Clips and Concepts

Rack Focus

Dick explains the key term in the film industry, rack focus, as a way to pull the focus of the shot from the background to the foreground (93). The switching of the camera’s focus can act to either hide or highlight characters or objects. This technique is used so frequently because of its ability to draw attention to key moments in a film. In this clip from Pride and Prejudice, rack focus is used to emphasize the growing romance between Elizabeth and Darcy.

[youtube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yElIQDAEtOg]

The scene initially starts with a conversation between the two characters where the focus in only on them in the foreground. The quick change of focus reveals the other faces at the dinner table and marks the change in conversation from and intimate one to almost an interrogation when Lady Catherine questions Elizabeth about her upbringing.

Linear temporal montage

A montage, as described by Dick, is simply a series of shots arranged in order for a particular purpose (67). A linear temporal montage means that the shots are arranged in chronological order and are linked by the compression of time (69). In other words, this technique can be utilized to emphasize an action or concept by repeating it in multiple frames over a short period of time. In this clip from the New Moon, the director takes advantage of this technique to show the main character, Bella, depressed over a series of months.

[youtube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=g4gEFZ0TJ8o]

The artful use of this specific type of montage enables the director to emphasize Bella’s depression, without making the movie extremely long. The fact that she is literally in the same position emulates her continuous mind set and the effect Edward’s departure has on her life for all of those months, but it is portrayed in a matter of minutes.

Parallel cutting

A final film concept presented by Dick, parallel cutting, “presents two actions occurring simultaneously” (70). This could be extremely helpful in portraying one story line that links two separate sets of characters. Parallel cutting is used frequently in action films such as Bourne Supremacy, Law Abiding Citizen, and Taken where there is chase between the main character and the antagonistic party . At the beginning of this particular clip from the Bourne Supremacy, Jason Bourne is trying to gain information about his past and scene switches between character sets.

[youtube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JdfCyow-Tiw]

This clip highlights the drama that is created by using parallel cutting in action movies. The constant switching between the CIA and Jason Bourne is crucial to maintaining continuous suspense throughout the movie.