Method of Working (Part 13)

To understand framing within a film, I deconstructed the final scene from ‘The Age of Innocence’ directed by Martin Scorsese.The opening shot is a Medium close up with the male actor situated in the left of frame, having the right of frame with more space. Only the man is in focus, however his eyes are looking up into the right side of frame. This is another example of External Composition from my blog post ‘Method of Working (Part 12)’. This shot forms a compositional relationship between this shot and the next. The next shot is of an open window, and the audience suspects that what he is looking at/for is someone inside of the room, as the open windows suggest there is life inside. The shots after this are shot one and two repeated, cutting back an forth between the two. In one shot the light from the window shines on the man’s face, and it initiates memories and flashbacks of a woman. Now the audience knows that this is the woman he is looking for. The male actor always remains to the left of frame due to the action happening to the right of frame through external composition. After the flashbacks a man closes the windows, suggesting the end of something. The end of the flashbacks and an end to this relationship between the two, as the male actor has been shown with a smile on his face, now is shown expressionless. The shot after this is of the man in the center of the frame, taken from a wide shot. Here we see where the man is, and up until now the audience has been completely oblivious to his surroundings. Now it is the only thing we can see, he is drowned out by the black and neutral colours, illustrating his insignificance and loneliness. This shot is a long shot, as the audience sees this character walk out of the frame to end the film. Having him walking away shows how he is closing this part of his life, and it is how the audience says goodbye to the character, along with the film. The last couple of seconds when he is walking away is when the audience sits back and contemplates what just happened and why it did.

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