THE GODFATHER
The film begins with extreme close up on a man’s face. The entire room around him is dark and the lighting is emphasized on the top of his head, making the rest of his face dark and turning him into a shadowy figure. His eyes are not visible, instead, his eyes are completely blacked out, and appear as two dark circles, creating a sense of secrecy as the situation seems mysterious. This shot continues for close to 3 minutes as he talks, slowly zooming out to slowly reveal a well lit desk with the unfocused silhouette of Vito Corleone’s back. As the scene cuts to show the protagonist, the light bleeding through the blinds behind him shows how isolated and professional the environment is. The costumes also demonstrate this, as all characters in the room are dressed in well maintained suits, along with the color grading, which gives the entire film an overall yellow and orange tone. This particular tint is associated with the past, as well as the time period (40s/50s)
The film begins with extreme close up on a man’s face. The entire room around him is dark and the lighting is emphasized on the top of his head, making the rest of his face dark and turning him into a shadowy figure. His eyes are not visible, instead, his eyes are completely blacked out, and appear as two dark circles, creating a sense of secrecy as the situation seems mysterious. This shot continues for close to 3 minutes as he talks, slowly zooming out to slowly reveal a well lit desk with the unfocused silhouette of Vito Corleone’s back. As the scene cuts to show the protagonist, the light bleeding through the blinds behind him shows how isolated and professional the environment is. The costumes also demonstrate this, as all characters in the room are dressed in well maintained suits, along with the color grading, which gives the entire film an overall yellow and orange tone. This particular tint is associated with the past, as well as the time period (40s/50s)
The viewer is then given a jarring transition into a very bright celebration taking place outside. The purpose of this scene is to show the duality of the protagonist, with his connections ranging from his crime family to his actual family.
REAR WINDOW
The opening shot shows apartment buildings in a built up area, establishing that the film is set within the confines of a built up area. The camera shows a thermometer reading at a high temperature. This, along with the warm color grading, let’s the viewers know that it’s a hot summer day. We then see a continuous shot showing the lives of the many apartment residents. The shot is taken from the protagonist’s window. The long, panning take shows the area almost as if the viewer is seeing the surrounding environment from his eyes. As the scene continues, the camera shows that the character has a broken leg, and is in a wheelchair. During the next part of the shot, a broken to pieces camera is shown along with framed photos of dangerous situations on the wall. This quickly allows the viewer to realize that the protagonist is a photographer, and might have been injured while attempting to take a photo, showing the brave nature of the character.
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