Blog #3: Sequence Analysis

Link: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IfdQnzzctOk

The film scene I chose to analyze isn’t from a film but from a television show that has been critiqued on the level of film and is highly regarded because of the man who produced, created, and directed the show, David Lynch. I chose one of the opening scenes from the first ever episode of Twin Peaks where Laura Palmer’s dead body is discovered and Harry Truman, the sheriff is identifying the body. I wasn’t able to find a complete version of this scene on youtube but I found a clip of the second half of the scene that doesn't include the original audio and then the show is on Netflix and the scene is season 1 episode 1 from about 6:25 to about 8:10.

            The first shot a medium to wide shot showing all the characters involved in the scene to give context about where they are, who is going to be involved, and their roles in the plot. The next shot is a close up of what all the characters are focus on and the camera moves down the subject from above. The scene then goes back to a medium to wide shot where another character joins the scene, the wide shot giving him room to walk into the scene. The scene then jumps between two different close ups keeping the continuous plot going, but keeping the scene interesting, by showing you what the one character is focusing on and his emotions to it. They then use a medium shot to show two characters expressing emotion and talking to each other but without having the shot being too intimate. The camera then zooms in on a subject and moves with him making the scene fluid and continuous without jumping between shots.

This is then where they move into a close up shot, focusing in on the two characters in the screen. It’s not too close where you can’t see both of them but it’s close enough where you can read emotions and feel the intimacy. The scene then cuts to what they are looking at, showing their point of view, and then jumps to the reaction of another character in the show and then back to the original two characters. These three shots are still close ups and are short and still shots, with no camera movement, but the show emotion and action making the scene continuous and cohesive. The scene then cuts to an extreme close up of what every other character is reacting to keeping the fluid, continuous plot of the scene, showing their point of view again, and bringing in the defining, dramatic moment of the scene which is where it ends.