![]() In fact, this shot is so much a part of his character that it’s consistently maintained through all his appearances in the Star Wars franchise. As a finishing touch to the overall menace already created by his costume and voice, the low angle view makes Darth even more dominant and frightening. It’s no accident that our first glimpse of Darth Vader, stalking down the corridors of the Death Star in A New Hope, is shot sharply from below. (Which conveniently does double duty, since it has the added benefit of making audiences feel even more vulnerable - see below.) Heroes and villains. This template carries through in a direct line to modern horror films, where human monsters like psychopaths and serial killers are nearly always given the low-angle treatment. The low camera angles featured in this German horror masterpiece, and later in The Invisible Man (1933), helped set the visual template for Dracula and Frankenstein (1931), The Wolf Man (1941), Creature from the Black Lagoon (1954), The Mummy (1959), and all the other monster movies that would follow. Or we can go back even further to Nosferatu (1922). (The film has also been cited as an inspiration by Martin Scorsese and Tim Burton.) These science fiction classics made a huge impression on directors like Steven Spielberg, who credited Godzilla as an important model for the cinematography in Jurassic Park and Jaws. To understand the power of low angle shots, we can start with King Kong climbing the Empire State Building (1933) or Godzilla stomping through the streets of Tokyo (1954). Most of the time, filmmakers use low angle views to enhance the top end of a power dynamic - to make the hero or villain or monster seem taller, bigger, stronger, more powerful or intimidating. Low angle shots can predispose us to see them as either weak or strong, dominant or vulnerable. ![]() A low angle shot taken from below the knee is called an extreme low angle shot.ĭirectors use camera angles, along with film editing, to give a subtle (or not-so-subtle) psychological nudge to the way we view their characters. These shots are typically taken at about 45 degrees, but they can vary from just a few inches below a subject’s eye line all the way to the ground. Low angle views can be used in conjunction with wide shots, medium shots, close-ups, and most other standard cinematic shots. What is a low angle shot?Ī low angle shot is a film shot taken from a camera angle positioned below the average eye line and pointing up. That’s the same perceptual trick used by filmmakers all the time to make monsters look scarier, heroes (or villains) more powerful, and victims even more vulnerable. Low angle shots make a subject appear to be larger, wider, taller, and closer. But the camera crews were just helping give WWF - and André’s multitude of fans - their money’s worth. The pro wrestling legend already clocked in at 7 feet 4 inches, for pete's sake. World Wrestling Federation crews liked to shoot André the Giant from the lowest possible angle to make him look taller. Learn why cinematographers like to do the low angle limbo.
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