HW 3b - Existing film continuity sequence analysis (BLK)

The Hunger Games Mockingjay: Part 1 (4:00-6:15)

Shot List

1. Est. Victor's Village wide, still camera
2. Est. Victor's Village, wide, very slow pan left (Katniss enters the square)
3. MLS inside house (Katniss enters through the main door), camera pans right then crabs left as (Katniss walks down hall) ends on VLS
4. MS (Katniss enters room), pans right to a MLS (Katniss goes to the table)
5. MCU, side on (Katniss gets coat)
6. CU of bottles (Katniss collects them), camera pans up to MCU (Katniss gasps, turns to right)
7. MS (cat enters window)
8. MCU reaction ("Figures"), camera pans right (Katniss goes to the cat)
9. MS on cat's eye level (Katniss catches it), pan up to MCU cat's new eye level (Katniss holding it)
10. CU Katniss ("do you want to see Prim?")
11. MCU high angle (cat is put into her bag)
12. MLS track behind Katniss (enters the living area), LS (Katniss walks to table) MASTER SHOT
13. MS low angle side on (Katniss picks up photo)
14. CU photo
15. MS low angle side on (Katniss takes phot, notices flowers)
16. Over the shoulder (flowers)
17. MS low angle side on (Katniss picks the white rose) 
18. BCU rose (turned in hand)
19. MCU low angle (Katniss reacts to rose), camera rises up to her eye level (she drops it)
20. VLS living area (Katniss looks behind her back)

Continuity Techniques

• Two establishing shots (shots 1 & 2) to begin establish the setting where the sequence takes place; shot 1 introduces the house where the audience will shortly be taken (including the door where she will enter through), and shot 2 also introduces Katniss to the sequence who will be the focal character of the sequence.
• Most of the camera movement is handheld (e.g. shot 3). This makes the audience feel 'in the moment' as they follow Katniss, making her journey around the house flow as naturally as if the audience were walking with her. 
• Transitions between shots appear seamless because the a lot of shots (e.g shot 3-4) begin where the actress ended up in the last shot (in shot 3, the camera shows Katniss from behind as she walks down the corridor - then in shot 4, the camera shows Katniss from the front as she walks from the corridor into the room). This makes shots flow naturally as Katniss moves from place to place.
• In contrast, some other shots intentionally take the audience to different places in the room without showing Katniss moving there (e.g. shots 5-6). This is creates an ellipse, which cuts out unnecessary shots of Katniss moving from set to set, but it still makes logical sense to the audience that Katniss is moving around the room (from the coat hanger to the bottles).
• Cuts do not break the 30 degree rule and change the perspective of the camera or the distance between the camera and the object  enough between shots that there is no risk of creating a jump cut, therefore the sequence feels continuous (e.g. although shots 3 and 4 are both of the corridor, the camera changes perspective between them from behind to in front of Katniss, and also changes from a very long shot to a mid shot). 
• The process of ellipsis is also helped by master shots (most notably in the transition between shot 11-12). In this transition, the scene cuts from a medium close up of the cat to a medium long shot of Katniss entering the living area. This second shot sets up the corridor leading to the living room, and the room itself, leaving the audience to understand that Katniss has left the previous room and is walking down another corridor to a new room. The master shot also introduces all the set pieces in the new room to give the audience a sense of space.
• Reaction shots are used, as it is logical for the audience to expect a shot of the character's face after a significant object is revealed (e.g. after the close up of President Snow's rose, there is a medium close up of Katniss' face to show the audience her shock at the rose).