The Grand Budapest Hotel: Cinematography

This blog post will be a blog post about identifying Cinematography techniques in chapter 21; “Check-Point 19 Supply Depot”; 00:55:18 — 00:59:09.

This scene begins with a frame within a frame, the bit in front, creates a frame and then the gate also creates a frame and when the car door opens it creates another frame, also, as the car arrives our eyes are drawn into the frame as we are intrigued as what is going on. Another point that is shown throughout the majority of this film which is, most of the shots, everything is really central and its more the characters move into the film.

After that there is a 90 degree whip pan to the right, this is to refocus our attention on the man-hole, this is significant because Zero enters the frame, he hasn’t cut yet he’s just reframed it, which reduces the number of shots. The camera then moves forward and the camera pushes forward to focus the audiences attention more on the scene. Also there is natural lighting right above the man hole to focus the audience to it, it’s like a spotlight on it and it reinforces us to look at it. They’ve made this scene looks like this and its been lit by this one light but we know that there would be many other lights, its massively constructed to create an effect. Zero wanders into the frame the camera doesn’t move he walks into it. Zero looks at the man hole so we are in no doubt what we need to be focused on.

Symmetry is everything, the prison room is shown to be symmetrical and everything’s in focus even - deep depth of field (deep focus) which allows us as the audience to look around and take in what is in the frame and we can decide what to look at - this is good for establishing shots. As the lamp in the prison room gets brighter it changes from a shot which is being shot in silhouette to a shot where we can see the outline of the characters as they begin there work. There is a tracking shot of the light going down into the hole using a pedestal, we see its progress as it goes down. The light reflects the light in the earlier scene, it’s the lights that directing us where to look.

The camera then comes to rest on this low angle close up, (telling us what to look at), Wes Anderson uses the light to help the action flow. But it doesn’t remain as the camera pedestals back up we see a long shot as the people retreat to the distance it becomes a long shot. After this there is an iris shot, which is a type of mask, it is of the red button to show the focus is on the button it tells us exactly where to look, due to the button is red, its in the centre, its got this mask around it and its got a finger pointing at it.

The camera then starts centrally framed and crabs to the right to move our attention throughout we keep seeing these frames within frames to again focus our attention. One of the few shots where the man comes out of the column is not centrally framed and then he switches to the other side, so there is still symmetry flowing through. There is then a change in direction and the camera crabs to the opposite way, the left - it creates this energy and flow where either the camera or characters are moving and in this case the camera is, but we also see multiple places where the characters are. The it comes to rest on the one end of the joke ladder and the final character enters the frame and the movement of the characters continue to move in the other direction with the long ladder.

There is then a cut to wide shot in shallow depth field, and the camera is static but there’s still movement through the frame as the long ladder passes through and there is emphasis on its silly length, and when the ladder eventually stops moving we then cut to a silhouetted profile shot of the characters as the come down the ladder. Theres a shot reverse shot sequence which is the standard way of filming conversation and again frames within frames which instruct us where to look, we cut between a close up of the window in the cell door and profile of the characters talking where Wes Anderson breaks the 180 degree rule.

Rather than cutting to another shot there’s a 90 degree whip pan to the left focusing our attention on the guards door and the camera pushes forwards again as the door opens. It pushes into a new setting and because it starts on a door and pushes through the door the scene opens us and there this big scene. Most shots have movement there are static shots unless there’s a conversation - the movement is only along an axis. There is then shots above the beds, under the beds and bed height which are all example of low angle shot, high angle shot and eye level but no matter what the shot the movement continues and is not interrupted.

Start as a close up and we cut to a much wider shot and back to close up which provides us with context and reminiscent of the trap door shot sequence later on. In terms of mise-en-scene the colours are very blue and dark which creates the harshness of the prison. Same with the Birds Eye view shot which shows us where they are going to need to climb and the extent of the fall provides us with context. Then there is an odd man out shot of the whole sequence, which is an extreme long shot

Again there is another crab to the right, when the camera moves there’s often symmetry and there’s another frame within a frame where we see the characters escaping and as they fall they arrange themselves into a symmetrical order. Another pedestal down to refocus us on the trap door and turns the wide shot into a close up of the trap door. Worms eye view and Birds Eye view shot through the sequence of shot reverse shot, and there nothing real about it its all been composed because it looks nice.