Video clip: Road trouble

Most of the shots in this scene portray a good sense of continuity. We are almost always looking at David Mann from the right side, as if we are in the passenger seat. It makes us, the viewer, easier to keep track of where the car is going because we’re always at the same angle, and we see the trees and outside view moving past him. The only time the camera looks the other way is when David passes the psychotic truck driver and we see them fall behind us.

An example of a Match on Action Shot (I believe in this case it’s in reverse) would be the shot of the truck in the side mirror when he honks and the camera zooms out when David Mann turns around to look. Now I’m not actually 100% sure if this is a Match On Action as it’s only technically one shot that goes from zoomed in to out, but I do find it cool how this zoom out was used. The scenes after this follow the same thing I mentioned in the beginning, we’re still in the passenger seat and it helps us understand the car is moving the same direction.

The start of this scene sets up to the audience the line that the two characters will be on. They do this by showing in a POV shot that starts in the back of the Plymouth Valiant, that then follows up past the Valiant to the Peterbilt and then to the front of the Peterbilt truck. Showing us the audience the 180 degree line that this pseudo chase is going to be taking on. The shots that follow the Valiant as it passes makes sure to show through eye matching when we are no longer seeing the shot in a two dimensional space. It shows us the start, middle, and end of the pass by cutting between the main character driving the Valiant and where he is looking when it cuts away from him. Whenever the Peterbilt passes it is brought on the audience through surprise because how it it also a surprise to the character who was focused more on his dashboard and the road instead of the Peterbilt behind him. Once the Peterbilt passes we as the audience are given a mirrored shot from the opening to help establish the are and positioning that we are in. These sequence of shots are very useful and help make this sense easy to follow as the audience.

Within this scene of Steven Spielberg’s ‘Duel’, we see the use of many continuity edits. For one example, the 180 degree rule is followed the entire time to ensure that the main subjects (car and truck) are always seen being visibly pushed towards the left of the screen. This technique makes the action far easier to understand, rather than breaking the rule and risking the audience feeling as though the cars are moving in random directions. It even helps immerse you in the scene as you can imagine yourself slowly being pushed into a corner, rather than feeling danger coming from all sides.

At 0:36 in the scene, we get a motivated POV shot. This technique is effective at putting the viewer within the shoes of the character, especially for a tense situation like this scene. For this one in particular, it’s done to show the protagonist slamming the breaks, which is an effective and relatable perspective for most viewers. It’s far more effective than showing such high-stakes action in flat, disconnected shots.

As for another technique, throughout the scene we even additionally get plenty of shot-reverse-shots, such as when the camera reflects back and forth between the train/railroad and the car/protagonist. This technique establishes their positions for the incoming near-fatal incident, as well as contrasts the mighty train with the small passenger car. It’s just one additional way of upping the stakes of the action by visually representing the difference in size/power between our protagonist and this obstacle.

Name: Ammaar Akhtar
Date: 9-5-24
Class: DTC 208

Duel is such a unique film in that even with a relatively basic plot, it is able to truly keep people at the edge of their seat as the movie goes on. Of the 4 scenes listed, I chose the first clip, “Duel Remastered (1971) – Road Trouble | 4K UHD” (https://youtu.be/31n1H8PNXh4) because I believe it has quite a number of different continuity edits hidden in a short time frame. One of the most heavily used continuity edits here is the Match-on-Action shot(s) that are present throughout the scene. The constant switching from looking towards the main character to looking back through the rear view mirror makes the scene feel continuous; it is clear to the viewer what is going on and what they are looking at. Going along with this, another common edit used in this film is the POV shot. Throughout the scene, many of the shots are either looking back through the rear view mirror, or looking out of the protagonist’s car’s window up towards the truck in some way. This makes the audience feel like they are really there in the car, experiencing the events of the film. Another type of edit that is more or less used in this scene is the 180 degree rule. For most of this scene, anytime the camera is outside of the protagonist’s vehicle, it is somewhere on the right side of both vehicles (or left from the direction being driven). There are a few parts of the scene that seem to break this rule, however, for the most part the 180 degree rule is adhered to well. Some of the subtle parts of the sound design really intrigued me the more I watched this scene, for instance how as the camera slowly moves ahead of the protagonists car to reveal the truck, the sounds of the engine get louder and drown out the other sounds of the scene. Something that most people would say “of course, that makes sense, the truck would get louder as you get closer to it” but is just one of the small details that make this sequence great.

A visual representation of procrastination until the very last minute.

A framing video of my cats in their tree and Baymax(the big grey one coming to greet the camera).

A Health Journey

https://youtu.be/I5R7zGDoKTM

The scene I will be using as an example of continuity is the train scene from Duel. This scene uses a lot of continuity edits, but in particular mostly cut in/match on action shots and shot reverse shots.

In the beginning extreme long shots are used to showcase the setting (a train track). To start the action, a shot reverse shot is done to get the initial reaction of the main character when the truck hits his car for the first time. We see him being jolted by the hit, then a cut to the front of the truck against his car, and then back to the main character as he begins yelling.

