggle to resist, the truck’s roar of dominance, and the train’s clattering and clanking down the track without knowing what’s happening as it passes by. These noises come in at just the right moments with the various shot switches that occur to cause tension. Then adding the dangerous sounding music in the background adds more depth to the scene by escalating it further. 

The continuity editing of the scene builds tension through the rapid switching from shot to shot, compounded further by the use of background music to set the feeling of ‘danger’ even higher and then having the vehicle noises when they are specifically in the focus of the shot.

What narrative information is revealed and concealed in the scene through the cuts? There isn’t muh background scenery since the primary focus of the scene was the train, car, and truck. Some narrative information that is revealed is that the truck seems even more impatient than the main character and is thus pushing the car/main character towards the moving train. Something that is hidden at this point in the film is the fact that the truck was actually out to get the car/main character the whole time and just played it off numerous times before we actually see the ‘true colors’ of the truck.

Here’s a redone version of continuity and framing.

In this clip from Shameless there is a lot of movement. Doors are a big focus changer throughout. In the beginning it will go from one character to another and then later on on they are using the fridge to emphasize important details such as the electricity bill being due. The clip is essentially trying to get across the idea that this family is clearly struggling and having to be creative to survive. Visual anchors would include the milk carton, cell phone etc.. each of these elements helps maintain the focus while still being able to move smoothly and continuously throughout the scene. In one part we can see a chair very faintly in the corner and then we later see it being used to hold the washing machine shut. Props are essentially keeping the flow. At the end each child leaves separately one by one causing the mom to look a sense of exhaustion and despair.

Here’s the assignment from Friday.