That’s a Wrap!

Subjective Camera

In the text, Bernard Dick describes subjective camera as representative of “what the character sees” versus “what the camera sees” (p. 56). In other words, subjective camera allows the audience to see what a specific character sees, effectively requiring the audience to become that character. An example of this technique can be seen in the trailer for Slender, a first person horror video game:   

There are many reasons why video game creators use subjective camera. In general, one of the main reasons video games are successful is because they allow the player to become a character within the game. In the Slender trailer, the audience sees what the character sees because the audience is the character. Also, when creating Slender, it is quite possible that the game makers wanted to intensify the horror aspect of the game by using subjective camera in order to further isolate the character/audience from the full reality of the virtual situation.

Associative Montage

An associative montage, according to Bernard Dick, is a montage which is “unified by images” (p. 69). If I were describing this concept to a friend, I would explain that an associative montage is a scene in which multiple images with some relation to another are crammed together in a few seconds or minutes within a film. A example of associative montage is the opening scene of Manhattan, a film directed by Woody Allen. Consider:

In Manhattan, New York City is, obviously, a prominent situational component; it’s almost as if New York City itself is a character within the film. By introducing New York City in the form of a montage in the opening scene, Allen not only alludes to the central setting/character of the film but also supplies the audience with a vivd picture of that setting/character, rather than relying on the audience members to create it for themselves.

Contrast Cut

In the text, Dick defines a contrast cut as one dissimilar image replacing another (p.69). In other words, a contrast cut suggests a cut from one seemingly unrelated image to another. An example of a contrast cut can be seen in a clip from Smoke Signals, a film directed by Chris Eyre, in which Eyre cuts from a young man, Thomas, reuniting with his grandmother to a different young man dumping the ashes of his father in a rapidly rushing river. Consider:

In Smoke Signals, these two seemingly unrelated young men go on a journey together and become close friends. Throughout the film, they are consistently together. However, in the final scene of the film, Eyre separates them to convey the idea that although both young men went on this journey together, its outcome was entirely subjective to each of them.