Film: ROMA (Alfonso Cuarón, 2018)
Choose one still from the movie, ROME, and analyze the basic elements of CAMERA WORK
Use the questions below to analyze how the camera work contributes to the visual style and story content of a film. For a close analysis, it is best to pick a single image.
1. Camera Placement
How does the angle of the camera placement affect your view and the meaning of the image? What is going on in the story here? How does the what we see here, contribute to the story.
How does camera distance affect your view and the meaning of the image?
How does the framing of the image affect its meaning?
Does off-screen space add to your understanding of the shot?
Is the camera objective or does it seem to represent the point of view of a character? If the latter–if it is subjective–what effect does that have?
2. Focus and Depth
What kind of focal length or angle of view does the camera lens appear to offer on the scene? Is it wide-angle, telephoto, or zoom? Does it switch back and forth within the scene? How does this lens affect your view and the meaning of the shot?
Notice which planes (foreground, middle ground, and background) of the image are held in focus. How does the focus influence the mise-en-scène and your reading of the shot?
3. Stock, Exposure, and Effects
Is the film in black-and-white or in color? If it is a contemporary film shot in black-and-white, what does that choice suggest?
If in color, are the colors especially vivid or saturated? What impact does this effect have on your reading of the shot?
Does the shot use overexposure and/or slow, fast, or stop-motion to dramatic effect? What is gained (with regard to aesthetics and content) by using this technique?