"How To Shoot People Walking"

I chose this walking scene from Night At The Roxbury because it isn't dissimilar to the scene we looked at of John Travolta in Saturday Night Fever. The scene includes close ups of the two characters feet. Extreme close ups add drama and punch and allows you to focus on only certain body parts. A close up of the men walking shows their feet in perfect synchronization. This adds to the impact of the walk and is also quite comical, so already suggests the characters' personalities as funny, care free and maybe encourages the audience to laugh at them. Alternatively the precision in their walk could suggest seriousness. Though the music and rhythm to which they walk confirms to the objective to be comical. The camera then goes to a mid shot showing the two characters together. This allows us to see their faces side by side, meaning we can differentiate the two and get a better understanding of their characters through their facial expressions and movement. It then closes in on one of the two men, and we see a mid shot of him alone. This suggests that he is the protagonist as the focus is on him. The camera angle changes to a tilt shot (tilt shots are usually more dramatic than straight-angle shots) with the camera being positioned below the character, shooting upward at them. The effect is to make the subject look dominating and powerful, again establishing a character personality. This walking scene does not follow the 180 degree rule. The different shot types (long shots, tilt shots) are used to show the edginess of the characters. It also shows to edginess of John Badham, the director because it suggests he is a little more adventuress and doesn't follow the rules. In this case, not following the 180 degree rule worked well because it fit in nicely with the characters, introducing them as a little out there, and made the scene more fun to watch. Then the extreme long shot allows us to get a better of their surroundings/environment. A tracking shot is a great way to capture someone walking in action, as well as mid shots. It creates an idea of the character personalities, for example, the way in which they walk. The men in this are very much strutting adding to the comedy and showing attitude.