FILM TV 2 Test 4 Q3

The first thing that struck me about “From a Distant Gaze” was the way the camera – despite panning or moving occasionally in the first few shots – appeared ‘static’ in terms of the shot size and framing. What I mean by this is that the shot is set up and objects (specifically cars) move in or out of the shot, completely envoloping the foreground of the frame and blocking what is in the background. There is no attempt by the cinematographer to avoid the obstructions and it creates an interesting visual effect as in the edit these cars serve as almost editing points to cut from one locked off shot to another, so we are able to jump from one setting to another without feeling like we have moved at all. I enjoy the fluidity of how the camera matches the pace and moves with one specific moving object – the legs of crowds moving in a direction, the baby in the stroller, the old lady, so on – despite all of the other movement and different paces that are occurring around it.  In the same way the camera matches the objects’ movements, it also matches their pauses and these short ‘stops’ or ‘pauses’ create for an interesting visual pace. This almost alludes to the next section which is much more static in the subject choices presented – the close up of the lady’s face, the man smoking a cigarette. Interestingly, the camera locks onto these static objects but still manages to find a ‘pace’ or ‘movement’ in the way it pans or moves across or up and down the subject. In many instances in this section, the camera appears static but this lack of movement never lasts for long as it appears it is always ‘searching’ for something which is moving to switch it’s attention to – for example, from the mid shot of the lady feeding her baby in static to pan across to the floor and follow where ducks on the floor are moving across the frame. This effect – accompanied by the constant and quick edits that never linger for too long on the same shot without at least a cut in or shot change – gives the sense of never being satisfied to sit and ponder one thing for too long. A sense of the ever searching ‘eye’ of the camera which is always curious to move on to the next subject.