Camera Shots

Within Pulp Fiction, the character Vincent Vega - played by John Travolta, there is a camera shot within the scene when he puts a needle with aggressive force into Mia's chest. This was a transition of shots between medium shots to give context to the situation, as well as close ups to give a good view of what was occurring.

This shot was actually filmed where John Travolta pulled out the prop needle from Uma Thurman's chest, and the film was then simply run backwards. This would be an idea to include within our Noir as it could give a more realistic effect. Also a slow motion speed could be effective.


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Similarly, within Brick, a Neo-Noir, there is a shot which starts of a over the shoulder shot - long shot of a car, which then develops into a medium, then close up as the car appears to be speeding toward Joseph-Gordon Levitt, missing him by only inches.

This shot cuts to a sort of point of view shot from Joseph Gordon-Levitt. The audience are revealed to a car that appears to be driving incredibly fast towards the character. This is a lower angle to show the threat.
The way this shot was filmed, was that the car reversed incredibly slowly, passing Gordon-Levitt (Brandon) by inches in a straight line. The film, similar to Pulp Fiction, was then run backwards and sped up to give the impression that the car had been speeding and just missed him. This is a clever technique as Brick was made on a very small budget, and shot in roughly 20 days.
Within the film, the Director used various extreme angles, and stylised camera work which made the film visually challenging to watch, creating various forebodings and mixed emotions about the characters, as well as the enigma codes within the plotline.

This low angle shot shows Brandons weakness. It shows him falling over, revealing the whole of his body with the angle slightly canted. He is wearing a white t shirt to show angellic tendencies - trying to do the right thing within the Neo Noir film.

 This shot was very effective within the trailer as it shows without barely revealing the character, a Rubik's cube iconography is knowledge, and determination etc which is relatable to the nickname of the character within the film - Brain. Similarly a briefcase is a piece of formal iconography - office - papers/files etc.

 This low angle shot of the main character on an overcast sky during the day, although normally used to give the impression of authority or power, this shot has made Brandon look like a lost, bedraggled loner, getting into a problem that's too big for him. The overcast sky creates negative forebodings about the character in the film, and the events to follow.

This low angle two shot shows a close bond between the characters, as well as a close separation. Although they don't spend much time with each other, Brandon goes to him when he needs help - a strong bond to confide in. The glasses show a link of brains and intellect between the characters which is how the characters are linked.

Psycho Camera Shot Analysis