Shot Analysis Essay Example

Many critics have lauded “Spring in a Small Town” as one of the greatest Chinese films ever made. The film was released in the year 1948; a year before the civil war officially ended. It tells the story of an awkward love triangle between three characters, Liyan, Yuwen and Zhichen. The other main character in the film is Liyan’s younger sister, Xiu.The film is a classical masterpiece with a relatively uncomplicated storyline and brilliant cinematography. In fact of the fact that it is a fairly old school film developed during an era when film production was not much developed, “Spring in a Small Town” exhibits some exquisite filmography techniques in terms of camera techniques, shot framing as well as lighting. Below is an analysis of a shot from the film that is a testament to this. The analysis will look at three key aspects. These are; Mise en scène, (setting, props, costume, performance, lighting, composition), cinematography and finally the sound.
In this particular shot, three of the four main characters show up. The three are Zhicheng, Xiu and Yuwen. At the beginning of this shot, Yuwen is lying on the bed. She has a headache and seems very anxious. The director utilizes a medium shot at first where the sole focus is on Yuwen. In terms of scale, the camera is in the medium close up. The screen shows part of the character’s face together with some items in the background. The camera then zooms out slowly, and the other characters are slowly brought into focus as they enter the room. As they do so, they are singing the song “Lovely Rose’’. Yumen gets a bit anxious when she hears their voices. She tries to sit ,but she is unable to do and so she falls back to the bed. This body is evident of the fight and struggle that is in Yuwen;s heart. The man that she still harbors feelings for, Zhicheng, is drinking and singing with another woman. She desires to be with him but it is impossible.
One particular prop evident in the film is the mocket that Yuwen holds in her hand. She is holding the mocket so tight that is makes her extremely restless.
The shot utilizes low key or chiaroscuro lighting. This is where some parts of the set are highlighted while the rest are darkened or are in shadows. In this shot, the lighting appears to come from the left side. The light brightens the characters upper body parts while the other body parts are somehow darkened due to the absence of light. The purpose of this is to make the audience focus more on the character’s body language as well as their facial expressions.
The camera is located at a high angle shot. It is positioned above the characters and shoots down at them. As it zooms out, the camera however positions itself at a lower level shot. In terms of sound, this shot has fairly reserved background sounds. The only overly conspicuous sound is that of the characters singing.
As observed, this shot from the film “Spring in a Small Town” is evident of the director’s brilliant film production mastery. The film’s Mise en scène (setting, props, costume, performance, lighting, composition), cinematography as well as sound are all brilliantly articulated to come up with an exemplary final product. This is indeed, why the film has been widely acclaimed not only for its story line but also for its amazing cinematic aspects.