Star Wars V The Empire Strikes Back (1980) George Lucas

For my continuity analysis I have chosen to analyse possibly the most famous and surprising scene in the Star Wars saga. The scene is from the end of The Empire Strikes Back, when Luke Skywalker (Mark Hamill) goes to fight Darth Vader (David Prowse). The scene comes to a stunning climax when Darth Vader chops off Luke's hand and reveals that he is his father, to which Luke replies "No, it can't be, that's impossible".

0:00 : We begin by seeing Luke walking along a dark corrider towards the camera. We can hear nothing but the low buzz of machinery and his breathing and footsteps. Around 0:09 we hear the sound of a lightsaber being swung and Luke looks shocked.

0:10 : There is a match on action here as Vader swings his lightsaber and Luke ducks. This also uses Use of Shot Order as it continues immediately after the previous shot.

0:18 : Luke is pushed out of the door and the new shot is used to reveal more of the location. It is a good match on action.

0:20 : We see the sparks from where Vader hit the wall in the new shot showing that it has continued smoothly. He is also raising his arm as he was in the previous shot.

0:21 : As Vader swings down we switch to this very long shot which shows Vader and Luke continuing fighting but reveals even more of the location. There is a good match on action there.

0:24 : Vader and Luke continue to fight (match on action) but the shot is zoomed in.

0:26 : We change to a high angle here to show a different perspective of the location to see the deep chasm beneath them. We are still matching the action from before and so far all cuts have showed a continuing motion. There has been no dialogue either.

0:36 : As Luke falls the shot changes and we see a reaction shot from him. We now get into a sequence of shot - reverse shot throughout the dialogue. This continues to show reactions to the action and responses from each character. As Vader moves his lightsaber towards Luke we see him edging backwards. Then he slashes back.

0:44 : We see a reaction shot from Vader as he stumbles backwards. The following shots all follow smovely matching the action and paths of the lighstabers. This continues until finally Vader chops off Luke's hand. At this point the music comes back in after around a minute of just natural noise. This gives dramatic emphasis and shows we have reached an important part in the scene (0:54).

1:00 : From this point on we follow a sequence of shot- reverse shot throughout the dialogue in terms of reactions and responses from each character. These continue until 2:27 where we get point of view shots from Luke as he looks down into the chasm which is his only escape, then back up to Vader.

In general this clip has very good use of continuity. It is all straight cuts, no transitions, and follows the action directly to give a sense of realism and real time, unlike films like Pulp Fiction and Sin City which jump about the timeline constantly to create an unnatural feeling.

The sound also follows in continuity as we can always hear what is going on at that specific time in the clip.

The Dark Knight (2008) Christopher Nolan

For my Shot Analysis I have chosen to use a clip from Christopher Nolan's most recent Batman film, The Dark Knight starring Christian Bale, Heath Ledger, Michael Caine and Aaron Eckhart.
The clip takes place just after the Joker's first arrest and he has been interviewed by soon to be Commissioner Gordan (Gary Oldman). The Joker makes a gag that Gordan is using the "Good Cop, Bad Cop" technique to which Gordan replies "Yeah, something like that" and exits the room. The room has been purposely lit from only one side and we soon see that the "bad cop" has been hiding in the shadows.

I have deciphered that there are about 5 different point of views in the clip I am using. I am only analysing the first minute of the clip (up until 1:05) so there may well be more camera's introduced later in the scene. I have named each camera due to what it shows;

Camera 1 : From Batman's side of the interview table looking at the Joker
Camera 2 : From the Joker's side of the interview table looking at Batman
Camera 3 : From the door of the interview room looking at the back of Batman and can see the Joker from the front.
Camera 4 : Used only once in the clip, a high angle looking down on the table as if from Batman's eyes.
Camera 5 : Outside the interview room showing the police looking onto the interrogation.

Using these deceptions I will analyse the clip.

0:00 : Close up, Camera 1
The clip starts in a darkened room where only the Joker is illuminated. The lights come on and we are aware that Batman is behind him. Batman slams the Joker's head into the table and the camera follows his head.

0:08 : Over the shoulder - low angle, Camera 2
We see over the shoulder of the Joker looking up at Batman at quite a low angle to give Batman an element of fear as he seems bigger than the Joker.

0:09 : Close up, Camera 1
We have a close up on the Joker's head as he is talking and is therefore the important character at this point.

0:12 : Long shot, Camera 3
We see the room from the door and see Batman standing and the Joker sitting on the opposite side of the table. The rule of thirds is used well here so that our focus is drawn into the middle of the frame as Batman lifts up his arm to hit the Joker.

0:13 : Close up, Camera 4
This is the only time camera 4 is used. It shows the Joker's hand being hit by Batman. This shot is used so that we (the audience) see what it is exactly that Batman does to the Joker. We could have stayed with camera 3 however this shot gives more dramatic effect.

0:14 : Over the shoulder - low angle, Camera 2
This shot is put in so we have a brief glimpse of Batman before we go back to seeing the Joker. The low angle is still used to show that Batman is "above" the Joker, whether this is the fact that Batman is feared or that he is above in the sense that he is good.

0:15 : Mid close up, Camera 1
We now see the Joker again but slightly more zoomed out to show more of his body. This shot is also used to establish Batman sitting down while the Joker is talking. We see Batman in the left hand side of the shot so that eventually we will get an interview like sequence.

0:18 : Over the shoulder, Camera 2
The camera is focusing on Batman as he is talking and the over the shoulder shot is used to see that he is now looking directly at the Joker. The two character's are now level as is the camera angle. I think this is used to symbolize Batman coming down to the Joker's level to talk with him.

0:20 : Forward track, Camera 5
This is the only time Camera 5 is used in the first minute of the clip and it shows the other cops outside the room looking in through the window. The forward track is used to zoom in on the main cops who have been introduced to us as primary plot characters (Gordan, Romirez).

0:24 : Over the shoulder/Mid close up, Camera 1
The next few shots are very well thought out. In approximately the next 20 seconds of clip Camera 1 uses the arc shot technique to start on the right side of Batman looking at the Joker and end up on the left side of Batman looking at the Joker. These clips are shown from almost over the shoulder but so that Batman is only just in the clip. This clip has a few clips in between showing Batman. I will label all of these clips with which part of the arc they use. By the end of this shot, Batman occupies half of the screen and the Joker's face is all still visible.

0:36 : Over the shoulder, Camera 2
This shot shows Batman talking and we see that it is also performing a similar arc to Camera 1 so that eventually both Camera 1 and Camera 2 will be looking at the characters from a different angle.

0:39 : Over the shoulder, Camera 1 (part 2 of Arc, now on left side of Batman)
This shot simply continues the arc from 0:24 and shows the Joker talking to Batman.

0:48 : Mid close up, Camera 2
The Camera 2 arc is now complete and so we can only see Batman in the shot.

0:50 : Mid close up, Camera 1
We see the Joker's reaction to Batman's comment and as he laughs hysterically the camera follows his head movement.

0:54 : Mid close up/over the shoulder, Camera 2
This shot is arguable as we can just about see part of the Joker's head in the shot. However I think it demonstrates an over the shoulder more than an MCU as when the Joker's head is in shot we see as if from behind him.

0:58 : Mid close up, Camera 1
We see the Joker talking and the Camera follows his head as he moves.

1:05 : Over the shoulder, Camera 2
This shot is showing Batman talking and has zoomed out from when Camera 2 was last used at 0:54.


I think this scene is very well thought out and all the shots compliment themselves well. The arc in the middle is a very clever device as it makes your typical interview scene more interesting to watch.