Shots in Filmmaking as used in RENT

The size of a subject in a frame can have an effect on the audience as far as how the scene is interpreted or setting the emotional background of a scene. Through the use of long shots, medium shots, and close ups, a story can have more impact on the viewers. Using the musical film "RENT", I'll be giving an example of the impacts of certain shots.

As Christmas comes closer, residents of these apartment complexes have come to find that they are threatened with eviction unless they pay all of last year's rent, which they were previously promised they wouldn't have to pay. In outrage, they begin to protest. This long shot gives the viewer a view of the whole neighborhood. Details include decorations that are hung in preparation for the holiday season that give clues to the date, along with the chaos of fires being started by angry tenants.

Benny (left) turns out to be the one behind the eviction notices. Mark (middle) and Roger (right) confront him about it. A medium shot can provide insight on characters' relationships with one another. While Benny explains the situation, he does not look directly at them while talking, giving off an air of superiority. Mark and Roger, who are farther back in the frame, are merely spectators in the conversation.

Roger reflects on his frustration on not being able to write a good song and the death of his girlfriend. Close ups like this are often used as reaction shots. They provide a glance at a character's emotional state. Even though Christmas draws near, Roger can't do anything but sit in grief for his current situation.

Those are examples of the three basic shots used in cinema. Images are taken from "RENT" which was written by Johnathon Larson and produced by Chris Columbus for Columbia Pictures.