The Guilty (2008) Camera Work Case Study: Opening Scene

It is currently spring break and today I will be looking at a past case study done just before I began filming for the midterm movie (The Bird Watcher) although it was very key in understanding camera work in media. The class was told by our teacher to look at an opening scene of a movie from the genre we did our movie on, which for me is thriller, then analyze the camera work in the opening scene and name the shots used.

This case study on camera work has given me a deep understanding of the names of each shot that is used in film, as well as the meaning behind each shot. I can now apply this learning to help me make my movie, and to write the essay for our final exam when we are told to analyze 2 minutes of a film.

Note- To be able to watch the opening scene of the movie, I used my Netflix subscription. This is due to being unable to find the opening scene of the movie anywhere online.

 The Guilty 

• Establishing shot/helicopter shot of entire city, which is on fire and helicopters flying around, presumably to take the fires out. 

• Blurry screen to shallow focus and clean, Extreme close up shot 

• Shallow focus dirty extreme close up shot then a pan up 

• Insert shot/close up shallow focus and a shallow focus 

• Extreme close up to mouth shallow focus and a dirty shot 

• Extreme close up/close up to him taking a hit of his inhaler where the focus shifts to the inhaler. Dirty shot and shallow focus. 

• Close up side angle of face, shallow focus, clean shot 

• Close up clean shot with shallow focus 

• Shallow focus throughout first 10 seconds of scene 

• Cowboy shot, open frame, straight focus, clean 

• Deep focus, open frame, high angle shot, dirty shot 

• Clean shot, shallow focus, close up 

• Clean shot, shallow focus, close up on side of his face 

• Extreme close up shot, shallow focus, clean shot 

• Extreme close up shot, shallow focus, clean shot 

• Dirty shot, straight focus to shallow focus, close up 

• Close up clean shot with shallow focus 

• Shallow focus, close up shot, clean shot 

• Extreme close up, clean shot, shallow focus 

• Steadicam used all throughout the entire scene with the different shots 

• Insert shot, extreme close up/ close up, dirty shot, shallow focus 

• Extreme close up of headphone then quick zoom out then an over the shoulder shallow focus, dirty shot 

• Insert shot clean shot of computer information, could be considered close up shot, cuts to different information on computer but same type of shot. 

• Medium shot, high angle, straight focus, open frame  

  

ANALYSIS 

A lot of this entire opening scene of “The Guilty” showed many of the same shots but had lots of meaning conveyed to it. What we can see from the notes of the type of shots taken is that a lot that are taken are extreme and regular close-up shots. Also, along with it is shallow focus. This comes as a surprise as a lot of movies don’t usually end up using shallow focus and if they do it wouldn’t be as much as it happens in this movie. With these types of camera angles and type of focus it really allows us to key in on the details of the man in the scene or the main character (Joe Baylor). These close-up shots and shallow focus bring us into this effect that shows us his mental state at the time. We can see his mental state is really jam packed with things and he is either depressed or really stressed about something. 

 

This is further explained though when we remember back to the very first opening shot which is an establishing shot. This shows the firesthat are going on all over the city. Also, there are helicopters flying around the city to show the chaos which is going on. With the helicopters we can imply that this is an active city and an active situation which they are trying to fix, instead of an abandoned city on fire which is deserted. This shows a part of which is stressing out Joe as later in the opening scene we can see he works as a 911 operator. In a part of the opening scene where Joe is in the bathroom using his inhaler, we are presented with another 911 operator which is in the bathroom with him who talks about the fires. He is complaining about the fires which shows the opinions of another 911 operator and how it is affecting them. Along with the inhaler, we are presented with another dilemma. This shows us not only why he is coughing, but another reason for Joe to be stressed and be in a bad mental state. With the fires we can imply that with Joe’s asthma, it is becoming a lot worse due to the great amounts of smoke which is in the air. Not only does this add to the stress that Joe already has, but it worsens his mental state by him having to worry about using the bathroom a lot from his coughing fits. 

 

With all this going on, the audience is encouraged to feel bad and concerned. We are forced to put ourselves in Joe’s shoes and realize how bad the current situation Joe is dealing with is. This encourages the audience to respond to this by wanting him to succeed and get through all this. As well, the audience wants these fires to end quicker to put him in a better mental state than he is at the moment and lower his stress. 

The technical decisions which are made are key. If they are not done in a specific manner, we don’t get the correct point across of which type of situation Joe Baylor is in. Since a lot of the scene has a shallow focus and extreme close ups on Joe and his inhaler, we feel a closed frame sense even though that is not the case. This also emphasizes how Joe could be feeling trapped right now as an operator. Considering the rule of thirds, a lot of where Joe is framed is all in the center to keep him as the main part of the conflict. Lastly, with the shots which were not close ups, we get at the end of the 2 minutes, a high angle shot of Joe on a call as an operator. What this does is make him feel small, portraying how he feels in his situation and how he is getting through all this while being in such a terrible spot mentally. Another last key point to add is Steadicam which is used throughout the entirety of the opening scene which makes sure the reader’s eyes don’t shift anywhere as the camera is so still the entire time.