Shot Composition:
Lost In Translation
Of all the films that were assigned as possibilities for this paper, Sofia Coppola’s Lost in Translation was the one that most intrigued me, and of course the one I ultimately decided to base my paper on. ... Lost in Translation is about two Americans who are spending time in Japan and feel completely lost and confused about Japanese culture. ...
I think the most powerful device that the director of Lost in Translation uses is her selection of angles throughout the film. ... The city and its huge buildings are shot from a low angle instead of the traditional overhead establishing shot. ... Normally the low angle shot portrays the status and importance of a character. ... When we first see Bob in the taxi he too is shot from a low angle as he looks up at his own billboard that is shot from a low angle as well. ... As we get to know the character better, and learn more about him the filmmaker switches to eye level shot of Bob. ... The director’s use of the eye level shot also ads comedy to the film. ... My favorite scene in the film makes great use of the close up eye-shot. ... The eye level close up shot not only shows the emotion of the character, but also adds a comedic aspect to the film. Literally all of what the director is saying to Bob is lost in the translation when he hears it back from the translator on the set. ... Hearing the way her husband and this actress speak makes her sick, and she is lost in the conversation. ...
This director has an incredible understanding of the importance of framing the characters within the shot. ... One scene where this happens is the overhead shot when the two are lying in bed. ... Also, the director likes to use shot reverse shot in all the conversation scenes, and very quick ones at that. ...
Lost in Translation makes extensive use of hand held cameras throughout the film. ... I hope I was able to explain how several aspect of shot composition were used together to explain the ideas of the film and emotions of its characters.
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