From then on, there are a lot of cut-in shots, which are used in multiple different ways. For one, we get shots close to the car window so we can focus on the main character, and then cuts to longer shots that allow us to see the rest of the car. This allows us to see what is going on both with the main character and outside of the car, where the truck is hitting. It is also used to get a close up of the certain areas of the car being affected. For example, a long shot is done on the car, then a zoom in onto the wheels which are being pushed towards the train. This helps the viewer understand the truck’s intentions of pushing him into the moving train. 

We see a lot of shots of the main character also turning around, or looking outside his window, to then immediately cut to the truck hitting him, his car wheels struggling to move the car, or the train getting closer, and then back to his face (shot reverse shots). 

Overall these continuity shots help the viewer understand the intentions of the truck driver and the dangerous situation the main character is in.

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.

Continuity is very important and is demonstrated very well in Spielberg’s movie Duel. I am going to use the scene called Road Trouble.

The first scene is a cut-in/ match action with a close of David at the end of the cut-in. It then cuts to a 180-degree shot with David in front to show emotions before the truck driver loses it. A few shots after this are close-ups of David’s face from the perspective of his windshield. Spielberg keeps this angle on David only zooming out a bit to not be over-saturate with the close-up.

The next big close-up is at the gas station and it’s of the truck itself. This more or less shows the difference between David and this truck driver.

The editing of the shots makes the scene seemingly continuous which is if not the best thing to make a space believable. in terms of the narrative the fact that the scenes are made to look like they are in somewhat real-time with very few jump-cuts. There are no empty frames as the audience is supposed to be with David throughout almost of the whole movie. The few cuts were to change angles and locations. The most major cut is when David is pulling into the gas station to show the calm of David’s driving and the shock of the truck driver’s driving.

In Steven Spielberg’s early film ‘Duel’, he masterly utilizes many continuity tricks in quick order to create drama and emotion. During the ending scene, the success of these edits builds the scene to a dramatic climax and conclusion.

The final 4 minutes begin with a ‘Motivated POV’ shot of the protagonist, David, as he sits in his car, staring out. He watches the empty road, waiting for the Peterbilt truck that’s been chasing him to emerge. This second shot, waiting for the truck, is an ‘Empty Frame’. This builds the viewers tension as they wait for the inevitable.

The ‘Motivated POV’ repeats as the truck starts barreling down the road towards him. This is also a ‘Shot Reverse Shot’, as David sees and then reacts to the truck.

There is then a ‘Match on Action’ edit of the truck, zooming in dramatically with a shaking camera. The viewer sees David again from the front, before switching to a shot of him from behind, following the ‘180-degree rule’. These dramatic changes of framing maintain the intense and quick pace of the plot.

Spielberg then uses ‘Parallel action / Crosscut’ edits of David’s car and the truck speeding towards one another from the front, which could be considered a ‘Graphic Match’(?) of the trucks front and the cars.

The shots shown of David’s car as it collides with the truck follow the ’30-degree rule’, changing from the front right to the far back left of the car as it is struck. This allows the viewer to see the collision more clearly, while maintaining a sense of positioning relative to the car.

By using these editing skills throughout the ending, Spielberg builds and maintains the intense and frightening pace and tone that has been built throughout the film. This is necessary for creating a climax and conclusion that can satisfy a viewer who has been made tense alongside David for the entirety of their viewing experience.

The film I chose to analyze as “Kingdom of Heaven” (2005) scenes shown here are very simple shots yet they are dramatized, using slow motion and close-ups.

[Medium Low Angle Close-up]

By using this angle the characters are given their power dynamic of that time one is looking down and one is looking up. it also establishes the reveal of the secondary character.

[Close-up]

This shot establishes the reveal of the secondary character.

[Medium High Angle Close-up]

The shot solidifies the main characters power dynamic.

[Medium Close-up]

The shot establishes that both characters are now with equal power dynamic.

[ Long shot]

This scene establishes the army behind both characters

[ Long Shot Medium]

This scene establish us both armies and their massive size.

[Extreme Long-shot – Wide]

These scenes establishes that both camps leaders are coming to meet.

[Extreme close-up]

This scene establishes another secondary character who is analyzing what’s happening between the two armies.

[Medium longshot]

This scene establishes both leaders coming together.

[Medium Close-up] 

This scene establishes both characters as equals.

[Close-up] 

This scene establishes the main characters involvement with both armies.

[Extreme Long-shot – Wide]

This scene establishes and explains the position of both armies and their leaders and what they are fighting for.

Why did I choose this film?

I chose this film because of its simplistic cinematography yet establishes very dynamic and very dramatic scenes using different types of shots such as slow motion, dramatic close-ups positioning dynamic it makes you curious as to what they are fighting about what are their intentions what are their motives it is the scene that establishes the cause and plot of the movie.